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100 x J.D: Connected Lawyers are Happy Lawyers. Eileen Doyle Crane, J.D. Prelaw Advisor Utah Valley University. Primary Goal. For all prelaw students to know 100 lawyers by the time they graduate from law school. Secondary Goals.
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100 x J.D: Connected Lawyers are Happy Lawyers Eileen Doyle Crane, J.D. Prelaw Advisor Utah Valley University
Primary Goal For all prelaw students to know 100 lawyers by the time they graduate from law school
Secondary Goals • To create a personal AND professional safety net for future legal professionals • To decrease the likelihood of some of the problems that most professionals in highly stressed situations often experience, such as: • Depression • Divorce • Alcoholism • Suicide • Malpractice
How to Build a Network • Contact an attorney • Offer to take him/her to lunch, breakfast, meet at their office or somewhere mutually agreeable to discuss law as a profession • Respect the time and place requirements of the lawyer • Pay for the lawyer’s meal (most will not let a student pay for their meal and will offer pay for both) • Ask specific questions (see handout of suggested questions) • Ask for the name of two other attorneys that might be helpful to learn from or meet
How to Build a Network • Contact each of the two other attorneys • Invite each to lunch, breakfast, as above • Ask specific questions about the profession • Ask for names of two other attorneys to meet • Write/email/call the 1st attorney and thank him/her for the referral and share what was learned in subsequent interviews • Continue till student knows 100 attorneys • Collect and file business cards as well as create and share one’s own card; write notes on the back of details that will help you remember something about this particular person
Anticipated Results • Students will know lawyers working in a variety of legal settings • Students will gain confidence in the wisdom of their choice to study law or will gain information that will cause them to question their choice • Student will adjust their TV/media-driven perception of law practice to a more realistic perception that could increase future career satisfaction
Risks of Inaction • Lower career satisfaction • Fewer contacts for professional support • Increased isolation in the practice • Career placement challenges • Exposure to fewer non-traditional placement opportunities, if student decides not to practice law • Difficulty or inability to repay school loans if un-, under-, or inappropriately employed