The second required career planning workshop for first-year students will take place in just one week. On October 4 at 5PM join the Office of Career Planning in the Moot Courtroom to discuss “Building and Protecting your Professional Identity.”
Professionalism is a broad term, and it can take on a variety of meanings in the legal field. You may hear attorneys, faculty, and the Office of Career Planning advising you to think about professionalism in your approach to law school and the legal community. What does that mean? The definition can be broad and has important implications for any law student, particularly when it comes to matters of professional ethics.
As you begin your professional journey, consider this article, which notes that: “At its best, professionalism is an overarching philosophy focused on delivering outstanding service and helping clients achieve their goals. Professionalism isn’t just stylistic; it’s also substantive. A professional has good, sound judgment. A professional thinks through complexities and nuances, understanding the Big Picture as well as the details. A professional anticipates problems and needs and then devises solutions, thinks through alternative paths to goals, and provides clients with advice they can understand and put to use. A professional isn’t satisfied with second-rate work and half-efforts; a professional strives for more.”
Discovering who you want to be as a legal professional, and developing the skills and mindset to achieve that goal, is not a quick or easy task. On October 4, we’ll start the process, identifying things to be thinking about now and providing ideas about how to incorporate professionalism into your day-to-day growth as a law student.
This is a required workshop for all first-year students.
