Become an Expert on a Tiny Topic
The Power of Expertise for Summer Associates and Junior Lawyers
Lawyers are often described as generalists—and for good reason. That is because lawyers typically are brought in to bring “skills” to a problem more than they are brought in to bring substantive knowledge to it (although overtime they eventually bring that too). As a result, it is easy to focus your summer experiences on building skills by watching and supporting lawyers do legal tasks (e.g. how to draft a brief, how to take a deposition , how to finalize a transaction). And don’t get me wrong, these are really important parts of the experience which will both help you figure out what you want to do but also figure out how to do it well once you get that chance.
But one way to standout as a summer associate and as a junior lawyer is to become an expert on something substantive whether it be legal or factual. It does not need to be something big. In fact, its probably better if it isn’t. But it should be something important to a matter or case. Perhaps you become the expert on one document or one event relevant to a case or one new judicial decision. Become the person that other people come to when they want to know about that topic. Prepare a memo on that topic or presentation for when you leave.
Don’t try to be the lead partner on the case—try to be the lead expert on one tiny, tiny piece.
Becoming an expert on something very narrow even as a temporary employee brings many potential benefits. First, it allows you to add value to your team in a way that others can’t. Your boss does not have time to be an expert, so why not help them. Second, it allows you to develop your skills of information synthesis. This is what makes the best lawyers grow quickly. Third, it maintains a spirit of curiosity that is so important to living a satisfying professional life. Fourth, it shows both your supervisors and yourself that you can do important work. That sounds like it should be obvious but it is not. The first step to trusting you with something big is trusting you with something small. Fifth, it helps you develop an ethos of ownership that will serve you well throughout your legal career.
In my own experience, one of the most impactful summer tasks I ever did was learn about a Circuit split and draft a single footnote that eventually ended up in a Supreme Court amicus brief. Did that footnote change the case? Not at all. But did it change my professional life? You bet it did. That footnote turned into multiple relationships, future projects, and even a clerkship recommendation letter.
Become an expert on something small. Its worth it.
Keep standing out,
Jonah
