Speaking with a group of attorneys and law students recently, I heard and found myself sharing advice that was given to me by others, including some of my law professors. I’ve since gained a few insights from experience. Here they are, with a grain of salt and gratitude for the shoulders I’ve been blessed to stand on.
The following recommendations are rooted in these truths:
- We don’t know what we don’t know. Despite all the law related TV shows we’ve watched or stories we’ve heard a parent tell over dinner, we have no idea the number and variety of ways to use legal degrees to make a positive difference in the world.
- People love to help people.
- A person on paper may appear perfect or imperfect. Having real human interactions, in person, establishes trust and confidence in unparalleled ways.
These recommendations work before attending law school, while engrossed in the ups and downs of school, and after graduating.
- Find out what other law students have learned through their work and internship experiences. When I was in school, I became interested in education law. I asked a third year law student about his experience writing education law articles with a local attorney. He described the experience and asked if I’d be interested in taking his place when he graduated.
- Look around. Read widely. And, when you learn of an attorney doing something interesting, ask that attorney to lunch/coffee/zoom. Don’t worry, they’ll pick up the tab since you’re a student. Find out what their daily work is like, how they got to their current role, and what they like and dislike about it. Try do that monthly. I asked my university’s general counsel about his work in sports law. That led to me serving on a university committee for NCAA recertification, taking the general counsel’s course in sports law, and working one summer in the university’s legal office.
- To help you discover possibilities, check out websites like GoInHouse.com (their regular email provides a nice list at a glance). You’ll see that attorneys work in entertainment, sports, government, and many other industries. Notice the prerequisite experience those in-house counsel jobs require. If one looks like a path you’d like to pursue, go for it!
- Leverage your law school’s career services office (and your undergraduate institution’s). I asked mine about working in education. I called several alumni with the contact information shared by career services. The alumni’s advice was consistent: start by working for a firm with an education practice or work for the state attorney general’s office representing education agencies.
- Look for organizations of attorneys in practice areas you’re interested in. Attend their meetings and volunteer to serve. Shortly after becoming counsel to the Tennessee State Board of Education, I joined the Education Law Association. I volunteered to summarize education law cases each month for several years. The people I met, the conferences they held, and the few hours a month spent reading and summarizing cases gave me a wonderful overview of education law.
- Remember that sometimes you’ll only find out what you like or don’t like by trying it. You never knew Brussels sprouts could taste good (grilled with bacon, that is). And you may not know that you like tax law until you try it! You might find out that the “dream job” in intellectual property law working with professional sports leagues involves a daily grind that makes you miserable!
- Be more and more specific with your requests of those you network with. The more specific you can be, the easier it will be for them to help you. Don’t ask, “You drive a nice car; how’d you get your job?” Instead, try something like, “I was surprised how much I enjoyed my recent class in property law. Who do you know who could help me understand the different kinds of jobs that exist for attorneys in commercial real estate?”
Finally, with each job you take, work smart and be the most reasonable person in the room. Opportunities will come and you’ll have plenty of information and wisdom to help you decide which ones to pursue.