Navigating your legal career after law school can be daunting, but the right advice can set you on the path to success. This blog features insights from experienced legal professionals on landing your first role, building your reputation, and avoiding common early-career pitfalls. Gain practical tips to start strong and grow your legal career with confidence.

 The time you have to read may not feel like a luxury, but it is. Embrace it.

 As a first-year associate, you may be tasked with a lot of reading. The job of reading a pivotal new statute or hundreds of pages of court opinions may fall to you.

This workload doesn’t always feel like a luxury – especially if you were looking forward to getting away from law school reading. As you progress in your career, however, you’ll have less time to dig deep into the text of a statute or case. Commit your full attention to reading, understanding, discussing, and summarizing these texts now. Doing so will position you as the firm’s resident expert on the subject and lay a strong foundation for your future work.

 Start building your professional network now.

 Excellent work is one of two cornerstones to a strong professional career for young lawyers. The other is a strong professional network of people who recognize your skill and insight.

Prioritize relationship-building in the first year of your legal career. Make friends, build professional connections, share information, and help others where you can. Building these relationships now will pay off in the future when your connections send you opportunities and projects you may not have received otherwise.

 Find a mentor and embrace the mentorship relationship.

 Finding a mentor can help you survive the transition from law student to first-year associate. To build goodwill with a mentor, demonstrate that you are intellectually curious and willing to go the extra mile in research and reading.

Many firms have formal mentoring programs. Consider working within these programs to meet both senior practitioners and fellow young attorneys. Another way to find a mentor is to work with a more experienced lawyer on a deal, case, or assignment. If you develop a rapport, reach out to this person once the project ends.

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