Dear 1L, You want to network with lawyers on LinkedIn, but you don’t want to sound stupid.
You also aren’t sure what to say.
Here are some things to avoid and some guidelines on what to say:
🔴 PHRASES THAT HAVE LANDED FLAT:
🔻 “I ‘noticed’ that you practice __ law.”
—> Lawyers who post on LinkedIn get a TON of spammy, salesy DMs from people they’ve never met. They all tend to use the phrase, “I noticed that you . . .” I’d avoid that word.
🔻 “I thought we could ‘jump’ on a Zoom to discuss.”
—> This sounds presumptuous to me. Zoom is work for most of us. Never make extra work for the person you’re reaching out to.
🔻 “When might you be free to talk this week?”
— Now that is really presumptuous.
🔻 “Would you please like my post?” [includes a copy of post]
— Just don’t.
🔻 Any question that is easily answered by reading my profile.
—> For a practicing attorney, check their website, too.
***
🟢 PHRASES THAT ARE GENERALLY WELL-RECEIVED:
🔹 BASIC STARTERS
— Your name, where you are from and/or are interested in practicing; your school name; your school year.
— Your sought-after practice area(s), geography, or type of employer or position. (Better if your info matches the attorney you’re writing to.)
— “I’m reaching out to you because ___.”
🔹 ADDITIONS THAT HELP (you can only say if true)
— “I’ve been following you on LinkedIn for some time now and have enjoyed your posts [and interacting with you in the comments].”
— “I saw your post about __ and felt drawn to reach out because __.”
— “I’ve been researching firms in __ [location] and was drawn to learning more about [your firm] because ___.”
— “I’m reaching out to you in particular because I came across the __ article you wrote, and __ [say something nice about the article or what you thought about it or learned from it].”
👉 Basically, you want to convey: “I chose to reach out to YOU today [i.e. ~ rather than Joe Blo or Mary Cho who also works at the same firm/who practices in the same area/who works in the same place] because ___.”
🔹 HOW TO CLOSE
Something in your style that conveys the following:
“I’d really enjoy the opportunity to speak with you sometime about [practice area/the firm/geography/post/article/case/podcast].
In the interim, I will look forward to following you here and learning independently.
Please let me know if there is anything I might do to help you ever, as well. Thank you for reading this, and I hope you have a lovely day. Best, __.”
***
Remember: The greater the investment you make into a particular attorney, the greater the likelihood they’ll make an investment in you.
💌 Amanda
𝙇𝙖𝙬𝙮𝙚𝙧𝙨: What did I miss? What would you add?
𝙇𝙖𝙬 𝙎𝙩𝙪𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙨: What questions might you have for me?
P.S. There’s a hot new book coming out for incoming 1Ls. Pre-order your copy straight away! (Hint: It’s called, “Dear 1L,” and it’s on Amazon TODAY.)
Here’s the link: amazon.com/dp/B0D771P468