As appeared on LinkedIn on March 13, 2023. What I wish I could tell each brand-new professional is this. Your future is next to you…right now.
Each year I meet with newly-minted law firm partners with whom I find myself thinking, I wish I had met you ten years earlier. I would have loved to be able to share these lessons when you were first starting your career.
1. As a lawyer, the easily overlooked connections you have today include your work colleagues, the junior people at your client and the partners in the firm’s various practice groups – even where you may not currently work.
All of these people have the potential to be part of your future. Each will grow and develop and likely leave their roles to go elsewhere. You won’t know the impact of this for decades, but someday soon, you will hear the name of a potential client and recognize it as someone you knew a long time ago.
2. Be extremely good to everyone. Good karma and a reputation for being a kind and trustworthy person go a long way in a profession focused on solving people’s challenges.
3. Not only may today’s admin person become tomorrow’s new tech client, but they will also have their own networks – both within the firm and outside – and they will often share the word about your character.
4 . Start developing professional expertise early on. It’s rare that in-house counsel will turn to a firm with generalist work, and it will become even less the case in the future. Expertise may not be in just one area but try to get one or two ideas of where you want to grow your knowledge. You can always adjust as time goes on.
5. Keep an open mind, explore by attending the firm’s #CLE programs, Practising Law Institute (PLI)sessions and Luminate+ programs if you have access, and meet with lawyers you admire. Keep an eye on the news and spot trends to understand issues.
6. Think about what you enjoy doing. A lawyer may start her career as a general corporate transaction lawyer but fall in love with a particular industry or practice area when she does a deal. Continue to ask yourself, “What are those things that I do at work that I enjoy doing the most?” Generally, those are the areas where you have the greatest talent.
7. Embrace tech and the incredible and helpful things it can do for you. Not only will tech help you and your firms do a better job at delivering legal services, but it may spur on other ideas for applications that don’t even exist today. Keeping your mind elastic with new ideas and concepts.
It’s never too early to cultivate a network and learn new skills.
I took this photo (not the best) at Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture in Pocantico Hills, New York. I was intrigued by spotting this young girl, being guided to take on the responsibility of leading a young goat, “a kid,” to a pen.
