So now that we’ve covered how to navigate your network & how to determine your professional goals, we need to discuss how to actually put networking into action during events. Law students: Remember that your first priority while in law school is to be an excellent student, however you will need to find time to balance your professional aspirations with your schoolwork.  Attorneys: Networking must be incorporated into your daily professional development plan.  In general, but especially in the current economy, networking is mandatory.  Be careful about how you invest your time; the key to successful networking is not only working the meeting in a productive manner, but also making sure that you are going to the right events.

The Approach:

What is your 30 second Bio?   You need to have a quick introduction of yourself that you can use when approaching potential contacts at events.  If you have previously researched the person you are approaching, you can ask a more direct question regarding their past accomplishments, present job, recent article, etc.  Generally the conversation will extend naturally from the open ended question you ask at the end of your intro.  

Student Example:

Hi my name is _______. I am a 1L/2L/3L at ____ Law School.   I am interested in ________.    What area of law do you practice?

Attorney example:

Hello my name is _______.   I am an _______ (associate/law clerk/counsel etc.) at _________.   OR  I am a  recent graduate with an interest in ¬¬¬________.  

At the Event:

In order to effectively network, you must determine your career goals.   Have you always wanted to be a judge? A public interest attorney? A law professor? A politician? A law firm partner? Not sure what you plan to do with your law degree?  Goal setting is an integral part of achieving success during law school and beyond.

I encourage first and second year law students who are not sure what they want to do with their law degrees to be open to attending a wide variety of events. Many 1Ls are sure they want to practice in a particular field of law, only to see their goals and interests shift after exposure to other practice areas during the first few semesters of law school. 

Third year law students and attorneys should be more focused in their networking.    While many networking occurs on the fly during impromptu meetings and events, I suggest that students and attorneys have defined goals when deciding what events to attend and who to approach.   

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Create a plan of attack – Write out your goals. If you have several legal practice area interests, write them out.   Create a document that lists the courses you have taken that relate to each topic, people you have met that practice in the area, events you have attended on the subject etc.    This will be a “living” document that you can frequently update to monitor your progress as you build your network. 

Networking is one of my favorite topics to discuss because there are so many misconceptions about the term Networking and how it should be done.  Networking is essentially the process of relationship building.   The purpose of building relationships is to find out information about the law school experience and practicing in the legal profession.   Effective networking can yield mentors, employers, colleagues, friends and business opportunities. 

There are many strategies and approaches to how you build relationships, but regardless of how you choose to approach it, networking should be thoughtful, constant, and a priority in the life of any legal professional.   In my interactions with many law students, attorneys and other professionals, I have noticed that many people of color don’t realize the need for networking soon enough.    Over the month of June, I will relay some effective strategies for networking that you can put to immediate use.   Let’s start at the beginning: