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Building a Better Legal Profession

11/21/2008 8:12:33 AM EST

How to Become The Opportunity Maker

By Hayley Hunt

Posted by BBLP

Ari Kaplan, writer of The Opportunity Maker, Strategies for Inspiring Your Legal Career Through Creative Networking and Business Development and former attorney at McDermott, Will & Emery, took time to speak with me about his book and techniques that he believes all law students should employ now to better ensure success in the future. While we are all undoubtedly busy, stressed, and bogged down with cramming for finals, he recommends not losing sight of the bigger picture and remembering to “breathe.”

Kaplan recommends this book for 1Ls through junior partners and explains that the message is about “empowerment.” The book’s objective is to “teach you how you can create opportunities that are long-lasting, fulfilling, and that ultimately help you get where you want to go. It’s about how people can make opportunities for themselves.” He recommends students start to build opportunities for themselves now, explaining that to “wait until you’re thirty-two would be to follow misguided advice. In law school you’re untethered, so you have the perfect opportunity to start meeting people now that can serve as contacts in your future legal careers.” While a law student’s primary goal is to do exceptionally well in school, grades are not the end all and be all. “Students should think about where they want to be after graduation and think about building ties to those communities right now.”

So how exactly does he recommend we go about building contacts? Kaplan offers a few unique but practical ways to start networking. First, he recommends that students seek out guidance from alumni, though not exclusively law school alumni. Students have a broad network that also includes their college and even high school alumni. To start, Kaplan says look through your law school’s alumni magazine and “pick out a few people you find particularly interesting, and just email them. Explain where you are from, that you read about them, and that you’d like to have coffee with them.” Establishing relationships with alumni while you’re in law school will likely be easier than waiting until you’re an associate because the relationship will likely be more genuine. The attorney will not be thinking that your interest in meeting them is to get a job. Instead the relationship will be grounded in a more sincere intention: to learn about their profession and seek advice.

Secondly, if you have a particular area of the law that you’re interested in, Kaplan recommends signing up for a Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Class in your area. Attorneys are required to take these courses in order to maintain their license, so you will be surrounded by people who share your interest and you will have an excellent opportunity to meet some of them.

Another unique idea Kaplan recommends is to find a way to write. By this, he does not mean academic writing, but rather writing for a newspaper, blog, podcast, or even having your own Internet radio station. “Writing will give you tremendous access to people and be a more interesting way to engage with people.” You’ll be introduced outside your normal circles, and a wider community will have access to you.

Making the initial contact is not the end of your task. Kaplan emphasizes that it is critical students master the skill of follow-up and incorporate this important element of networking into their calendars. He explains that while “90% of life is showing up, 10% is follow-up. If students master this skill now, it will pay off significant dividends later.” It’s crucial to follow up with people you’ve met with such as employers you haven’t heard back from or professors you’d like to do research for, because if you don’t, you might be leaving opportunities on the table that you won’t be able to get back later.

Kaplan offers further advice for students looking to land their dream job. When students think about how to market themselves to future employers they should “find ways to be interesting. Because if you’re interesting you’re memorable. If you’re memorable then you’ve set the foundation for being an ‘opportunity maker.’” He recommends that students and professionals preparing to look for jobs keep things in perspective and not take things too personally. “Sometimes you’re not going to get the job. Maybe today was not your day. But that doesn’t mean that tomorrow is not your day. This is a long-term effort. You need to take a long, deep breath.”

For further information about Kaplan and The Opportunity Maker, visit his website: http://www.arikaplanadvisors.com

“This book is designed to help you harness your potential for business development and empower your legal career from law school through partnership. It provides techniques for defining your personal brand, leveraging your creativity, and maximizing your success.”

Want to know more about finding the right law firm for you? Look for Building a Better Legal Profession’s new book, Building a Better Legal Profession’s Guide to Law Firms, coming out January 2009 from Kaplan Publishing. This is a first-of-its-kind guide aimed at giving law students everywhere all the information they need to make an informed first step into the legal profession.

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