When a bar is not for drinking
For those of us outside of the legal profession, the word “lawyer” often conjures up a number of the latest lawyer jokes we pull off the Internet. The legal profession has taken it on the chin with such low jokes and hushed implications that lawyers are unethical or greedy. This is strange because of all the professions, the legal world is one that is subject to a high level of education and continuous performance of service and that is subject to continuous scrutiny by its own internal police known as the Bar Association.
For a new law student, the Bar Association presents itself as a huge challenge that stands between them and a lucrative career as a lawyer. The bar exam is famous for being demanding, difficult, and exhausting for a prospective attorney. It is such an achievement to pass “The Bar” that it is very common for the future lawyer to take a few months or a year off to prepare for the exam and/or have to take it several times before finally passing the test. .
Once a student passes the Bar Association and has achieved that status of being able to legally conduct the law, there is much the Bar Association does for their membership. It is not easy to establish a practice so that the Bar Association can provide valuable advice, contacts in the legal world and even contacts for financing so that a lawyer recently graduated from law school can “hang out” and start their practice .
The National Bar Association is responsible for the most important issues of certification, government relations, and what it means to be a “bar certified” attorney in this country. But in addition to those services, there are local bar associations that lawyers from all communities can join and that offer many valuable services to their members.
Sometimes lawyers look down on the local Bar Association with disdain. This may be because the idea of partnering with many other attorneys doesn’t seem to make much sense. After all, they won’t be your potential customers. Plus, that’s the competition and you don’t want to spill your guts to the competition.
However, in practice it is a brotherhood in the local legal professions that benefits everyone. By partnering with other attorneys, law firms, and professionals involved in the legal world, there is a lot of value to be gained simply by attending your local Bar Association meetings.
Probably the biggest advantage of becoming an active member of your local Bar Association is networking. On any given night, you may find yourself in touch with some of the judges you may be working with on court this year, partners at your firm or competing firms who may have some valuable advice on upcoming cases or they may be looking for a brilliant attorney like you to hire.
One of the best ways to build your practice is to start attracting a list of strong clients who can be the source of your long-term success as a lawyer. While we see attorneys appearing on television to advertise clients, the best way to find new clients is through free work and networking. Your local Bar Association offers a host of community services to new businesses just starting out and to your local small business association. There is a method to this madness. These are the organizations that prospective clients will turn to with legal questions and problems. Therefore, if the officers and members of the local Bar Association know you well and know what you can do for clients, they may provide you with a referral, which may mean new clients for your practice.
You can make a lot of contacts this way and eventually connect with that “core customer” that may be the ticket to your long-term success. These breakthroughs won’t happen sitting in your office waiting for the phone to ring. Get out there and network, and the best place in town to do that is at your local Bar Association meetings.
