Judge to legal consultant
A judge already meets 44% of what the legal consultant role asks for. The move turns on 6 required skills not yet in the profile.
53.5/ 100
1 How much of what a legal consultant is expected to do is already part of a judge’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the legal consultant role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A legal consultant role treats 5 of its required skills as things a judge already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- advise on legal decisions
- compile legal documents
- interpret law
- legal terminology
- private law
What stands in the way is 6 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 16 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A legal consultant role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of a judge background worth leading with.
- already held present legal arguments communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held moderate in negotiations communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held private law business, administration and law
- already held interpret law communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held advise on legal decisions communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held procurement legislation business, administration and law
All 16 carried skills, including the 5 the legal consultant role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 21 missing skills fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn analyse legal enforceability required
- still to learn identify clients' needs required
- still to learn protect client interests required
- still to learn provide legal advice required
- still to learn use consulting techniques required
- optional, not held consult with business clients optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held manage contract disputes optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held negotiate in legal cases optional
- still to learn ensure law application required
- optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held maritime law optional
- optional, not held state aid regulations optional
- optional, not held business law optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held law of non-marital cohabitation optional
- optional, not held mergers and acquisitions optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
- optional, not held analyse internal factors of companies optional
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a legal consultant role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 analyse legal enforceability practise this
- 02 ensure law application practise this
- 03 identify clients' needs practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 16 skills that carry over
- already held advise on legal decisions skill
- already held compile legal documents skill
- already held interpret law skill
- already held legal terminology knowledge
- already held private law knowledge
- already held analyse legal evidence skill
- already held civil law knowledge
- already held contract law knowledge
- already held court procedures knowledge
- already held legal case management knowledge
- already held legal research knowledge
- already held moderate in negotiations skill
- already held observe confidentiality skill
- already held present legal arguments skill
- already held procurement legislation knowledge
- already held respond to enquiries skill
15 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held consult with business clients optional
- optional, not held maritime law optional
- optional, not held state aid regulations optional
- optional, not held analyse internal factors of companies optional
- optional, not held apply technical communication skills optional
- optional, not held business law optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held law of non-marital cohabitation optional
- optional, not held manage contract disputes optional
- optional, not held manage contracts optional
- optional, not held mergers and acquisitions optional
- optional, not held negotiate in legal cases optional
- optional, not held protect personal data and privacy optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
25 held skills the legal consultant role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply knowledge of human behaviour skill
- not needed by the target role authenticate documents skill
- not needed by the target role civil process order knowledge
- not needed by the target role communicate with jury skill
- not needed by the target role correctional procedures knowledge
- not needed by the target role criminal law knowledge
- not needed by the target role criminology knowledge
- not needed by the target role ensure sentence execution skill
- not needed by the target role facilitate official agreement skill
- not needed by the target role family law knowledge
- not needed by the target role guide jury activities skill
- not needed by the target role hear legal arguments skill
- not needed by the target role hear witness accounts skill
- not needed by the target role juvenile detention knowledge
- not needed by the target role law enforcement knowledge
- not needed by the target role maintain court order skill
- not needed by the target role make legal decisions skill
- not needed by the target role present arguments persuasively skill
- not needed by the target role promote the safeguarding of young people skill
- not needed by the target role review trial cases skill
- not needed by the target role show impartiality skill
- not needed by the target role supervise court hearings skill
- not needed by the target role supervise legal case procedures skill
- not needed by the target role support juvenile victims skill
- not needed by the target role write work-related reports skill
8 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- optional, not held European Structural and Investment Funds regulations optional
- optional, not held maritime law optional
- optional, not held state aid regulations optional
- optional, not held business law optional
- optional, not held corporate law optional
- optional, not held law of non-marital cohabitation optional
- optional, not held mergers and acquisitions optional
- optional, not held real estate market optional
Common questions about this move
Can a judge become a legal consultant?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. A judge already covers 44% of what a legal consultant is expected to do: 16 skills carry over, 5 of which the legal consultant role treats as required.
What skills does a judge need to become a legal consultant?
6 required skills are missing, plus 15 optional ones. They fall into 4 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by communication, collaboration and creativity. The single most important is analyse legal enforceability.
How hard is the move from judge to legal consultant?
Its learning distance is 53.5 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.