Foreign LL.M. Absolutely Need to Network

This week we welcome guest blogger Desiree Jaeger-Fine.  

Your Educational Investment

By: Kandice Thorn

Your education is an investment.  It's a big one.  We recognize that and we truly appreciate that you have decided to invest your time, energy, and money with Fordham Law School.  But how do you get the biggest return on the investment you're making?  Attending class and reading the course materials are your educational requirements, but are they sufficient for a complete educational experience?  In my opinion, the students who get the most "bang for their buck" are the ones who also maximize their opportunities outside the classroom.

Ease of Conversation: The Cornerstone of Networking

By: Olga Statz

Refinement of conversation is an essential element of networking. The good news is that conversation is an art, and like all arts, it can be learned. First, let’s determine what networking is not. It is not descending on your cocktail party convives, lips ablaze with boastings and blusterings about yourself followed by insincere and patently manipulative emails the next day. No one likes to be “talked at” or used, therefore such behavior will get you nowhere. So how then, should you do it? How do you lay the groundwork for the friendships and professional associations that will help you progress in your life and your career? How do you network? The initial ingredient to successful networking is congenial, intelligent, and respectful conversation. Notice that I did not say “dazzling, scintillating, and brilliant” conversation. I said instead “congenial, intelligent, and respectful conversation,” which is fully within the power of the average person to achieve.  

Networking Events: Conquer Your Fears

By: Kandice Thorn

For this week, I am going to resurrect a post from about a year ago that I think will be useful for all of you who are just now starting the LL.M. program...

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(originally published on September 8, 2014)

I have been approached by several students recently who were preparing to attend their first networking events. I'm using the term "networking events" to broadly refer to conferences, panel discussions, "meet and greet" events, or anything else that will attract professionals with whom you may want to build a professional relationship.

Maintain Relationships with Professors, Colleagues, and Supervisors After Graduation

By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees

This week we are pleased to present the third of three posts by guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees.  Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C.  She wrote this series of three articles to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students.  This week, she addresses the importance of building and maintaining relationships throughout your LL.M. year.  We are grateful for her contribution!

After graduating, what stays with you from your LL.M. year is not just the knowledge you have gained, but also the relationships you have built with your professors, peers, colleagues and bosses, which is far more precious.

Externship/Internship Performance: Be Curious and "Loud"

By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees

This week we are pleased to present the second of three posts by guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees.  Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C.  She wrote this series of three articles to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students.  This week, she addresses how to succeed in an internship/externship.  We are grateful for her contribution!

A primary goal in any internship is to complete your part of the job, diligently and actively. That doesn’t necessarily mean that you do it all by yourself, sit quietly in front of your computer throughout all your hours. You can be a hard worker as well as a great team player who is able to optimize workload, think outside the box and ASK QUESTIONS (don’t be afraid!). A smart intern will not only complete what s/he is supposed to do, but will also be CURIOUS about the other parts of the work.

                                                                                                                                          

Here is my real experience when I worked at Coach, Inc. during the first semester of my LL.M. year. Each intern was assigned a certain amount of work doing online intellectual property monitoring and enforcement. It was actually a pretty sweet position because we worked closely with the senior counsels and the General Counsel. 

Speak Up During the Year of Your LL.M.

By: Sindy Ding-Voorhees

This week we have a guest blogger, Sindy Ding-Voorhees.  Sindy graduated from Fordham's LL.M. program in Intellectual Property and Information Technology in 2013 and has since been working as an Intellectual Property attorney in New York and Washington D.C.  She wrote this blog post to share her experiences and advice with our incoming LL.M. students.  We are grateful for her contribution!

An LL.M. program for most non-U.S. candidates is something with multiple purposes. First and foremost, it is an intensive one-year long program of study covering various American substantive legal subjects. It also provides an almost exclusively English-speaking environment, which is a first for many people. Most importantly, an open, mingle-cultured (both legally and socially) society is right there, waiting to embrace you, whether or not you are prepared for it. 

I am a foreign-trained lawyer who recently graduated from the LL.M. program at Fordham Law, which is located in midtown Manhattan near Columbus Circle—not a very quiet place! In this article, I will share my experience and give you some tips on what you, as an international student, need to do to make your year the most rewarding.

Using Martindale.com For Networking

By: Kandice Thorn

In preparing for a small group meeting last week, I was reminded of a fantastic resource that everyone should be aware of for networking purposes.  Martindale.com is a website with a powerful search function that allows you to conduct very specific searches for lawyers or law firms.

For foreign lawyers, Martindale.com can help you connect with lawyers from your home country who have managed to settle into positions in the U.S.  Using the Advanced Search, simply enter the name of a law school from your home country in the "Law School" field (especially look for your own foreign law school!).  Try a few different spellings or formulations if nothing comes up at first.

Start making a list of people who you are interested in meeting and try setting up some informational interviews!

Preparing for an Interview? Practice Your Elevator Pitch!

By: Kandice Thorn

At the end of this month, dozens of Fordham LL.M. students will participate in the International Student Interview Program (ISIP), an annual job fair that brings together LL.M. students and employers from around the world.  For students who will be participating in interviews, a little bit of advance preparation will be crucial.  In this article, I will focus on what I consider to be the hardest interview question: "Tell me about yourself."

This question is the cue to launch into your "elevator pitch."

Making a Positive First Impression

By: Kandice Thorn

A few weeks ago, I wrote that your resume must make a positive impression on a viewer in about six seconds.  Similarly, when you meet someone in person you have a very short time in which to make a positive first impression.

A first impression is developed very quickly and takes an excruciatingly long time to change once it is formed.  Unfortunately, when you are networking or looking for a job, you don't have the luxury of taking the time to correct a negative impression - your first impression has to count.  The good news is that a positive first impression can stick just as well as a negative one.

Here are a few tips for making a positive first impression:

What Are You Waiting For? Join a Bar Association!

By: Kandice Thorn

I've said it before, and I'll say it again (emphatically): law students should join bar associations.  If you haven't joined a bar association yet, I urge you to consider joining one.  Student membership is typically steeply discounted and bar associations are an incredibly rich source of opportunities for networking, volunteering opportunities, and just learning more about a particular area of practice.

Your First Networking Event

By: Kandice Thorn

I have been approached by several students recently who were preparing to attend their first networking events. I'm using the term "networking events" to broadly refer to conferences, panel discussions, "meet and greet" events, or anything else that will attract professionals with whom you may want to build a professional relationship.

CLEs as a Networking Venue

By: Kandice Thorn

I frequently mention that one of the best ways to network is to go where the lawyers go.  Since all practicing lawyers are required to complete a certain number of CLE credits every two years, lawyers can always be found congregating at Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses.

You do not need to feel like you have to "work the room" in order to make CLE attendance worth your while.  If you get only 2-3 contacts to follow up on (including, even, the names of presenters), you will be in a good position.  You can then follow up with requests for informational interviews or other questions relating to the presentation.

While many CLE courses are expensive, you should not hesitate to reach out to the organizers to ask if they award scholarships or fee waivers for students.  Many organizations will happily do this.  Check bar association websites for their CLE offerings, as well as private companies such as PLI (Practising Law Institute).

Don't forget to dress professionally when you attend a CLE.  Also be sure to show up on time and look engaged with the presentation in order to put your best foot forward.

Bookmark This (LLM-UNITED)

By: Kandice Thorn

My Monday schedule has just been completely thrown off. Why? Because I just spent the past hour immersed in the wonderful articles on the LLM-UNITED website. I hadn't been on there for a while, so I wasn't aware of the latest updates, and I must say, if you are not checking this website regularly, you should be. LLM-UNITED is a network of LL.M. students and alumni, and features straightforward advice from someone who has walked in your shoes.

To get you started, here are links to three of my favorite articles on the website:

Your To Do List for Finding a Job in the U.S. With Your LL.M. Degree

Networking Advice: The Power of Names

Networking: How to Write a Forceful Email

The Best Way to Jump Start Your Networking

By: Kandice Thorn

If you are looking for a good way to jump start your networking, in my opinion there is no better place to start than with membership in a local bar association. Most bar associations offer student memberships at a steeply discounted rate. Some of the benefits of bar association membership include:

• Opportunities to work alongside prominent practitioners in a variety of areas through committee membership
• Career-related programming
• Programs and conferences in substantive areas
• Social events
• Pro bono opportunities

Bar memberships simply give you a lot of bang for your networking buck, giving you access to tons of practitioners with whom you can interact in a variety of settings. Joining is easy and can be done online. There are many bar associations out there, but we recommend two that are local and are particularly active: the New York City Bar Association and the New York County Lawyers' Association. Make it a goal to join one of these organizations by the end of the month and you'll be surprised by the number of opportunities that come your way.

Fun with Networking: Meetup.com

By: Kandice Thorn

If you are looking for a fun way to explore the city and meet new people (yes, network), I encourage you to check out Meetup.com.  If you have an interest in something (anything!), Meetup.com is the place to find others who share your interest.

• Do you live near Columbus Circle and love soccer?  There's a Meetup for that.
• Is knitting your thing?  Join the "Knitting Around New York" Meetup group.
• Have a passion for the wines of Israel?  Believe it or not, there's a Meetup group for that.  

You don't have to call this networking.  Call it taking a break, having fun, exploring the city.  And if some professional contacts come out of it, all the better!

When It Comes to Networking, Use What You Have

Networking isn't solely an exercise in chatting people up at cocktail receptions or academic conferences. Networking can come in many forms; you may have already established networking channels without having realized it. The environment you create for yourself – be they in the classroom, study groups, the workplace, or other extracurricular settings – can provide the potential space to compare notes and explore opportunities. Although it is always important to remain vigilant for new networking prospects, taking a “use what you have” mentality towards networking can help you establish a base, and lead you to realize that networking doesn't have to be an extremely daunting project. Many networks endemic to the basic elements of your educational experience – especially in the classroom – may go unnoticed and unexplored.

Finals Versus Networking

By: Kandice Thorn

Anyone who has ever met with me for career advising (and anyone who reads this blog) knows that my #1 piece of career advice is to build your professional network.  Network in your professional life!  Network in your personal life!  Network in your sleep!  Never stop networking!

Apparently, I have been successful in getting this message across, because several students have come to me recently to ask a very reasonable question: How can I network and study for finals at the same time?

Informational Interviews, Part IV: How to Botch an Informational Interview (Don't Let This Happen to You)

By: Kandice Thorn

Rounding out our four-part post on informational interviewing, I thought it would be appropriate to address some of the common mistakes that people make in informational interviewing, so that you can avoid making them yourself.

Below, I give you the top seven ways to botch an informational interview.

Informational Interviews, Part III: How to Conduct an Informational Interview

By: Kandice Thorn

The past few weeks, we have been discussing informational interviewing.  As mentioned in these posts (see Part I and Part II), informational interviews are an incredibly useful and efficient networking tool.  In the previous weeks, we discussed myths associated with informational interviewing and how to set up an informational interview.  This week, we will discuss how to conduct the actual interview.