I returned to St. John’s Law yesterday, where I received my J.D. and worked for the first six years after graduating law school.

I realize this is the time of year where LinkedIn is flooded with 1L advice, so I wrote a quick piece on Beyond Non-JD with some thoughts from my own experiences, over 10 years of studying and working at U.S. law schools. The usual caveat: do what works best for you.

1. Seek out professors in areas of interest. My first course, Introduction to Law, was taught by an international law scholar. From our chat over lunch yesterday, I was the first student to visit office hours. I was able to plan much of my 2L and 3L experiences around international law (Center fellowship, Jessup Moot Court, 2L summer internship in The Hague, courses, etc.). But for a chance hallway encounter when I started 3L (I blogged about that last summer!), I’d likely have started my career working in the field I went to law school with interest in. Part of it was the luck of what section I was placed in, but you can reach out to professors who aren’t teaching your courses during 1L to start showing an interest in specific areas of law, attending events on-campus, etc.
2. Your legal writing course is very important as a 1L. I had a really wonderful 1L legal writing professor. Legal writing was the cornerstone for internships, drafting courses, moot court, and research papers, and much more. My experience in legal writing also helped when I became a 3L legal writing TA, and played an important role in me teaching legal writing to LL.M. students since 2013 as an adjunct professor.
3. Alumni offices. The career office may play a more front-and-center role in the 1L experience, but the alumni and development office is equally important (if less visible at some schools to 1Ls). At many schools in America, alumni are a crucial part of the post-law school employment search. They conduct mock interviews, they serve as judges for mock trial and moot court competitions, they hire 1Ls and 2Ls for internships and externships, they teach as adjuncts, and more. Say hi to your alumni and development team, talk about your interests, and you may be invited to an event!