A Law Student’s Guide to Networking

If there’s one word that I constantly heard during my 1L year that made my stomach flip, it was “networking.” I hateddd the idea of putting myself on display in a “professional” manner just to try to gain something from someone else. Whether it be a job opportunity, a future reference, you name it – the whole process just seemed very fictitious and even a little phony. But, like most things, when you have no other option but to network, you find ways to make it better and a lot more authentic. So if you’re anything like me, here are my secrets to easing the pain that can be networking.

It’s a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Networking is not something you can just get out of the way. You have to work at it, and then keep working at it. So, the sooner you can start, the better off! And while it sounds scary, trust me I know, it doesn’t have to be. You don’t have to put in 100% effort 100% of the time. Choose a couple events every so often, ones that really speak to you, and show up as your best.

But what is networking during law school? The answer is a lot of things. My law school sold it pretty well to me when they said that it’s just building relationships with absolutely no ulterior motive. Unfortunately, I don’t think this is completely honest, but it can be close! Humans, I think, are a little selfish by nature. When you choose to have any sort of relationship with someone, there is obviously going to be the component of it benefitting you in some way. Which makes sense – why would you have a relationship with a person who only puts you at a disadvantage? But the benefit you get by networking with someone doesn’t have to be something tangible or the hope of a future opportunity, it can genuinely just be that you like a person and what they stand for and want to continue socializing with them. Networking is often thrown around as a term used in conjunction with job-hunting or climbing the corporate ladder, but the sooner you view it as just creating valuable relationships, the better off you will be.

Like I said, you don’t have to be “on” all of the time. Your social battery is a thing, and law school is going to do its very best to drain it, and quickly. Which is why you need to get good at time management. I’ve already written a couple posts that get more in depth on time management – you can refer to one of them here – but the gist of it all is just being efficient. When you go to class, don’t just go to class, talk to people! Get to know your classmates. Ask them their weekend plans. This is networking – that’s all there is to it.

My law school also has a really awesome newsletter that they send out every week that’s full of upcoming events, including great networking opportunities. I look to this when I want to really challenge myself. I’ll pick an event that aligns with my interests, so let’s say a public policy event, put on my best professional attire, and go talk to strangers, a lot of which are practicing attorneys who are already in the field I desire to be in. These events are much more few and far between for me. Let’s face it, it almost feels like you’re trying to self yourself when you’re in a room full of people who are where you want to be someday. But if you can get a friend or two to come with you and just focus on having normal, positive conversations with people, you will be fine. You don’t have to even talk law! The best piece of advice I have for this is that everyone does it and everyone survives, so you can too. Try to have an anecdote or question on deck that has the potential to lead to a good conversation, and allow yourself to tap out when you can feel that social battery start to drain.

Quality of Connections > Quantity of Connections

As is common with pretty much everything, the quality of your network will always be more important than how big it is. Don’t let everyone’s LinkedIn accounts with 500+ connections scare you; I promise they probably have never actually spoken to at least half of those connections. Think of your network like you do your circle of friends. For me, I had a much larger group of friends when I was in middle school and high school. Then I got to college and found myself more limited in time, so I started to allocate more of that time to those friendships that I really valued. Now in law school, with even less time, I am extremely picky with who fills in the few time slots of free time I do have. This isn’t to say that the friends I don’t spend time with anymore don’t matter – they do and they will always be special to me – it’s just the way life is.

This is why I say to pick events that you know will draw a crowd of people who have similar interests, values, or beliefs as you! This is especially true for student clubs as well. I am a very active member of the Minnesota Justice Foundation and through it I have met so many individuals who care about social justice just as much as me. If you know with full certainty you don’t want to go into Family Law, maybe skip the Family Law attorney event and try to find one in an area that speaks to you, even if it’s only a whisper. Your time is precious but even with a limited amount, your goals are reachable – try to take out the extra steps that don’t need to be there.

View Yourself as a Resource, Too!

Yes, you! You have value. As a law student, you are part of the next generation of those who will be analyzing and applying the law and hopefully making people’s lives better by doing so. Confidence in yourself and your education can get you a lot farther than an A in your first year Contracts course. Sure, that A might get you in the door at that Big Law firm, but your ability to speak on who you are and what matters to you is the most important thing.

Whenever you show up, show up knowing that you have something to offer. Sometimes, on days when I’m really tired, the only thing I can offer is saying hi to a classmate before I sit down in my lecture hall and try not to fall asleep. That still counts! Other days, I might be at an event full of future law students who have lots of questions for me and want to know how I make it work with money, time, etc. And although that might count for a little more, I try to celebrate the small wins too.

At the end of the day, a person is just a person. They might be in a position that you want to be in someday, but they are no more important than you. This works both ways. You might be at the top of your class, but you are no more important than any one of your classmates. Your biggest resource is your ability to be compassionate and your commitment to creating authentic relationships rather than ones built on a foundation of “I want.”