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
•
•
•
•
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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