Law School Networking 101

Networking in law school can be just as important as getting good grades, believe it or not! Many law students often overlook the importance of networking. Understandably, some people hate it and don’t want to talk to complete strangers. I didn’t do too much networking during my first two years of law school, mainly because of the pandemic and the awkwardness of zoom events. In my 3L year, however, I’ve taken advantage of a lot of networking opportunities and cold-emailed attorneys to schedule informational interviews, and it has landed me job opportunities and connections I would have never had otherwise! Sometimes networking can lead to you interviewing for a position that never even had an application to begin with. It can also get you a mentor or a connection who will vouch for you in the future. Even when networking doesn’t seem like it is helpful, it is still good to get and maintain connections. In the legal field, your connections and reputation matter a TON, and having a good network is crucial.

Here are some of my tips for law students looking to network!

• Law school clubs hold networking events.
  • Be sure to stay up to date on all the events held at your law school for your specific area of interest (if you have one). For example, the environmental law society I’m a member of holds events where we get the opportunity to network with environmental attorneys, as well as a law school alumni mentorship program that has been really helpful to me. There have also been environmental law specific conferences I’ve been able to attend through the club, where I meet plenty of environmental attorneys!
• Lunchtime talks and panels are a great place to meet attorneys. 
  • You should absolutely try networking and meeting attorneys that come to speak on panels and give lunchtime talks at your law school, especially if they work in an area that interests you! I suggest going up and introducing yourself after the event and asking if they might be willing to meet over coffee/on Zoom to chat more about their job (at this point, most attorneys hand me a business card, but you could also offer to jot down their email address or connect on LinkedIn to get in touch later).
• Alumni events 
  • Alumni are some of the best attorneys to network with, in my opinion. In my experience, alumni attorneys are so kind and willing to help out law students just starting out in the legal field. Definitely take advantage of any alumni networking events your law school hosts! You may even connect with someone who will become a mentor to you. If there aren’t any events coming up, you can also ask an advisor at school if there are any alumni of the law school that they think would be good for you to talk to, and if they would be willing to connect you with them.
• Join local bar associations! 
  • Typically, membership to local bar associations as a law student is free. I joined the Sacramento County Bar Association as well as the California Lawyers Association for free, and always have upcoming mixer and conference invites in my email inbox. This is a great way to network with lawyers in your area, especially because it will feel less awkward than the standard law school networking events. Additionally, the bar associations you join may have a job postings page (sometimes these are available to look at on their site even if you aren’t a member!)
• LinkedIn and cold emailing
  • I know the thought of emailing and messaging complete strangers might be daunting, but I do it all. the. time. If you see someone with a job that interests you or working at an office you’d like to know more about, message them and ask for an informational interview! (More on informational interviews, here). 
  • I, in my 3L job hunt, do a lot of research on random law firms and offices, and when I find one I’m potentially interested in working at, I find an attorney off their list of employees who is doing the type of work I would want to do and email them. The cold emails I’ve sent have resulted in a TON of responses and a lot of productive informational interviews. (I have a template in the informational interviews blog post linked above) Some attorneys have even forwarded my resume to their recruiting contact. Even if it doesn’t result in anything immediately helpful to you, having those contacts down the road is extremely valuable.
  • Don’t feel like you are bothering them. Most attorneys love to talk about themselves and would be happy to chat. I also know for a fact that for most of them, it’s a rare treat because law students hardly ever reach out to them. They want to help! 
• Questions to get started.
  • Be genuinely interested in the people you are networking with, and ask questions to get to know them. Some examples are:
    • Can you tell me more about the office you work in?
    • What do you do on a typical day at work?
    • How did you decide you want to go into law school/this particular area of law?
    • What do you enjoy most about your work?
    • Do you get to interact with clients often? (if applicable)
    • Do you have any advice for a (1L/2L/3L) interested in (area of law)?
• Absolutely send a follow-up thank you email!
  • Send a follow up thank you email after networking with someone through an event or informational interview that you arrange.
• Be sure to keep in touch.
  • Keep in touch with periodic communication with your connections! My piece of advice here is to send an email that contains a question. I’m not talking about “how are you”, but rather something more substantive. It could be a question about some aspect of their work, something they had mentioned when you had met with them, or a question to get advice on something regarding law school/the legal field. If you include a substantive question, they are more likely to respond to your email answering the question, and thus continuing the communication. Keep your contacts updated on what you are up to, such as your progress in internship applications, started a new internship, participating in something cool at school, etc. 
  • Connect on LinkedIn if you haven’t already and include a note explaining who you are, where you met them if at an event, etc.