New Year’s Resolutions

New Year’s Resolutions

 

For many folks, the common New Year’s resolution is to lose weight.  Of course, with the amount of eating and drinking typical during the holidays for family get-togethers, dessert parties and New Year’s Eve celebrations, a more accurate resolution is really to “lose weight you’ve gained in the past couple of weeks.”  Needless to say, this resolution is also the one that tends to get broken the quickest.

 

From a professional standpoint, however, there are several New Year’s resolutions that young lawyers should consider for 2008.  Some are small and some are ambitious, but we should all have goals to try to reach this year: 

 

1.  Mentor, either officially or unofficially, newer associates or lawyers at your firm or company.  Whether you’re a junior or senior associate, there’ll be someone more junior to you (for the first years, you become second years in September with new first years coming in).  You can give some guidance and pass down your knowledge of dos and don’ts to those who are less experienced.  It helps as a younger or newer attorney to have people helping you out and steering you on the right path.  We all are going to make mistakes, but you can help minimize them with some guidance from others.  Let’s not forget those who mentored us and pay it forward to the younger and newer lawyers.   

 

2.  Take and successfully complete a pro bono case.  This resolution is certainly attainable.  Many firms already require associates to do pro bono work each year.  It’s a positive trend.  Oftentimes, we are so focused on our billable work that we lose sight of the ability of lawyers to make a difference in the lives of the less fortunate.  You can even learn a lot on your own in fields in which you don’t normally practice.  In the past few years, I’ve had the opportunity to handle various pro bono matters, including obtaining a divorce for a disabled client and of working on an application for the commutation of a sentence of a prisoner serving a life sentence.  I certainly learned a lot even though I hope I don’t personally need to know those fields of law for my own use. 

 

3.  Meet and network with at least one new young lawyer at each young lawyer social event.  There are several Bar Association Young Lawyer Division happy hours during the year, and there are also other big events.  You can know a lot of people in our legal community, but you don’t know everybody yet (well, unless your name is Brian Chacker).  We’ve previously mentioned the numerous benefits of networking.  You can meet a lot of great people at these events who’ll end up working with you on cases, transactions or even as future clients.

 

4.  Personally improve and progress as a lawyer.  This resolution is not really tangible or quantifiable.  It’s more of a subjective goal to be more experienced in our roles and “know” more than we did the previous year.  Maybe last year, you were the one asking someone how to do a motion and now this year, you’re showing someone.  Lawyers never stop learning throughout their careers, and it’s good to know that you’re actually progressing as a lawyer. 

 

Oh, and don’t forget to exercise and try to keep those pounds off. 

Casting a Wide Network

At the YLD Holiday Party last night at Triumph Brewery, I had the opportunity to meet several attorneys who had either just started practicing or had recently located to the Philadelphia area.  While it is always a pleasure to socialize with colleagues you have known for years, I find it refreshing and valuable to meet more young lawyers in the city. 

In our profession, we have our typical work responsibilities to our clients and our superiors.  Additionally, though, it is quite beneficial and important to meet and get to know other lawyers beyond those who work at your respective firms.  These folks can be your current or future adversaries, co-counsel, or even clients.  When you’re dealing with opposing counsel who you know, be it through bar association events or other networking activities, the relationship tends to be more cordial and professional.  The partners at your firm may even be impressed or increase their perception of you if you know your fellow colleagues. 

So the point is that being connected and getting to know people at bar association events or other activities has a lot of benefits.  It doesn’t necessarily matter what you’re involved in so long as you’re involved.

   

Business Cards Are My Baseball Cards

Great networking advice, Abbie!

I know I have said this before, but Abbie’s piece got me going.   I love meeting new people.  It gives me a rush.  I love learning about where people come from, how they got where they are, what kind of work they do, where they want to go.  Some of my favorites recently have been the “young friends” events:  Young Friends of the Free Library, Young Friends of the Art Museum, Young Friends of the Philly Orchestra…etc.

And I also love figuring out how me and my new friend are connected.  Its my new game.  How many people do we have in common?  Philly is a small town, so you are bound to have at least one person in common.  For those of you stuck in the oficina due to billable hours, there are of course various online networking outlets (not nearly as fun as my game) such as friendster, myspace, and LinkedIn.   LinkedIn is a great professional resource.

 Michael Adler is a LinkedIn guru.  Check him out.  (I had to give you a shout out since you said you read this)

I am not so good at the LinkedIn–I only have 13 connections.  =( 

 

Lush Lunch

I am a big fan of the power lunch. 

I am an ‘event junky.’  If I don’t go to at least two networking events per week, I feel like I am missing out.    I love meeting new people–not for any particular business benefit I could possibly derive–but because I get a thrill out of learning about what people do, how they think, etc.  

I always make a point to have a follow up lunch with my new contacts.  I love lunch as much or more than I love networking events.  At lunch you get to have your new contact all to yourself.  Then if you are lucky, a first lunch may lead to a second, a third… at which point, I think it safe to say you have a new friend and ally.

Needless to say, I go to lunch a lot. 

Every so often, especially on a Friday afternoon, when the waiter comes by to take our drink orders, I wonder whether it would be acceptable to have a glass of wine with my lunch.

About three years ago I had a first lunch date at Tir Na Nog.  I was having a particularly horrible Friday at work.  I went out on a limb and ordered a glass of wine at lunch.  My lunch date was rather shocked.  Luckily, my lunch date and I met up for subsequent lunch dates and became friends.  Although my decision to have a glass of wine at lunch turned out to be ok, it must have made some kind of imnpression because Hope and I still talk about our first lunch date. 

When is it ok to have an adult beverage at a power lunch?  Obviously, if you are on an interview, it is probably not a good idea.  And maybe if you are meeting with a more senior attorney or business person, you should not order a libation unless they do so first.  If you are lunching peer to peer, maybe you can get a sense of how your lunch date will react if you make a little joke about how you wish it was already time for happy hour.

Lunch, anyone?