Your Fave Questions to Ask at Law Firm Receptions Forum

[Royalduck]

Hi TLS,

Going to my first law firm "diversity" reception next week and I don't know what to do. In my past networking experience everyone has been in an industry I was a professional in - not something I only know 5-months-worth of info about.

Are you supposed to ask about people's day to day jobs? What they did to get there - their life history and how they got this particular job? Talk about yourself and how you relate? Get a business card? What do you email them with afterward - "Hi, it was great talking to you, how can you help me get a job at your firm?"?

What's your favorite way of ending a conversation? "Great talking to you, I've got to make the most of my coming here and suck up to someone else now, thanks!"

etc.

What's your fave way to approach a law firm reception - step-by-step?

[20160810]

These are supposed to be laid-back social gatherings. If you approach laid-back social gatherings with a pre-determined strategy, you're going to reek of aspergers. Just show up, introduce yourself to a few people, chat them up, and see if you hit it off. IF you actually hit it off with someone, shoot them an email later and see if they want to grab lunch or something. Don't just be another bonery 1L who asks everyone for a card and then sends a weird pro-forma copy-paste email the next day talking about how amazing it was to meet them.

Keep in mind that most of the male associates at these things, and probably most of the male partners too, are just there to talk to girls.

[thesealocust]

The golden rule is ask about them and not amorphously about their firm. Ask what they do, why they do it, stories about doing it, etc. If you ask somebody in the Environmental Litigation group about the firm's well regarded Cross Boarder M&A Practice, you're going to have an awkward disconnect because within a firm people tend to only know about their island of work. This can extend even to general stuff about the firm; people have different levels of knowledge and different opinions, but it's always safe to ask about them. Hopefully you can build a conversation out of what you hear.

[TTH]

This will sound like trolling, but it's a legit question: do you guys think it's possible to neg lawyers at firm receptions?

Seems like a lot of the same premises for negging are present in the firm reception environment: persons with highly desirable traits (hot girl/firm lawyer) who are going to be bored with the expected conversation (fawning adoration, in both cases) but who may get thrown off their game by an unexpected neg.

Some 1L going to a reception for a firm they wouldn't really want to work for should try this out and report back.