Kathryn Stanfill • Young Lawyers Section board of governors
As Porter Gale said: “Your network is your net worth.”
Networking is essential at every level of an attorney’s career. Whether you are in your first year of law school or have been practicing for 50 years or longer, it is never too late to start or continue building your network.
It is not just about going to events to collect business cards to put in your Rolodex or computer. It is about making connections on every level to enrich you and your network’s professional and personal life.
The people you meet can become friends or partners in business. Networking supports us with almost every aspect of our careers from building a book of business to new employment to reminding us of legal concepts we may have forgotten.
August is the first month of the 2021-22 Bar year for many associations, including the Jacksonville Bar Association, and a great time to get involved with committees and events.
Joining a voluntary Bar association is the first step. Then you have to go to events and meet people. Associations offer lots of activities from golf tournaments to happy hours to CLEs.
If there is something that interests you that you do not find, reach out to the Bar leaders. If you are interested in something, most likely others are too. Bar associations always are looking for new ideas for networking. Maybe you can start a new event or series.
It is important now more than ever to network. For the past 18 months, we have not been able to interact in person with other attorneys or judges the way we did before the pandemic. With the spike of the COVID-19 delta variant, we are back to the question of what events might look like this fall.
While we are being safe, we need to continue networking to make and build our connections. Bar associations are creative with networking events such as online trivia, online wine tastings and outdoor or hybrid events.
When I started practicing, I knew few attorneys in and around Jacksonville, and none in my area of law. I needed a push out the door to start going to networking events. Thank you Circuit Judge Katie Dearing. You were right. Before I knew it, I was part of the “club,” and I had colleagues everywhere.
It starts by going to that first event and making that first connection. If you already network, there is room to add more contacts. You never know who can be that connection you need or wish you had when you started.
After meeting new people, you need to build your relationships with them. Ask them to go to coffee, happy hour or whatever you both are comfortable with. Before you know it, your connections will become more substantial.
Reach out to your local Bar association and start growing your network today.
Kathryn Stanfill is an attorney at The Hinson Law Firm where she practices estate planning, guardianship and probate, including probate matters involving personal injury and wrongful death.