This quarter, we’re focusing on how to make the most of your summer experiences. Your summer experience is a great opportunity to develop some of the intangible qualities or attributes that will help you be a successful lawyer. Last week, we talked about building your knowledge of current events. This week, we’re talking about your appearance and your personal reputation.
Let’s start with appearance. In the ever-casual Pacific Northwest, many firms and organizations have a different dress code for office hours than for client meetings and court appearances. How will you know what’s appropriate? Follow the leaders. The most successful new attorneys take their cues from their organization’s or firm’s leadership. If the partners or supervising attorneys always wear suits, then they will too.
But what about your personal self-expression? Following the formality of your office doesn’t necessarily mean giving up your personal sense of style. The question is whether what you’re wearing helps you serve your clients and represent your firm to the public. If it conveys that you are comfortable, confident, and understand the serious nature of whatever issue your clients are dealing with, then you’ve picked the right outfit. Be sensitive to your clients and your supervisors – at the end of the summer, you want them to remember the organized, articulate, intelligent person you are, not the skinny tie, low-cut shirt, or odd hair cut.
Being mindful of what you wear is one part of building your personal reputation. You’ve probably heard that one’s reputation is earned in drops and lost in buckets. You may be the most skilled legal researcher or the best persuasive writer, but if you have a reputation for sloppiness, tardiness, laziness, rudeness, arrogance, dishonesty, unfairness or cattiness, you will struggle professionally.
What can you do to develop your personal reputation? Many things! Of the most important, pick someone at your organization or firm to be your mentor. Some organizations have formal mentor programs, but often the best mentors are the ones you “click” with. Try to pick someone who is already well-respected within the office or larger legal community, but don’t agonize over getting the “best” person. Invite possible mentors to lunch, ask about their favorite cases or projects, inquire about how you could improve your skills, and let a relationship develop. Be bold in your invitations – attorneys love to talk to students about being a lawyer, and will nearly always accept unless they are working against an imminent deadline.
Over the next weeks, we’ll talk about other tips for getting the most out of your summer experience. All of these will help you build your personal reputation, from humility to time management, diligence to client service, flexibility to collegiality.
