Networking is unbearable, at least in Alberta.

[Heisenberg45]

Vent post. I know networking is part of the game, and I know it's not going anywhere, but Jesus Christ, upcoming 1Ls, get ready for this garbage.  

Law schools constantly hold networking events where you go to a local bar and schmooze with law partners and associates, or the school hosts these "help" events like "How to build a competitive LinkedIn. Hosted by Mclennan Ross." or "Fuck Ups & Lessons Learned. Featuring Dentons" or something.  

You are strongly encouraged to attend by upper years and by the School. Each one gives you more exposure to these people and a higher chance of being put on their radar. 

But Jesus Christ, are they unbearable. A good chunk of students who are fairly likeable outside of these things turn into shallow, smarmy fucks who pretend they barely know you. Conversations just go in a circle of asking a lawyer a basic question; they then brag about how awesome they and their firm are. None of what they say about their law firms is that distinguishable from any other. It's such basic, boring information you'll forget it all by the time you leave.  

And it happens right when law school starts. You know fuck all about the law, you haven't written a single final exam yet, you probably have no idea what you wanna do, and you're expected to put on a little dance for all the lawyers right away. It's so artificial and unnecessary. Can Law Firms and Schools just calm the fuck down and let Law students be law students for a little while? Then you can pile on the cringe.

Rant Over  

[Renerik]

If the complaint is that students suck (at networking; at being real people), then agreed.

However you can still attend and not contribute to the pageantry if you don't want to. Many lawyers on here and the discord have written about how networking for the purpose of being recognized won't pull much, if any, weight. While at the events, you should be getting to know what these lawyers do and whether you'd want to do that work too. Meet a guy who practices horse law? Heck, talk to him and find out what that entails. Find a practitioner who does work you know you want to do? Ask them if there are any [practice area of interest] events coming up.

I don't think the lawyers expect you to put up a little dance. Most of them see through the facade.

[chaboywb]

It doesn't really get better. When you are a student at a big law firm, you are encouraged to attend firm socials and suck up to the partners. When you are a practicing lawyer, you need to attend stuffy, pointless panel discussions that are just excuses to drink and eat hors d'oeuvres. In that sense, law school is preparing you for practice (probably more than some 1L courses!).

Then again, I have met some truly excellent people at these types of events who I stay in touch with to this day. I've learned about new practice areas, unique hobbies, restaurant recommendations, countries to visit, etc. The corporate world is smarmy. If you can stomach it and cut through the bullshit, you may end up enjoying yourself. At worst, have some free food and drink and laugh internally at the absurdity that is networking. 

 

[GoatDuck]

34 minutes ago, chaboywb said:

When you are a student at a big law firm, you are encouraged to attend firm socials and suck up to the partners.

I also found that this is a lot more fun than any networking I did in law school. Once you have a job lined up, connecting with people and building those relationships becomes much easier and much more rewarding. As an anxious student seeking employment, you feel like networking events are pointless ass-kissing exercises where nobody quite knows what they're supposed to do but everyone tries to one-up their peers. But I found that at least as a summer student, connecting with other lawyers, attending mixers and similar things was very stimulating.  

[WhoKnows]

I'll take a different perspective from OP, and a slightly different one from Chaboy. 

With respect to OP's comments, networking events in 1L are some of the absolute lowest stakes, easy environments you could dream of to practice talking about yourself, your interests, etc. and make a couple connections. None of the lawyers expect you to know anything, and really just want to offer some tidbits and welcome you to the profession. For those students who have never worked a corporate job and haven't been groomed by lawyer parents, getting some early face time here can really get you feeling more comfortable around those who are going to soon be your colleagues. On the lawyer side, we get out of the office and grab a couple drinks, and hell we may even meet a couple students that we want to keep an eye on moving forward. I can tell you that the first one of those events I attended I met a student recruiter at a big downtown firm who later brought me in for an OCI, as well as in for a separate practice interview at his firm after I was unsuccessful at the Toronto recruit. I still think fondly about that person to this day. I would caution students to not be one-upping jerks in those meetings as well, as jerkish behaviour can make you stand out in a bad way, but I chalk most of what others would call smarminess up to anxiety and don't pay it much mind unless it's egregious. 

On Chaboy's comments, I don't see these events as an associate in such a negative light. The reality is that your first client base as a junior associate is the partners, and doing that internal business development is a crucial first step in starting to build your internal practice. I can't tell you how many files I've received from partners at my firm as a result of simply being visible to partners in other departments who would not know my name but for having a beer with them at a firm event. I have similarly referred files to my colleagues just because I knew what they did and they were top of mind. I also can't tell you how valuable building those relationships has been for getting informal mentorship from partners on a variety of non-file matters. You also get read in on files that the firm has going on and new legal developments that may end up being useful in your practice. Furthermore, as seniors get comfortable with you, you get given advice and information that is otherwise unavailable - who is good to work for, which partners have the most clout, what are "third rail" issues you don't want to step into, who is fair with credit allocation, what does the roadmap to partnership look like, how do partners get paid, what initiatives are coming down that you may want to get involved in, how do you deal with a potential error in your practice, how do you manage juniors/support staff more effectively, etc. are all details you get because you become a trusted, discrete professional who is clearly bought in to the firm and the business of the firm. It's good to have allies, especially if you care about progressing, and building a foundation of those alliances early isn't a bad call. 

Some people may not like that, they may think it feels gross or whatever, but the reality is this is a relationship/customer service business first, and building those relationships internally is crucial to career development. That's going to be true irrespective of the environment you end up in, though in different ways. In-house lawyers are going to need to build relationships with different internal departments to manage things. Government lawyers need to build relationships up and down the chain to get the info they need and to have the ability to get approvals in a timely manner, etc. That's not to say you can't build relationships by just doing good work and letting people find you, but that's slow going, and unless you truly are the shining star of a department by virtue of your intellect and flawless work product, you're unlikely to ever be top of mind. 

Edited November 8, 2024 by WhoKnows

[BlockedQuebecois]

10 hours ago, Heisenberg45 said:

Fuck Ups & Lessons Learned. Featuring Dentons

Fitting. 

[chaboywb]

4 hours ago, WhoKnows said:

I'll take a different perspective from OP, and a slightly different one from Chaboy. 

With respect to OP's comments, networking events in 1L are some of the absolute lowest stakes, easy environments you could dream of to practice talking about yourself, your interests, etc. and make a couple connections. None of the lawyers expect you to know anything, and really just want to offer some tidbits and welcome you to the profession. For those students who have never worked a corporate job and haven't been groomed by lawyer parents, getting some early face time here can really get you feeling more comfortable around those who are going to soon be your colleagues. On the lawyer side, we get out of the office and grab a couple drinks, and hell we may even meet a couple students that we want to keep an eye on moving forward. I can tell you that the first one of those events I attended I met a student recruiter at a big downtown firm who later brought me in for an OCI, as well as in for a separate practice interview at his firm after I was unsuccessful at the Toronto recruit. I still think fondly about that person to this day. I would caution students to not be one-upping jerks in those meetings as well, as jerkish behaviour can make you stand out in a bad way, but I chalk most of what others would call smarminess up to anxiety and don't pay it much mind unless it's egregious. 

On Chaboy's comments, I don't see these events as an associate in such a negative light. The reality is that your first client base as a junior associate is the partners, and doing that internal business development is a crucial first step in starting to build your internal practice. I can't tell you how many files I've received from partners at my firm as a result of simply being visible to partners in other departments who would not know my name but for having a beer with them at a firm event. I have similarly referred files to my colleagues just because I knew what they did and they were top of mind. I also can't tell you how valuable building those relationships has been for getting informal mentorship from partners on a variety of non-file matters. You also get read in on files that the firm has going on and new legal developments that may end up being useful in your practice. Furthermore, as seniors get comfortable with you, you get given advice and information that is otherwise unavailable - who is good to work for, which partners have the most clout, what are "third rail" issues you don't want to step into, who is fair with credit allocation, what does the roadmap to partnership look like, how do partners get paid, what initiatives are coming down that you may want to get involved in, how do you deal with a potential error in your practice, how do you manage juniors/support staff more effectively, etc. are all details you get because you become a trusted, discrete professional who is clearly bought in to the firm and the business of the firm. It's good to have allies, especially if you care about progressing, and building a foundation of those alliances early isn't a bad call. 

Some people may not like that, they may think it feels gross or whatever, but the reality is this is a relationship/customer service business first, and building those relationships internally is crucial to career development. That's going to be true irrespective of the environment you end up in, though in different ways. In-house lawyers are going to need to build relationships with different internal departments to manage things. Government lawyers need to build relationships up and down the chain to get the info they need and to have the ability to get approvals in a timely manner, etc. That's not to say you can't build relationships by just doing good work and letting people find you, but that's slow going, and unless you truly are the shining star of a department by virtue of your intellect and flawless work product, you're unlikely to ever be top of mind. 

Agreed with all of this and you certainly have a healthier view of it than me. As a somewhat socially awkward introvert, I have to force myself to view the bright side of these events when I internally just want to go home, but they can definitely pay off if you have the right attitude. For what it’s worth, I do go to every event that pops up and it has had positive professional consequences. OP, if you can get used to these early, they certainly get easier and easier.

[SNAILS]

These events are not a job recruit. The lawyers there are volunteering their time to help the next generation of lawyers. Go into these events with a clear idea of what you want to get out of them. Write down some questions and concerns and try to have them answered by the end of the event if that works for you.

I might try to find out:

- What qualities are firms typically looking for in a summer student?

- What practice areas are available out there? How does the practice of law differ in those areas?

- What's it like to deal with clients? How are the expectations different depending on the practice area?

Just ask whatever you are wondering about. As you said "you know fuck all about the law, you haven't written a single final exam yet, you probably have no idea what you wanna do." You can start figuring out what you want to do by asking questions. You might, for example, start developing an interest in real estate law after finding out more about how a lawyer does it.