Summer Idea #1: Join a Bar Association!

"The only real training for leadership is leadership." ~Anthony Jay

This is the first in a series of ideas of things to do, besides work, intern, sleep and watch movies over the summer.

Remember back in high school when everyone told you that you needed to have a lot of activities to round out your college applications? Then, the same rule applied for law school? Know why? Our noble profession, as any great profession, thrives and grows through leadership and participation. Those colleges and law schools looked for future leaders to help shape the profession and to represent us well in society. As you transition from student to lawyer, start looking to bar associations and other professional groups as your next step. They can help you find the perfect job, and cultivate a ready-made network of peers at the same time!

The summer is a great time to join (you don't have to pass an exam or anything...)! There are hundreds and hundreds of bar and trade associations that would love you to join them as a student member. They are organized around many themes: geographic (national, state, county, city), demographic (gender, ethnicity/race, sexual preference), or practice (sector, practice specialty, function). Usually, membership for students is free or very nominal, and buys you incredible benefits that can help you as you move forward in your career. Although stated benefits of these groups often differ slightly, here is a short list of reasons to join (all of these are phenomenal job-search strategies too):

1. Periodicals: Usually, there is a newsletter or bar journal included in your membership that will help you keep up on current legal issues in the field, and start introducing you to familiar names in that circle.
2. Events: CLEs, receptions, dinners, committee meetings, etc. You’ll be in a room full of lawyers that do what you want to do, where you want to do it! Talk to them! Some organzations, like the Hispanic National Bar Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Assocation, to name just two, host student job fairs for members!
3. Leadership Opportunities: Often, you can join a sub-section or committee of the organization, or at least introduce yourself to the chair of one, and offer to help. If you can contribute your energy and enthusiasm to a project, it is the best way to make a great impression!
4. “Virtual” Presence: If your intended job market is far away, an affiliation with
the local bar can give you the savvy, networking and recognition that you need to keep linked up with that market.
5. Practice Expertise: By participating with a professional organization, you’ll start to talk the talk and sound like a lawyer!

Sound good? Here are two really great lists of bar associations. Hieros Gamos hosts a fantastic one that is geographically organized, and includes all of North America. Click on the state you’re interested in and an incredibly robust list appears. FindLaw provides a good supplement to this one, that is more national and specialty-oriented. Of course, neither is absolutely exhaustive (I noticed that the American Association of Nurse Attorneys, isn’t on either of them), so Google up one that suits your interest.

And don't forget our UB Law Alumni Association! They offer all the same benefits and more for students and alumni. For more information, and to join, click here. Those clubs that you joined back in high school were good training for this!