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How next-gen lawyers can build a professional network
With breaking into the legal profession remaining a significant challenge for law graduates and university students, a firm principal has emphasised that strategic networking and proactive engagement are essential to overcoming this barrier.
Grace Robbie
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Selina Nikoloudakis, the principal of law firm Divorce Legal, outlined key steps and strategies that law students and graduates can implement to strengthen and grow their professional network, as enhancing these connections can open doors to valuable opportunities within the legal profession.
Despite the increasing availability of mentoring programs, Nikoloudakis highlighted that breaking into the legal profession still remains a daunting and challenging task for law students.
“I have been chatting with a number of law clerks, law graduates, and university students who are struggling to get their foot in the door. Whilst there are now mentoring groups that are more widely publicised through our law society or various other organisations, they still do face the same challenges,” she said.
With a steady influx of law graduates entering the profession, Nikoloudakis acknowledged that this trend will continue but stressed the importance of education and strategic career planning.
“I don’t think that’s ever going to go away, given the number of law graduates that are coming through the door. Just in my view, educating these law graduates about how to assist them in navigating the first few years to find their rhythm, routine, and then they can navigate their own journey,” she said.
One key strategy that Nikoloudakis used to expand and strengthen her professional network was pursuing additional studies, which provided opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals who were also navigating the early stages of their legal careers.
“What I also then did was return to some postgraduate study. Although that was a challenge, maintaining a full-time job and studying on a part-time basis. I found that completing my master’s degree in family law also helped me make connections.
“Because there were students in the same position that I was in, we were still finding our feet. We were still youngish lawyers at the time,” she said.
Beyond peer networking, Nikoloudakis emphasised that universities provide law students access to experienced industry professionals, including “retired judges, successful lawyers [and] successful barristers”, through lectures and academic engagements.
Nikoloudakis stressed the importance of reaching out to and maintaining relationships with lecturers beyond the classroom, as many can serve as valuable mentors and referral sources.
“To this day, I keep in contact with most of them, even though the majority of them may be interstate, they’ve become either a good referral source or people that I work with to support my clients,” she said.
She highlighted how these professional networks can provide invaluable guidance, helping individuals navigate challenges and seek advice on critical questions such as, “How should I approach this situation?” or “I just came out of a courtroom that was thrown at me, how should I handle it?”
To strengthen and expand your professional network, Nikoloudakis also pointed out how success in networking requires initiative and courage. Opportunities will not simply present themselves – you must be proactive, step out of your comfort zone, and take deliberate action.
“But you need to be creative. You need to step outside your comfort zone, and that’s something that I share with people and young lawyers that I mentor.
“Step outside your comfort zone. It’s not going to come landing on your plate. You need to work hard for it and be bold enough and send that email to your lecturer saying: can I have a coffee with you and talk about your journey, and what pointers can you give me?” she said.
