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