I was brainstorming my next blog post topic and realized, I have a case study sitting right in front of me.

Some of you may know that my husband, Mike Ferrari, graduated from Vermont Law School in May 2019, passed the Ohio State Bar Examination in October 2019, and was subsequently sworn in as an attorney. Afterwards, he became a networking superstar (sure, I’m a little biased) and coordinated about 50 meetings with new connections in order to understand the legal landscape in Cleveland and learn more about potential career opportunities here. He made it a daily practice to follow up via emails and calls, and schedule as many in-person coffees as possible.

Experiencing this wave with him made me think about all of the law school graduates in limbo.

The result back then? Professional connections started sharing several job openings and making recommendations to support his applications. He also continued meeting with potential future colleagues.

This was late February, when all of Mike’s hard work was coming to fruition. Then, the novel coronavirus pandemic struck… 

Now, it’s not all doom and gloom as he has some contractual work. However, Mike was met with the challenge of keeping his applications moving while the world came to a standstill.

Knowing that nobody is hiring, Mike decided (as we’ve been touting) to proceed with the most humane approach. He reached out to his entire network with well wishes that they remain healthy throughout the pandemic. Props!

Experiencing this wave with him made me think about all of the law school graduates in limbo. With uncertainty looming over bar examinations and law firms changing or altogether cancelling summer associate programs, how do these up and coming lawyers stay motivated and continue making strides in their target professional circles?

LinkedIn is key. Though we (as marketers) know this, it is surprising how many law school students and graduates are not on the platform. While our nation is still in shutdown mode, I recommend limboers:

• Build out their LinkedIn profiles;
• Ask close colleagues (perhaps from previous internships) to create and post recommendations;
• Start sharing updates on their own legal insight;
• Begin interacting with the content target state regulatory agencies and law firms share; and
• Direct message other potential connections to discuss the content or news items they are sharing.

By following these suggestions, limboers’ profiles will get noticed and they will make new connections with legal professionals that will hopefully become mentors or advocates for them in the future.

If you’re looking for assistance in boosting your LinkedIn activity as the Covid-19 crisis continues, contact us.