Networking as a 0L? Forum

[Dr.Zer0]

Thanks for the insight everyone.

[TheSpanishMain]

Sent out some emails to alumni as well as people working in areas I'm considering. So far the response has been very positive. As long as you're not weird and don't come across as blatantly angling for a job, you should be fine. Focus on the aspects of the job and how you want to learn more about them, not "How can I get hired in three years?"

[yossarian]

Sent out some emails to alumni as well as people working in areas I'm considering. So far the response has been very positive. As long as you're not weird and don't come across as blatantly angling for a job, you should be fine. Focus on the aspects of the job and how you want to learn more about them, not "How can I get hired in three years?"

Very much this. Despite my blunder listed on the last page, I've met a very positive response and have felt fairly successful.

One thing I think hasn't been covered is that even though attorneys don't want to see you angling for a job, they know that you are conducting these interviews in the interest of future employment. Most of the attorneys I have spoken with have directed the conversation to the hiring process at their firm on their own or have mentioned something about my fit at their firm or have spoken directly about hiring in some other way. I certainly don't know the best way to handle these things, but I generally ride them out, ask polite questions, and lead the conversation away before it gets pushy or uncomfortable.

Just something to be prepared for as it might feel "taboo."

ETA: If current attorneys would like to give some advice on how to handle those situations, that would be great. But, I suspect that the only true advice is carefully feel out where the attorney wants it to go, be polite, and don't push it.

[TheSpanishMain]

Just wanted to bump and say that now that I've had a few meetings with local attorneys/alumni, I've yet to get the sense that anyone was annoyed or put off. If you present it as "Hey, I'm going to law school in the fall and I'd like to get some firsthand accounts of different practice areas" then most people are pretty receptive because (a) they get to talk about themselves, which everyone likes and (b) you're asking for their expert opinion on whatever type of law they practice, and everyone likes the implication that they're an authority. As long as you're polite and accomodate their schedule, they're basically primed to like you as soon as you walk in the door. Later in the conversation, you can pivot a little bit to hiring ("What qualities does your office look for in new hires, etc") and as long as it's not a blatant attempt to get a job in three years you're probably fine.

[yossarian]

To some degree a ridiculous question, but whatever. How do we feel about handwritten thank-you's? Obviously a nicer touch than an email, but I worry that in the 1-2 day wait for the post, the attorney may feel slighted for not receiving an email thank-you. However, both seems like overkill.

I've been hand-writing all thank-yous so far.

[JustHawkin]

Just wanted to bump and say that now that I've had a few meetings with local attorneys/alumni, I've yet to get the sense that anyone was annoyed or put off. If you present it as "Hey, I'm going to law school in the fall and I'd like to get some firsthand accounts of different practice areas" then most people are pretty receptive because (a) they get to talk about themselves, which everyone likes and (b) you're asking for their expert opinion on whatever type of law they practice, and everyone likes the implication that they're an authority. As long as you're polite and accomodate their schedule, they're basically primed to like you as soon as you walk in the door. Later in the conversation, you can pivot a little bit to hiring ("What qualities does your office look for in new hires, etc") and as long as it's not a blatant attempt to get a job in three years you're probably fine.

Good looks TSM. How did you go Bout finding attorney's you wanted to chat with? I was thinking I might reach out to a few I find on Maetindale's.

[yossarian]

I've found attorney bio pages on firm sites to be more than sufficient in providing enough contacts. The best contacts are when these people you find randomly set you up with someone else.

[TheSpanishMain]

Just wanted to bump and say that now that I've had a few meetings with local attorneys/alumni, I've yet to get the sense that anyone was annoyed or put off. If you present it as "Hey, I'm going to law school in the fall and I'd like to get some firsthand accounts of different practice areas" then most people are pretty receptive because (a) they get to talk about themselves, which everyone likes and (b) you're asking for their expert opinion on whatever type of law they practice, and everyone likes the implication that they're an authority. As long as you're polite and accomodate their schedule, they're basically primed to like you as soon as you walk in the door. Later in the conversation, you can pivot a little bit to hiring ("What qualities does your office look for in new hires, etc") and as long as it's not a blatant attempt to get a job in three years you're probably fine.

Good looks TSM. How did you go Bout finding attorney's you wanted to chat with? I was thinking I might reach out to a few I find on Maetindale's.

I found a few on firm pages and one on LinkedIn. I tried to zero in on ones who I had some common background with. For example, I'm a vet and I specifically targeted people whose bio indicated they'd been in the military at some point. Just seemed to make the conversation feel a little more natural. Same thing could work with someone who is an alumni of your undergrad, or is from the same city as you, or whatever.

[retaking23]

Questions Questions Questions

1. Is it better to hit up partners or associates, all else equal?
2. How many lawyers in one firm should I try to get in touch it through email? The more the better, I know. But, I don't want to just send out a bunch of emails all at once. I'd much rather prefer connecting with one lawyer at a firm and having that person help me get in touch with others. So, should I send out say one email and wait for a response before trying again?
3. Similarly, would it be wise to try to connect with one lawyer from multiple target firms all at once to increase odds of networking success?

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. As a pretty unassuming 0L this thread has been especially valuable since I'm probably going to wind up in a law school far away from my target region.

[yossarian]

Questions Questions Questions

1. Is it better to hit up partners or associates, all else equal?
2. How many lawyers in one firm should I try to get in touch it through email? The more the better, I know. But, I don't want to just send out a bunch of emails all at once. I'd much rather prefer connecting with one lawyer at a firm and having that person help me get in touch with others. So, should I send out say one email and wait for a response before trying again?
3. Similarly, would it be wise to try to connect with one lawyer from multiple target firms all at once to increase odds of networking success?

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences. As a pretty unassuming 0L this thread has been especially valuable since I'm probably going to wind up in a law school far away from my target region.

Just a 0L, but my experience:

1) Associates have been easier to get in touch and easier to talk to. Partners are obviously bigger players. So, maybe I'm missing something. But, at more than one firm, the associate I contacted met with me, then put me in touch with the appropriate partner. In sum, I've been targeting associates 2 - 5 years out, but beggars can't be choosers.

2) I have, generally, with a few exceptions at the largest firms in town, only emailed one lawyer from each firm. Both solicited and unsolicited, some lawyers have put me in touch with someone else at the firm.

3) I generally email four new lawyers each week, resulting in 1 - 3 conversations per week. I don't have a ton of time available to meet/chat during the workday, though. So, I intentionally stagger and monitor my pending requests to be immediately available to all of them within a week. I wouldn't want to hear back from someone and be overbooked. I keep an ongoing spreadsheet of targets, pending requests, and past contacts.

Mods: If this abuses the forum. Let me know. Seems to me a useful thing to have a place for 0Ls to bounce things around re: networking just like we bounce things around re: apps.

[HRomanus]

I hate to seemingly necro this thread, but I have a relevant question.

A local relator and I got into a conversation in a coffee shop and it drifted to law school (I had my LSAT prep books out). She gave me the personal cell number of a local attorney from a T14 and told me to give him a call and use her name as a reference. I looked him up and he's the head litigator of the local office of an AmLaw 100 business firm. Would it be proper form to call him on that number or should I just email him?

[txdude45]

I hate to seemingly necro this thread, but I have a relevant question.

A local relator and I got into a conversation in a coffee shop and it drifted to law school (I had my LSAT prep books out). She gave me the personal cell number of a local attorney from a T14 and told me to give him a call and use her name as a reference. I looked him up and he's the head litigator of the local office of an AmLaw 100 business firm. Would it be proper form to call him on that number or should I just email him?

Email. That way you aren't putting them on the spot and they can respond at their own speed (or not at all, depending on if they're nice or not).

[The Dark Shepard]

So now that 1L is about to start, is it too late?

[yossarian]

Lawyer told me to choose a place for lunch. I know 0 about his preferences. Is this a trick? What do I choose?

[Young Marino]

I think Spanish Man hit the nail on the head in terms of just being yourself, polite and respectful when reaching out to potential connections. I have a pretty decent amount of connections in my area and most of that came from interning. Back in April, I went to an alumni event with some attorneys after work and all the attorneys seemed really impressed with the fact that I was already out networking without even starting law school yet. I had some anxiety prior to the event that maybe they would be talking about things I didn't know about and it'd be super awkward but it wasn't like that at all. They all gave me sound advice and were really nice. For the most part, successful people wil help you if you show them that you want to succeed. They've been there and probably had someone help them. I plan to do the same once I'm practicing with students because someone did it for me. It's like a pay it forward kind of thing.