I wish I had known

I wish I had known…how to understand the people in a law firm (part 4)

For the last several weeks I have been discussing how understanding the people that you work with will lend itself to a much happier and more successful work environment.  Last week I shared the first of two steps to gaining a better understanding of your co-workers: understanding law firm Logistics.  More specifically, a law firm’s Logistics is comprised of proximity, affinity and necessity. These details determine work assignments...

I wish I had known…how to set strategic networking goals

In my last post I described a way to evaluate your current network by looking for certain types of people. This is a useful exercise to assess the diversity and depth of your network. It also positions you to set some solid goals, which is what I’m talking about this week. So you have a list of your current network and you have taken the time to reflect on the ways that these people can contribute to your professional life. You...

I wish I had known…how to understand the people in a law firm (Part 3)

Previously I discussed my initial (misguided) impression of how a law firm environment would work, based on my past work experience. I described how, after some time and opportunity to observe, I came to a clearer understanding of the inherent pressures of the law firm environment. This new level of understanding benefitted my professional relationships almost immediately. I also discussed the resulting shift in my mindset, giving me...

I wish I had known … how to assess the connectivity list

Last week on “I wish I had known” I went through my system for organizing my contacts in a spreadsheet. If you’ve taken my suggestions up to this point, you now have an all-inclusive list of your entire professional support system, all in one place, ready for analysis. So what do you do with this data? Let’s talk about that… If you’ve been reading my past posts on my networking journey, you have...

I wish I had known…how to understand the people in a law firm (Part 2)

In my post last week, I started a discussion regarding the misguided expectations that I had about what a law firm environment should be like, based on the professional work experience that I had prior to becoming a law student. What I learned is that a law firm is inherently more reactionary and faster paced (due to the nature of the work) then the previous career that I had been in. The work often involves tasks or transactions with...

I wish I had known…how to organize my contacts (part 2)

Last week on “I wish I had known,” I briefly discussed what to do with your all-inclusive “connectivity list.” I recommended dividing the list into three basic categories: those in the same profession, those who understand or work regularly with people in your profession, and those who are (mostly) unfamiliar with your profession. Now, before we go any further in this process, you need to make sure that you are...