How to Network in a Law Firm

Most law students think networking means being charming, confident, and effortlessly good at small talk.

It doesn’t.

It means not knowing what to say.
It means standing in a room full of lawyers and wondering how to enter a conversation.
It means overthinking every word and then replaying it later like a bad exam answer.

And here is the problem.

The students who figure this out early build relationships … and get hired back.
The ones who avoid it stay invisible.

Susan Van Dyke breaks down what networking in a law firm actually looks like, why most students are getting it wrong and how to engage more comfortably.

This is not about being outgoing or “good with people.”
It’s about understanding how trust is built in a professional environment and how small, consistent interactions shape how lawyers see you.

Susan covers:
- how to start conversations without sounding awkward
- what to say at firm events, coffee chats, and hallway run-ins
- why listening is more powerful than talking
- how to follow up in a way that actually builds relationships
- why being quiet and invisible is not a strategy
- how to show up at firm socials without hurting your reputation

If networking makes you uncomfortable, this episode will help you stop avoiding it and start approaching it in a way that feels natural, thoughtful, and effective.

Because in a law firm, relationships are not optional.

They are how your career actually moves forward.

Lawyer Launcher links
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LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/susanpvandyke

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

If the idea of small talk and networking in your law firm client events or other external events makes you feel a bit uncomfortable, you are not alone. I have all kinds of clients, sophisticated clients that also need networking refreshers. I do it all the time. I'm going to do it for you. Let's get you more comfortable so you can participate as fully as possible and make a great impression regardless of the event. Let's do it. Let's start by taking a little pressure off of the word networking and let's reframe it a little bit in that we're trying to build relationships and we're trying to build sincere relationships by way of getting to know people, asking questions, retaining information that's important about them. It's not a quiz, you're not there to try to impress someone, you're not there to concern yourself with always saying the right things. It's a conversation. I want you to think about, you know, when you're in law school perhaps and you're meeting a professor for the first time, or you're meeting somebody, you know, somebody who you want to make a good impression with, but you're not networking with. It's somebody that you're meeting in the hallway. Maybe you introduce yourself, you explain what you're doing, you get to know them. I want you to think about some of your more positive interactions you've had at law school. And let's bring those forward and just put them in a law from context in a way that ensures that you're feeling a little bit more comfortable. And let's provide you with some tools that you can use to ensure that you're putting your best foot forward. Welcome to the Lawyer Launcher Podcast. Hello, friends, I'm your host, Susan Van Dyke. If you're a law student or a new lawyer eager to launch a successful career, you're in the right place. Drawing on more than 25 years of experience, I'll demystify the business of law and help you understand just what it takes to succeed. We'll empower you, help build confidence, and reduce anxiety. Our experts will share tips and advice, and I can't wait for you to hear from them. Now, let's dive in. So, first I want to talk a little bit about, of course, what you're worried about. You don't want to be awkward, you don't want to worry about what to say, you don't want to bother people, and you don't want to seem insincere, and you maybe don't know who you should be talking to. Let me tell you a little story. And I'm going to tell you a story about an actual client. You won't be able to identify this person because it um I won't give you any cues as to how uh how you could identify this person. But I I worked with uh a lawyer who had been practicing for at least 20 years, and this lawyer was extremely introverted and really struggled and had trouble with picking up people from the elevator and walking to the boardroom and then back again after the meeting, back to the elevator. Those two periods of time were sincerely painful and difficult for this lawyer. So we talked about the kinds of things that he could do to fill that space sincerely, learn a little bit about a client until he got himself into the boardroom, opened up files, and started to engage in the meeting, which was super comfortable. He's a very, you know, very gifted lawyer, very exceptional professional advisor. And he just needed to feel comfortable in those two different periods of time. So I worked with him on how he could pick up the client from reception and bring them to the boardroom, what kinds of questions he could ask them. Um, because it's really about asking questions, getting people to talk about themselves, and just listening to the answers. And those, what was really actually a minute or two of time that he needed to get them into the boardroom and then again back to the elevator after the meeting, it was really only he had to hold on to two or three questions that were maybe seasonal, that um were neutral questions, that showed an interest in the client, that weren't offside in any way, and just listen to the answer and just you know have appropriate responses. So over time it became really easy and it took off so much stress so that he began to enjoy meeting clients and picking them up from you know reception, whereas before it was a really stressful event for him. So I have a lot of empathy for those that struggle in this way because it's real for them and it's it potentially does interfere with practicing um at your best level and interacting with clients. And we all know you're gonna have to interact with clients. Initially, your clients are gonna be your internal clients, your lawyers of your firm and and other staff and perhaps paralegals and so forth in your firm, but probably it's gonna be the lawyers in your firm. So it's important that you get to a point where you're comfortable. But if you avoid interacting with people internally, um, it's going to become problematic because people want to get to know you. You want to develop trust and you want to develop these relationships so people know who you are and they start to depend on you. And there's an ease. You know, you're in the room and there's an ease, there's a fluidness. You know what that's like when there's people that you work with, it's easy. Maybe you've had this experience in group works at law school where some people you were really delighted with and you were aligned with them and it was easy, and some might be a little bit more difficult. It's the same thing for the lawyers in your firm. They're looking for that easy person they can work with because their practice is hard enough and they want to choose to work with people that are gonna be helpful, they're gonna keep their promises, and they're gonna be easy to work with, and people that they, you know, for the most part, enjoy being in the same space with. So um, so we're gonna get there. And how do you get there? How do you actually build relationships? How do they actually form in a law firm where it's extremely busy? People don't generally give you a lot of time to develop relationships. People are focused on client matters, they're focused on billable time, they are focused on mentorship. So they're allocating their time really thoughtfully most of the time. Sometimes you'll get somebody who was expected to be in court for the afternoon and something adjourned early, and so now they have a little extra bonus time and they're feeling a little more relaxed. By the way, that's a great way to grab somebody and spend some extra time with them if it looks like they have a little bit of time. But really, the relationships in a firm can be built on what I'll call micro moments. And those micro moments are little one to two, three, five minute opportunities to say good morning, how are you? What are you working on? Let's remember you're inside a firm and there is confidentiality within a firm. So if you ask somebody, are you working on anything interesting right now? That's a really great question. And, you know, where a lawyer can share with you and they have time to share with you, they're gonna share with you some of the interesting work that they're working on. Another great question is how did you get that client? It might be it was a referral source, or I met them on a baseball field and my kids' team, or it might be any number, you know, a business event or a business association they're involved with. So inquire about what they're working on, where did they get that work? Because that leads to, you know, how do you attract, how will you attract work later on in your career? How do you originate work later on in your career? So these are things that are all interesting for lawyers to work with, and they're good things for you to learn and to build knowledge about. So, in those micro moments, ask questions. What are you working on? How did you get that client? Do you need any help? Um, do you normally work with students? Who do you normally work with? How do you like to work? Who's your assistant? Who's in your team? Do you have a practice group meeting? Ask questions in those micro moments because that will definitely start to build a relationship and they'll give them a chance to see how eager you are and how interested you are. Watch the visual cues, make sure that they're backing away, looking at their watch, feeling agitated and they need to get back to work, let them go and uh you can connect with them again. So take opportunities in these micro moments as you're as you're able to. Be easy to talk to, really listen well. The the best tip about networking is do more listening than talking. And what I mean by that is ask questions and lean into the answers. Listen to the answers. Your response might be, oh, that sounds interesting. Can you tell me more about that if there's time? Um, oh, I didn't know that. I didn't know you had that scale or that background. How did you start? You know, how did you start in that area? Um, did you always practice in this area? So ask questions that lead to deeper understanding of somebody's practice and their areas of interest. And if it's a micro moment and you step away, make a note of it. That's not weird. Just make a note of it. If you want to work with that lawyer, you've heard good things, or you have a good connection with them, um, or maybe you've had a little bit of work from them so far and you want to get more work. Note the things that you learn about them because later on in your career, someone like me, somebody else might suggest to you start taking notes of your clients or your prospective clients that you want to work with. And that's how we start to very early days start to build relationships with people that we want to engage with. Sorry, I'm gonna interrupt really quickly. Don't forget to subscribe. Don't forget to hit the subscribe button. And while you're at it, why don't you shoot this episode to somebody who could use it? Just send it off. Send it off to two or three people, let them know that you're thinking of them and you've thought of them as you were listening to this episode because something in here is relevant for them and you're gonna do them a huge favor by sharing this episode with them. So while you're thinking of it right now, while I'm interrupting this episode, shoot them that um that uh share button and get it into somebody else's hands so they get the help that they need as well. Thank you. Most importantly, follow up. Relationship building is all about building trust, and trust is in keeping your promises, even if you didn't say, I promise I do this and that and the other thing. If you say to them, oh, I'll look into that and I'll get back to you tomorrow, make a note of it in your calendar, make a note of it in your phone, set a timer on your watch, do whatever you need to do, but follow up. And if you get blindsided with something that is an earthquake on fire, something you have to stop and attend to, circle back to that lawyer and say, I know I promised I would get you know that item to you tomorrow. I have been um intercepted by this matter from another partner, and I think that's the priority. So is it okay if I get back to you the following day or next week or whatever? Make sure your communication is really clear. Follow through on your promises. That's gonna really set you up very, really, very well. So those quick conversations in the hallway are great. A short chat before a meeting. Um, I always try to attend meetings early. When I was an employee inside a firm and I've been an employee inside a firm many times, I would always, I would always be on time. I would always try to be prepared for that meeting. But what I found is if I arrived early, I could have a chat with the lawyers that showed up on time or a bit early. And it's in those spaces that you can have a nice connection with people to find out what they're working on, what's interesting to them. Um, do they have work opportunities for you, et cetera? So those are nice little micro moments as well. Certainly at lunch, if you're going to the lunchroom, those are great moments. If somebody is, you know, deep into reading the newspaper or into looking at a file, they may not want to be interrupted. But if they're looking up and they greet you, definitely go over and introduce yourself if you don't know them and uh and have a chat with them. So these relationships then are built over time. And they're built over time in these micro moments, in these moments of you showing up and following through on the things that you're gonna follow through with and uh remembering previous conversations and bringing those forward and start to form a bit of an interaction with that person that shows your interest and your eagerness in uh in them. That's gonna go a long way. Some of the opportunities outside of a micro moment could be more schedule events, they could be in-office social events. So there's a couple of areas that I'd like to talk about now, and that is coffee meetings and lunch meetings. So sometimes you can get a lawyer away for a 50-minute coffee. It might be in their office, it might be in the firm kitchen, it might be stepping out to a coffee shop, and it might also be going for lunch. And as you are approaching these meetings, I would definitely read that lawyer's bio, I would ask aroundabout that lawyer, and I might actually make some questions, note some questions about what you want to talk about. I have gone into many meetings with more questions than we would ever have time to address, but I always go in prepared. It shows that I've taken an interest in them, I've done a little bit of research, and I've been thoughtful about my interest in them so that they're not carrying the whole meeting. And I'm going in, I'm taking responsibility for the areas of interest to me. But being open enough to hearing their story, another great, great question for a student is how did you end up in your area of law? I do that with my clients, my law firm clients, all the time. How did you, why did you found how why did you start this law firm? Why, you know, why did you end up in this area of law? Um, why did you switch practice areas? Can you share your story with me? And um, stories are really interesting and it really gives you a depth of understanding of individuals that you're meeting with. So as you're preparing and thinking about a 50-minute coffee or a full lunch, do a little bit of research if you have time. Note some questions. If not, pull out some of the questions that I'm sharing with you on this podcast because some of them are probably generic enough that you can ask them off the top of your head. The other type of social event that happens in a law firm can be, some firms have like a Friday night social. It could be beer and pizza, and it's very casual. Somebody orders in, it's standing around the lunchroom, it could be going out to a neighborhood pub, it could be all kinds of different types of things. I know some associates will have budgets for going out and having a happy hour together. As much as you can interact and accept those invitations because they are really substantial opportunities for you to learn about others and establish your reputation amongst the firm. Other fun opportunities are some firms have baseball teams, softball teams, they'll have summer parties, summer gatherings. If you are invited to any of those, and of course it's client events too. Sometimes you'll be invited to a client event. Maybe there's, maybe you're a seat filler. Let me talk about that for a sec. Firms will buy tables at events. They might buy a table of 10 and they expect to have five lawyers, and each of those five lawyers invite a client to attend what might be a gala or some other type of award event or some kind of special event, might be a seminar or a lecture or what have you. Sometimes they don't fill all those seats. Often they don't fill all those seats, and they look around and they look to see who can fill those seats. And often a student will be invited. Do you want to come to this event? It is today at lunch or it is tomorrow. It's usually last minute. Would you like to join us? If you can, if you don't have something urgent on your plate, do go. Do accept the invitation because it's a wonderful opportunity for you to observe others in your firm and observe clients, meet clients. It's also an opportunity for you as you're walking to that event or traveling to that event to talk to the lawyer that's going and learn about them and to demonstrate your interest in that event. And when you get there, take some initiative. Go around the table. If you don't know everyone, literally go around the table. I mean, get up from your seat, go around and introduce yourself, shake their hand. Hi, I'm Susan Van Dyke. I'm from firm XYZ, and I'm a law student. I've just joined the firm a couple weeks ago and really enjoying my experience. And um, you know, um, have you been to this event before? Is this your first time? Just ask a generic question and then go around and meet everybody. And if you're in an opportunity in a position to introduce others, if somebody late joins the table, you can be that person that says, Oh, hi, I'm Susan. Oh, and then you can say, Well, have you met everyone else at the table and make introductions yourself? That's a pro move. That requires a lot of confidence to do. I would be surprised if a lot of people would be comfortable doing that. But this is where it would be great for you to go eventually as somebody who is a little bit more experienced in these things and a little bit more comfortable. But do attend those external events, whether it's a baseball game, a client event, um, any kind of summer event, any kind of in-office gathering. Do try to schedule yourself into those if you have forewarning notice and if it's a sudden invitation, just go and know that you're going to be okay. And just go with a handful of questions and take a sincere interest with whomever you are speaking to and keep moving around the room as much as you can. And in those social events, really try to enjoy yourself and uh and learn about your colleagues because it should be a lot of fun. As I'm talking about events, I want to dispel the idea or a myth if you are holding on to this, that law firm events are not important. Law firms are an ecosystem that include, you know, a lot of social interaction and a lot of opportunity to connect and build relationships. If it's not clearer already, building relationships is one of the most important things that you can do in a law firm. Showing up with good work, meeting deadlines, absolutely. Table stakes, so very important. But the next thing is building relationships so that people know that they can trust you, they get to know you, and they know that you're reliable. And social events are a good way to let people get to know a little bit about you. And I know in the experiences that I've had that, you know, everyone's so interesting. Everyone has a story, everyone has a special, you know, sport, or maybe they played a musical instrument, or, you know, they have a family, or they're from an interesting part of the world. Everyone has a bit of a story. Share your story to the degree you're comfortable with. Um, and know that people are gonna share your story amongst themselves. So you might have partners saying, hey, did you know that they also played volleyball in university? Did you, and you went to the same school, maybe you you might know the same people. So your story is gonna be shared internally in a really positive way, in a manner or in an effort in which people are trying to understand you, connect with you, and um find opportunity to align with you and have further conversations with you. So people's interest and efforts to chat with you are really eager, sincere efforts to get to know you and to visualize you as a future member of the firm, a future, um, certainly a future lawyer, if not a future partner. So that's what they're looking for. So take an interest in them, share as much as you feel comfortable with about yourself. And um, even if you have private things that you want to share, feel free to share them and just let them know it's a little bit private and you'd appreciate them keeping it to themselves. But don't feel obliged, share what feels right to you. So make sure that you are visible, make sure that you're building those relationships, and make sure that you are signaling um behaviors that it's gonna be comfortable working with you and that you're a reliable person. And that firm events are not separate from your work life, that firm events they really do blur the lines. They go hand in hand, and it's there that people decide whether they want to work with you or not in many cases. So um, I mean, I've had occasions where somebody has been under a lot of stress and they've gone offside because of the stress, not because of anything that I've done or said, but they've just been having a bad day, and I was the wrong person standing in the wrong place, and I was a recipient of some stress. Then later, when there was a social event, I would have an opportunity to go and reconnect with that person, and I'm going to initiate that. I'm going to go and go, hey, I think you might have had a really hard week. What's going on? How are you? And sometimes maybe you'll get an apology, but certainly you'll probably get an opportunity to reconnect with that person and kind of patch that up a little bit so that it's more comfortable working with them in the future. So that those are some of the things that I've done that have worked really, really well. Yes, it takes some confidence. Yes, it takes a bit of nerve, but this is kind of where I would love for you to head so that you're building a great reputation. You're taking initiative, you're taking responsibility for your place in the firm and so people get to know you. These are things that are really going to be celebrated. As long as the work is intact and everything else is, you know, following through as expected, your deadlines and your work product, et cetera. But building relationships is the next, you know, fundamental thing that you can do for yourself in uh in building your career. While we're talking about firm events, I want to make sure I mention a couple of um important things about firm events. That you, if it's an external event and you're out of the office, or maybe you're in the office, you do not need to be the last person standing. You do not need to stay all night. You do not to talk, do not need to talk to every single person in the room or at the table. And you don't need to be sort of on the whole time. You can step away and you can talk to a fellow law student for a few minutes and just kind of decompress for a minute and regroup. You can sit at a table and just sit silently as you're listening to others. You don't need to be on the whole time. So make sure that you're taking care of yourself. You might step away and use the washroom, you might step away and get a glass of water. Um, make sure you're taking care of yourself. And this is about um layering in your participation and your comfort level as Opportunities arise. So start small, start as small as you need to, but keep pushing forward and know that eventually you need to get to a place where you are really engaged in networking. But you can start small. And I would say limit your investment where you it where you really need to. If you've worked a long hard day, but you really want to attend the Friday night drinks and pizza, attend for an hour. Get your dinner, have a drink, and then head home because you're tired. Or maybe you need to go back to work for another hour and then go home. So make an appearance, but you can step away. So do make sure that you're taking care of yourself and don't feel overly pressured. And if you have a really firm deadline and you're worried and you've promised that you're going to, you know, provide some materials by a certain time, skip the social event. The follow-through on the work and the deadlines matters more right now than the social event. But explain. I would love to go. Normally I would come, but I've got this deadline. I really want to follow through and get this work done for this lawyer, this partner. So express that and try to go the next time. But do make sure that you're taking care of yourself. That's really important. I'll also say that when you are showing up to any social event in a firm, and I actually do training on this with law firms, that, and I'll say this: one of the things I tell them is it looks like a party, but it's actually a work event. So change your mindset in terms of social events or parties so you get to over-drink and overeat and make a mess of yourself. No. The work event, in my view, a work event, a work social event is still a work event. So you want to conduct yourself professionally and accordingly. What does that mean? Limit your drinking. So I would say limit your drinking to one at the most two drinks in a, you know, in an evening or in an event. Um, just nurse that drink. Um, fill your glass with water or other non-alcoholic um beverages so that you're always holding something, which sometimes is a little bit more comfortable. Don't overeat. Make sure that you're getting full and having your dinner or having an appetizer or whatever's offered. Don't overeat. Make sure that you're representing yourself really well. And um, and just make sure that you're aware that it's still a work event, especially if there are clients in attendance. So keep yourself intact, keep yourself measured, make sure that you are always in control of yourself and that you are showing up as a best version of yourself at every single firm event you attend. Because I can tell you over the years, there's been all kinds of examples of when things have gone sideways for students and lawyers alike, and where it has followed, you know, Christmas parties, et cetera, and there have been terminations, there have been reputations damaged at these things. So don't, you know, you've invested so heavily in yourself, the firm's investing in you. Just make sure that you're keeping yourself intact at every single event that you are attending and that you're invited to. What I see some students and certainly some juniors get wrong in social events are they huddle and clump between themselves because there's comfort and they don't want to kind of work the room and move around and meet clients and meet other external people or people that they don't know. So they end up clinging to the walls, clinging to areas where there's safety amongst, you know, there can be a bulk of students or a bulk of junior lawyers all sort of gathered together. I think that's perfectly fine when you start or when you need a break, but 90% of your time really needs to be working around the room, meeting new people, um, engaging in new conversations. We all, we're all adults, we all understand the rules of networking, we all understand the rules of social um engagement in a in a professional setting. So if you approach a circle of people and it's a tight circle of people, and you're approaching, which is hard to do, I know that's hard to do, but you're gonna find that that circle probably is gonna open up as you approach them and say, hi, I'm I'm a new student, I'm Susan, I'm a new student at the firm here. Would it be okay if I introduced myself and you went around and you shook everybody's hand and you asked their name and what their practice area is? And if they continue having a conversation that has nothing to do with you, you stay for a few minutes and you go, I'm gonna go and excuse myself and get another drink, and you step away and you find a new group. So try different things, try your hand at getting involved in different conversations, and you'll find some people are better at it than others, and that's perfectly fine. You are just trying your skills. You'll have a suite of questions that you're ready to talk and ask, you know, to use in these settings. Don't overthink it. That's what I'll say. It's about action, not overthinking. Trust that people around you are gonna carry the ball at times. Trust that others are really good networkers and they're gonna ask you questions and you're gonna be perfectly fine. But when you start to overthink it, you're gonna build up anxiety and you're going to probably second guess yourself. And imposter syndrome might start to rear its ugly head. And I can tell you there are other people in the room that are also probably struggling to connect and socialize. We have a lot of introverts amongst us in this profession. And um if you can just have a few good questions in your back pocket and uh and move around the room, you're gonna do just fine. And make sure that you're not just connecting with lawyers, if there's staff in the room or other kinds of teammates in the room, make sure you go around and meet them as well. Um, because you're gonna have really good conversations with every different department in the law firm, and you're going to learn more and more about how the firm operates, which is gonna serve you so very well. So don't avoid conversations, don't focus on the senior lawyers, don't avoid entering into a conversation grouping, and it's going to take some nerve, it's gonna be a little bit uncomfortable when you start, and we just have to accept that. Even for those of us who are extroverts, and that's certainly me, when I enter into a room of a lot of people, and I don't know anyone, that can be a little bit uncomfortable, but it's about action. So you just stand up tall, you have your questions in your back pocket, and away you go. And you just start. And once you start, it's usually it gets it gets easier and it gets better. And chances are you're gonna meet some really interesting people who are also interested in you. So make sure you share a little about yourself as well. So avoid being the invisible student. Avoid being what you think is just being overly polite and somebody who is quiet and in the corner. I want you to get out from behind your desk. I want you to engage with firm members. I want you to accept invitations that the firm may be presenting to you. I want you to attend things, I want you to um remember people that you meet. I'd love for you to use their names when you meet with them. And conversely, I want you to avoid over talking. I want you to do more listening than talking. I want you to really repeat things that are important to them so that you will recall them more clearly. I want you to um make sure that you're not exhausting people in your conversation in the hallways. Use those cues of, and you know, are they busy? Are you overstaying your welcome? If you're unsure, ask them, am I keeping you too long? Do you need to go? Are you, I feel like I've kept you for five minutes. Are we okay? Do you have a few more minutes? I ask my clients that all the time when I'm meeting with them and we go over time. I will always ask them, are you okay for time? Do you have 10 more minutes? Do we need to cut this off right now? Because I promised you we would only take an hour. So ask people if they have more time because sometimes they'll be fully invested and they're having a great conversation with you or they're talking about work and it's productive, they will know what's best. And if you have time, certainly linger and uh and have a really great conversation with whoever you're meeting with. Okay, so what have we covered so far? We've talked about, you know, um showing up. We've talked about, you know, it's important that you stay consistent in showing up. I'll also add, by the way, that if you have the opportunity to meet with somebody in person instead of sending an email, I don't know any lawyers who need more emails. If you show up and darken their doorway, if you are lucky enough to be working in person in an office, go and darken the doorway, see if they have time to meet and ask your question in person. It's another great way of building relationships and building networks. Um, show up consistently, have short normal conversations as frequently as possible. Ask really simple questions. We've talked about some of them in this podcast already. You know, what's your area of law? How did you start in this area of law? What's your story? Where did you go to school? How long have you been with the firm? When did you make partner? Et cetera. Simple questions that everybody likes to talk about. Remember people's names and use them as much as you can. Often names are beside office doors, so you can see who's, you know, if they come out of the office and you can glance at their name and you'll know who their name is. When I started in law, it wasn't very common to have names on the doors. And so when you started in a new firm, oh my gosh, it was so hard to recall. I would have somebody come into my office and make a request of me and leave. And I would chase after, follow behind them and ask somebody to tell me who just left my office because I didn't know their name and I was too shy to ask them. So it's a little bit easier now, but do ask their name because you're not expected to know everybody all the time, especially initially. So try to remember names. Um, follow up on things. If somebody has said to you, uh, I might have a piece of work for you or I might need some help next week, follow up. Put it in your calendar. Always practice good practice management habits. So put it in your calendar so it reminds you to go and follow up. And your follow-up could sound like this: it could say, I bumped into you in the hallway last week, and you mentioned you might need some research this week. And I wanted to just check in with you and see if that um came to the surface and if I can be helpful to you. That's simple. Again, avoid an email if you can. If you see them in the hallway, um, ask them then. So make sure that you're following up. Try to talk to everybody the same. So staff, management, lawyers, partners, senior people, etc. Treat everybody well, take an interest in everybody. And don't force it. Just be consistent and be a good person, be a nice person and somebody who um takes an interest in others. So, why are we taking such an interest in building relationships? Why is this so important? Because it is of critical importance to law firms and to building a future in-law. Building relationships means securing yourself as somebody who's trustworthy. It um familiarity builds comfort with people, and with where there's comfort, there's trust. Where there's trust, somebody's gonna send you work, they're going to pull you in on files, they're going to enjoy working with you, and you show up consistently, meeting your deadlines, taking an interest, asking questions. So the relationship building is going to create more work and it's going to eventually create better work for yourself. It's going to create mentorship opportunities, it's going to create advocacy and inclusion, it's going to create all kinds of things for you that you would not otherwise create for yourself because people just don't know you. They're also going to be able to visualize you as a future member of the firm, and they're going to be able to visualize putting you in front of their clients. And that is really one of the ultimate rewards, right? Is to get in front of clients and have direct client. And when I talk about clients at this point, it's external clients to the firm. So the firm's clients, the lawyers' clients, getting in front of them and having an opportunity to work with them. Some summers students will get an opportunity to work with external clients and some may not. So go with what uh what opportunities are afforded to you and make the very best of it. But just know that you don't need to be a natural networker or socialize social person. You don't need to be natural and the best at it. And you don't need to be outgoing, not at all. You need to be somebody who is curious and interested and inquisitive and somebody who remembers people, um, somebody who makes us feel comfortable working with, somebody who actually moves things inside a firm that you actually follow up, that what matters to me is mattering to you, that um that relationships matter to you, because we all love the firms that we work with. And if you love the firm that I work with, we we start to align in that way too. So I'm gonna want to get to know you better and better as time goes on. So do reveal yourself and don't overthink it. Don't overthink it. It's very normal. People are gonna ask you questions, where you grew up, you know, who's your family, you know, what do your parents do for work? Um, you know, do you speak any languages? Do you do any sports? Do you, you know, do you play an instrument? Uh so reveal yourself a little bit. Find those connections. And sometimes you'll see those connections in photographs in lawyers' offices. If they have kids, if they have vacationed interesting places, if they have artifacts that indicate a hobby, take an interest in that and have a conversation. Don't be shy, because those are areas of interest for that person, and they're usually pretty keen to have those observed and to have a dialogue about them. And you might actually surprise yourself that you're working with some really cool, interesting people who have amazing stories about the work they've done, the clients that they've seen, the kinds of you know experiences that they've had. Go and find those interesting stories and uh and listen carefully and remember their stories so that you can follow up and potentially work with some of the most interesting characters of your firm. So I'm excited for you. I love networking. I know it's I'm an extrovert, but it's not always easy, and I've had to push myself as well. So I am with you. Re-listen to this podcast whenever you need to and get a little boost in networking and just know it's not easy for everyone. We all struggle to varying degrees, but have those questions in mind and go forth with sincerity and listen more than you talk.

unknown 36:17

Okay, have fun.