The best compliment a first year associate attorney can receive from his or her supervising attorney is the associate's work rivals that of a seasoned attorney. The traditional law school curriculum is often criticized as being too esoteric, devoid of practical training that often rewards young attorneys with that desired compliment and praise.

My law school did not require all students to do some type of practicum, and while I went to a “traditional” law school, I still graduated feeling more than prepared to begin practicing. I took it upon myself to take advantage of the many school offerings that paired my traditional law school education with practicality. Whether a law student wants to do transactional work or litigation (an arbitrary distinction), here are six things he can do while in law school to equip him with the tools to be a successful young attorney. On the flipside, senior lawyers looking for mentor-mentees opportunities can contact a law school to learn how to become involved in any of the following programs.

1. Moot court, mock trial, arbitration, negotiations and client counseling competitions. In the words of Nike, “Just Do It.” There is no better way for any law student to get a head start on practicing than by competing in moot court, mock trial, arbitration, negotiations and client counseling competitions (“advocacy competitions”). The benefits are endless. Competitors fine-tune their legal research and writing skills, gain a working knowledge of the rules of evidence or appellate procedure, and argue before panels of real judges and practitioners. It's not uncommon in the world of advocacy competitions for competitors to receive summer clerkships or even full-time offers based on the impression they made on the scoring judges. Advocacy competitions also give students a chance to travel and meet other students, who inevitably will end up as colleagues. And attorneys will learn that “May it please the court” is not a question, but a statement.