As relatively new attorneys, we are uniquely positioned to bridge the gap between law students and older alumni. Young practitioners—even those who have just very recently been admitted to the bar—should take advantage of opportunities to become actively involved with law schools as leaders, mentors and recruiters.

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Leadership

It is fairly easy for young practitioners who remain in the same geographic area as their alma mater to stay involved with the organizations and affinity groups that were most meaningful to them as law students. By maintaining personal relationships with the current students and staff who lead those organizations, young practitioners can help shape the direction of those groups and even inform the direction of legal education as a whole. This influence can be overt, perhaps in the form of making a return visit to the school as a guest speaker on a topic of interest to the organization. Alternatively, this influence can be more subtle, perhaps taking the form of informal advice to a friend regarding a particular job interview or seminar paper.

Young practitioners who move away from their law schools can take advantage of technology to stay involved with their schools as much as possible. Email, texting and social media make it more convenient and efficient than ever to check in regularly with friends and professors who remain at your law school. Young alumni can also lecture cohorts of students or host mock interviews through video conferencing. Additionally, practitioners who are geographically distant from their alma mater can seek out opportunities to get involved with local law schools. These opportunities can include anything from judging local mock trial and moot court competitions to attending a school's networking event with a co-worker who attended that school.