When I say “I’m going to law school,” you say, “Oh cool, where?” I am still denying the fact that I am a senior in college, 16th grade to be exact. I can confidently say the question I most commonly avoid always pertains to the future. Let us all be honest for a second and realize the future is scary, where you will be this time next year is scary. So, in short, I do not know where I am going to law school yet, or what type of law I will study, but I can tell you what I do know.
My future niche will be law and the future of law. Whether that be defending a client in court or interpreting constitutional law or something I have yet to discover, my future is in law. My current niche is curiosity and continuing to be a curious learner. Including this year, I have four more years of schooling left. I must remain a curious learner in order to really enjoy the next four years of my life. Being a curious learner looks like taking the class that is a step outside of my comfort zone, or learning about something I do not have a certain expertise in. My area of expertise in law is to be determined. I find it more beneficial to enter with an open mind and see what path lies ahead. Although, if I must be specific, I am extremely curious to learn more about family law, criminal law, constitutional law and alternative dispute resolution.
I believe one of the best ways to establish my personal brand is to make connections and build up my LinkedIn profile. One way to make connections and build on my online profile is, as Chris Giarratana from Strategy Beam recommends, is to intern and volunteer for local industry leaders. This way I can see first-hand the fields I may be interested in as well as building up connections. Gerry Moran from Marketing Think lays out 10 easy steps to refine your LinkedIn account. I think one of his most important points is adding the Job Experience aspect. This way you can make even more connections and tell your future school and employer you are experienced and an asset. So, what are two actual things I can do to improve my brand in the future? I think the first is to reach out and ask attorneys in the area if I can shadow them or at least ask them questions, this way I can build my network in the St. Louis area as well as look at examples of what I may want to do in my future of law. An additional task will be extra blog posts every so often about bizarre cases that have been tried in the United States. So keep a look out for those!
One person that has done an amazing job establishing their personal brand is my former employer, Marta J. Papa. She is a prominent family attorney in the St. Louis area. Marta is a highly professional divorce and family law mediator and trains mediators in Illinois and Missouri. She runs her own law firm and is expanding to start a new company focused on mediation and the future mediation will have in family law called. She has an exceptional network all over the country and a fantastic LinkedIn page as well. She has established her brand so well with hard work, dedication and grace. She is professional yet empathetic and her brand online and in the community portrays this extremely well.
Grace Hambuchen 