« 1L Spring Interview Program Overview Sessions | Main | 1L Interview Skills Workshops »
January 15, 2008
Leadership and Professionalism: Establishing Your Professional Reputation Now
You may have heard it said before that your reputation is the best asset you have. Whether you are a 1L, 2L, or 3L, whether you’ve worked a minute of time for a legal employer or not, whether you even realize it or not, your career in the law began the day that you made the decision to enroll in law school. So did your professional reputation.
Now that you are in law school, you are beginning to build a professional reputation that can and will follow you wherever you go. The students you attend class with on a daily basis, the professors and staff that you interact with at the law school, the employers to which you submit cover letters and resumes, and the people with whom you interview all form part of the legal community that you have decided to join. And, although you’re still a student, you must begin now to think about what kind of reputation you want as you begin your legal career.
There are some basic things good leaders and professionals all do well and there are habits you can create for yourself now that will help you for the rest of your career. As a new semester begins here at the law school, consider the following:
Deadlines and Meetings
Attorneys often juggle multiple projects of varying priority every single day. Whether you’re in a law firm producing work under the direction of multiple partners or working for your own set of clients with varying needs, you will one day have to make decisions about how to manage competing obligations and commitments. So start organizing yourself now.
In your day-to-day work as a student, set realistic deadlines for yourself and hold yourself accountable to those deadlines. Acknowledge shared deadlines for group work and meet those deadlines. Take advantage of the flexibility you sometimes have as a student to learn how to make decisions about what work needs to get now right now and what work you can achieve on a more extended timeframe.
Do not, however, let scheduling flexibility make you lazy. When you schedule meetings with your peers, your professors, or staff at the law school, show up on time. Even more importantly, show up early for EVERY employment interview you go on. You can be certain that, in the professional world, a client or a colleague will not be pleased with waiting fifteen minutes for you to show up and will be even less pleased if you forget a meeting altogether.
If you find it difficult to manage your schedule or remember deadlines and meetings, start keeping a calendar now – on paper or electronically. Get yourself into the habit of checking your schedule at the start of each day so that you know what commitments you’ve made and where you’ve planned to be at what times. Adhere to your schedule and when you find you cannot keep your commitments, do your best to give people plenty of advance notice.
Respect for Colleagues
As an attorney, you will work with all types of people. In a law firm, you may be directing paralegals and more junior attorneys on a case while also working under the direction of more senior attorneys or partners. You’ll have clients with varying interests, different levels of legal knowledge, and diverse personalities. And you’ll have colleagues with different practice area specialties and perspectives on the law. Learn now how to treat every one of those people with the same level of professional respect.
Basic things, such as thanking people for putting forth effort on your behalf, are simple, but important things to remember. Learning how to calmly, but intelligently, disagree with people will help you have productive conversations throughout your legal career. Recognizing that everyone communicates a little bit differently and working to communicate with them in a way that is comfortable to them can also help you earn confidence and respect. (For example, some people love email while others hardly check it and some people want written memoranda while others want to sit down and talk things out. Practice learning to figure out how people want to receive information from you and provide information to them in that way.)
Overall, remember that, by coming to Case Western Reserve University School of Law, you’ve given yourself a unique and excellent opportunity to surround yourself with students of varying backgrounds. Take advantage of the law school’s diverse community to learn how to communicate and work with many different types of people – a skill that you will certainly call upon throughout your career.
Online Presence
We’ve said it before and we will say it again – employers are checking up on you online! Do you blog or maintain a page on MySpace, Facebook, Friendster or your own website? You need to be certain that the Internet profile you are maintaining is the right profile for employers – now and in the future. Search of your name on the internet to find out what is out there. Search for information about yourself in every way possible (Google, Yahoo!, MSN, AOL, Facebook, MySpace, and some of the other online communities that you may participate in). Take a look at what is posted and ask yourself, "Would I want an employer to see this?" Remember - every nugget of information that you post or that someone posts about you on the internet can last for many years to come!
The best way to prepare to be an attorney who is a leader and a professional is to start acting like a leader and a professional now. The items above are just a few of the things to think about as you establish a professional reputation. Remember, the CSO is here to help with questions related to professionalism and etiquette – so stop by to talk with us if you have any concerns. We look forward to working with you all this semester!
Posted by kcc17 at January 15, 2008 06:18 PM