In this blog post, Abeer Sharma, a student at Campus Law Centre, Faculty of Law, Delhi University and pursuing a Diploma in Entrepreneurship Administration and Business Laws from NUJS, Kolkata, describes the importance of networking for Law students.
So you’re a law student now. Congratulations! You might be coming to law school all starry-eyed, high-off of the legal-themed TV shows you’ve binge-watched over a week (Disclaimer: you are in for a world of disappointment), with your head filled with all sorts of fantasies. Perhaps, you’re someone coming to university fresh from school, or perhaps you’ve already done your graduation, had a couple years of work experience, and have decided to pursue an LL.B. Maybe, you’re someone who loves to burn the midnight oil and achieve straight A’s, or maybe you’re someone who’s terrified by the very prospect of writing tests and exams.
Regardless of who you are or what your specific background is, there’s one key piece of advice you need to keep in mind the moment you set foot in law school on day 1: Forget everything that you think you know about getting an education. While there is an obvious benefit in being academically rigorous and fetching good grades, it will hardly be the only way to define yourself or pave your success in law school. Pursuing an education in law is nothing like getting a degree in most other fields. Sure, you can coast through easily enough just studying for your exams, submitting your assignments on time, and doing a compulsory internship or two. But by the end of your ordeal, you aren’t going to be much of a lawyer; much like how merely reading cookbooks and cooking a bowl of pasta every now and then won’t really make you worthy of being called a chef.
The Importance of Networking for Law Students
I’ll spell it out for you right now: If you’re not much of a people person, then a career in law is not for you. By “people person” I don’t mean you have to be an extrovert or have an extremely outgoing personality. What it means is that you must be willing and able to regularly form connections with other people, to understand human interactions and know how to build relationships. Laws are made to govern relationships and regulate human actions. They exist in society, not merely on paper. Success in the legal sphere is dictated not only by how well you understand the laws and the way they’re applied, but also by how well you can work with people and use them for your mutual benefit. One of the most important ways to practice this is via professional networking.
Professional networking is defined by Merriam-Webster as “the cultivation of productive relationships for employment or business.” Don’t let that intimidate you, however. It’s never too early to start networking. In fact, the best way to begin networking in law school is just to interact with your peers. Find a group of like-minded individuals who share a hobby. The value of extra-curricular activities cannot be undermined, for they shape you not only as an individual but also help expose you to special experiences
Seek out inspirational seniors for tips on law school survival 101. Whether it be teaching you how to butter up your teachers or letting you know where the best place on campus to hide for a smoke break, they’ll be one of the earliest mentors you will acquire in the field. This might all sound extremely basic, but the value of relationships and networks that you cultivate earlier on can be of immense value many years down the line. And who knows? You might even grab hold of a few lifelong friends somewhere along the way. Networking is one of the most important ingredients in order to get you to stand out from the herd. It is estimated that there are between 4-5 lakh law students in the country. That is not a small number, no matter how you try to look at it. In such a scenario, you have to work smart in order to get noticed. You’ll need to work doubly smart if you’re unlucky enough to be from one of the less “prestigious” law schools.
Networking with your professors is one of the smartest things to do, for they’re the ones you’re going to need to approach to act as references when you want to get into a master’s degree or fellowship programme. Do you want to score an internship? Or perhaps you’re thinking of jumping on the start-up bandwagon and need to find people to advise you or bring in much-needed cash. Merely having a good CV or an eloquent covering letter is not always going to work out for you. You’ll probably need to go out and start talking to people. You’ll have to learn to say, “I know a guy who knows a guy…”
So where specifically does networking play a role in the profession of law? Scratch that, the real question is: Where does it *not* play a role? Here are just a few specialties where having good networking skills will help you fulfil your career goals.
Litigation careers
The first image anyone gets in their head when the word, “lawyer” pops up is of people in black robes arguing emphatically in front of a judge. And they wouldn’t be wrong to do so, considering, how it could very well be said that litigation forms the very essence of the legal profession. A good litigator can easily transition into other professional specializations, though the same can perhaps not be said to work the other way around. To quote the senior counsel and Padma Shri awardee Pravin H. Parekh, “No lawyer can become a good corporate lawyer or even a good lawyer without drilling in litigation though it initially pays less.”
That being said, building a successful career in litigation from scratch is probably one of the most gruelling and bewildering things someone could ever hope to do. The reason behind this is that law schools – yes, including the top-ranked NLUs – do quite a terrible job at preparing college students to do the real heavy lifting that a full-time job as a litigator entails. While technically you’re free to register as an advocate and hang up your shingle once you get an L.L.B. (and pass that joke of a Bar Exam), you won’t be of any use to anyone until you know how to navigate your way around every technicality and nuance of the job, something that you don’t learn sufficiently in a classroom or even in a handful of internships. This is why the most common route most budding young advocates take is to attach themselves under the tutelage of an experienced senior or a litigation firm that will show them the ropes for a year or two. The best way to find someone who will be willing to mentor you is through proper networking.
Established lawyers are always on the lookout for juniors who are going to aid them in the cases they’re working on. The fact that they’re not even obliged to pay a competitive salary to said juniors means they generally won’t turn down someone who’ll be willing to work hard for them. However, a good lawyer won’t just recruit anyone who asks. If you haven’t interned under him already, he’ll only give you any attention if you get in through the reference of someone he can trust. These networking skills only keep getting more important as your career as a litigator progresses upwards, as you’ll have to rely on them to attract clients and cases. If you ultimately have dreams of becoming a High Court or Supreme Court Judge, you’ll have to indulge in a fair bit of politics along the way, pull some strings and get the collegiate to notice you. There is no objective way to establish this except by ensuring that your reputation spreads by word-of-mouth among the elites.
Transaction law careers
If you’re concerned about having a steady inflow of cash and a relatively secure career, you might prefer working in a more corporate environment, whether it be in a magic circle law firm handling international mergers and acquisitions, or in a smaller private company just ensuring that they comply with all the statutory requirements and handling their daily legal affairs. Whatever your goals are, getting a foot in the door will only become easier if you work on your networking skills early on. This becomes extremely crucial if you’re not a student in one of the top-NLUs, for while they might have employers fighting tooth-and-nail to get new recruits during placements season, students of less popular universities might have a bit of an uphill battle to even score an interview. Having a solid professional network will not only be of immense benefit to you personally, but even to your employers, who might just hire you on the basis that you might bring in a substantial amount of goodwill that will give a boost to their business. In fact, law firm partners who bring in a substantial amount of business and clients are known as “rainmakers” – and they generally always command the highest price.
Academe
Perhaps you’re not exactly cut out for a “normal” job. Maybe you want to be an eminent jurist, a prolific researcher or want to ensure that the next generation of legal luminaries do not thoroughly embarrass themselves. Becoming an academic is surely an honorable job, but getting one by no means is easy. Getting a job as a law professor can be described as “hyper-competitive.” Getting on the highly coveted tenure-track will be much harder than getting a cushy job at your dream law firm. At the minimum you’ll be expected to get an LL.M after your LL.B (this condition might not be necessary if you hold a J.D. from the USA), but it’s hard to keep your career progressing without a Ph.D. Getting good references are one of the most important aspects of a Ph.D. application. In fact, references will always be a very important ingredient of success in the academe, whether you want to get tenured, want to score a grant or fellowship, or want to progress to advising the government or chairing important research committees. Start off by getting on the good side of your professors – they tend to be a very fickle bunch. Do not be afraid to become a teacher’s pet, and keep asking them if they’re looking for any research assistants or people willing to do some academic grunt work on their behalf. Your professors will be your very first launch pad for a successful academic career.
Legal journalism
Legal journalism is still in its relatively nascent stages in India, but is steadily picking up steam. Particularly in light of the Supreme Court and Kerala High Court mandating that all court-accredited journalists hold a law degree, the profession is well on its way in becoming a notable niche in its own right. No matter what area you focus on, the entire job of being a journalist is not much different from that of a lawyer – you’re expected to have excellent communication skills and relentlessly work with people. The best journalist is always one who has a lot of sources at his disposal. Here, too, learning how to network is one of the most important ingredients for developing any sort of reputation whatsoever.
The main rule of thumb of networking you need to remember is: Don’t be shy.
Go ahead and attend all those conferences. Don’t just sit in the audience, ask questions, interact with the speakers during the tea break. Go ahead and politely ask for email addresses and phone numbers of every established lawyer you meet, even if it is at the gym. Better yet, send them a Facebook friend request. Expand beyond your academic base and explore all kinds of extracurricular activities that interest you. Maybe even try to expand your horizons and attend workshops or events normally targeted towards business school students. No matter what it is you want to do, always remember the value of building relationships and having a good time.
