A New Year for Networking

By: Kandice Thorn

Welcome back to our returning students, and welcome to our new students!  I hope you are all refreshed from a wonderful summer and ready to begin an exciting new semester.  From a career perspective, I hope you will channel this energy into the single most important aspect of your job search: networking.

The new students have already had a presentation on networking, but for the returning students, if you need a refresher, please check out our new GPDP Mini-Guide: Networking for LL.M. Students, which is posted on the GPDP website.  This mini-guide is full of ideas and tips for how you can immediately start building your professional network.

The beginning of the school year is also a great time to join a bar association.  The bar associations typically slow down over the summer and start to gear up with activities again in the fall.  The sooner you become active with the bar associations, the better.  You should especially be aware of the two bar associations that serve New York City lawyers in particular: the New York City Bar and the New York County Lawyers' Association.  Student membership is typically very inexpensive and you are strongly encouraged to become involved in one or both of these bar associations.  

Each bar association maintains a number of committees that focus on various practice areas.  Committee membership is a great way to get involved with a bar association and build your professional network, however you should note that if you are interested in applying to a New York City Bar committee, you should do so as soon as possible, as most committees are fully staffed by early September.  New York County Lawyers' Association committee meetings are open to all members to attend.

Remember that a professional network takes time to build.  Think of it like a garden: it requires tending and care over an extended period of time before it will start to bear fruit.  If it seems overwhelming, set small, achievable goals for yourself.  Rather than set a goal to "network" or "attend more networking events," set a goal to "join a bar association and submit an application for a committee by the end of the week."  Then next week, reassess and set a new goal.  Keep at it, and before you know it, your professional network will start to flourish.