drafting. It was incredibly rewarding for me to know that simply bringing a dynamic network of outside contacts to school could have such positive results for the CUNY community and for our distinguished guests.
Recommending Peers and Classmates for Internships and Summer Opportunities
Even if you do not have a formal event at your school, you can still connect your school and classmates with the outside work contacts and network you have garnered. Sharing resources with your classmates is both rewarding and, again, establishes “good will” for any moments of need that you may have in the future. The legal profession is a relatively small network of people. It is very likely that in the future you will cross paths with your peers and classmates in a professional capacity. In addition, referrals often come from past classmates and colleagues. Therefore, while it may not be important to start “building your book of business” right now, why not start building positive relationships and promote collaboration that will be useful down the road?
I had one particularly memorable experience of sharing my network with a classmate my 2L spring semester. I was interning at a civil rights, impact litigation firm called LatinoJustice PRLDEF when a 1L colleague of mine told me he’d like to do the same work in the future. Throughout our work in the Mississippi Project, a student organization dedicated to bringing legal services to poor communities in the South, I observed that my colleague was hard working and enthusiastic. So, in my exit interview with LatinoJustice, I strongly recommended him to the staff attorneys as an excellent future internship candidate. I was thrilled when, shortly after this exit interview, my colleague received an interview. After careful preparation, he received an internship offer and had a wonderful fall semester working with LatinoJustice. It felt good - not only to contribute to my colleague’s success, but also to develop a more meaningful work relationship for the rest of the school year and well after graduation.
Work Contacts Introducing You to Other Networks & Organizations
Supervisors, clerks, and any employees at your internships or summer experiences
can be wonderful connectors to other communities of lawyers and employers. As you get to know the people you work with, always be on the lookout for organizations that they are involved in, especially if the organizations are of interest to you. Then, take action. Going to recommended mixers, events, or conferences is a great way to develop your network and discover your next internship or job.8 If you are on the hunt for a mentor, participating in an organization, such as a bar association, and networking are some of the best ways to meet seasoned professionals.9
My 1L summer I interned with U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald Ellis in the Southern District of New York. His interns were fortunate to have one clerk, a CUNY alumna and member of the Puerto Rican Bar Association (PRBA), who introduced us to a number of distinguished individuals: Judge Raymond Lohier; CUNY Law Professor Jenny Rivera, my Civil Procedure teacher and future Court of Appeals Judge; and even Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor. The clerk also exposed us to progressive civil rights organizations like Lambda Legal. I continued to stay in touch with this clerk even after the internship ended. The summer of 2013, I was delighted to receive an email from her about the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) Conference that she had helped organize in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I made it my business to attend. As a Nuyorican (a New York-born Puerto Rican), I knew it would be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to connect with a new community of Puerto Rican attorneys, public interest-minded advocates, and renowned organizers.10
I was able to make it to this landmark event. advocates, and renowned organizers. Thanks to a generous donor at my school, I was able to make it to this landmark event.
Thanks to a generous donor at my school, I was able to make it to this landmark event.
The conference was everything I had hoped for and more. I have stayed in touch with most of the amazing professionals and students I met. This network has already offered me great career advice, ideas for future NLG and PRBA projects, and possible job opportunities.11 It was yet another gift this clerk and CUNY alumna had given me, which will stay with me throughout my legal career.
Conclusion
More often than not, law students will work in a variety of areas of law before settling on a professional path. That is the beauty of being a student. Of course, a job offer is a wonderful goal, considered by some to be the height of achievement. There are, however, many other benefits to be gained from your work experience: the chance to organize events; meet other legal professionals; share contacts with your law school community; receive a stellar recommendation; or even find a mentor. Just remember to keep an open mind and maximize the gifts that you have been given. Justice Sonia Sotomayor beautifully captures this outlook in the epilogue of her autobiography, My Beloved World:
With every friend I’ve known, in every situation I have encountered, I have found something to learn. From a task as simple as boiling water, you can learn a worthwhile lesson. There is no experience that can’t avail something useful, be it only the discipline to manage adversity. With luck, there will be plenty of time ahead for me to continue growing and learning, many more stories to tell before I can begin to say definitively who I am as a judge.12
I believe the most valuable skills students can learn in their internships and summer experiences are to be creative, flexible, and ready to work hard while mastering a new skill set. No matter what direction my work experiences have taken me, I know that each has been a priceless education outside the classroom and has contributed to the development of my character and growth as a legal professional.
See Page 43 for citations.
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