Practising law is a full-time commitment - between client acquisition, preparing cases, consultations, meetings, trial dates, the list goes on and on, but you get the idea. It’s hard to find any time to sit back and relax, so community service might not be on the top of your list of priorities. That’s too bad, because it should be. Community service is amazing for all of the reasons that jump to mind: the good you feel from helping others, the aspiration to make the world a better place. Serving the community isn’t just good from a metaphysical, moral sense, though - it’s good for business.

Community Service To Other Attorneys

Help organize and head a CLE, offer to mentor new, up-and-coming attorneys, and/or host a social event for all of the attorneys in your area. In short, anything you can do to help other attorneys is going to be an advantage. Networking can seem a bit shallow, but when you conduct your networking by putting time and effort into improving the lives of your fellow professionals, you’ll reap the rewards. After all, you’re not just networking, you’re actively demonstrating your planning and leadership skills as well.

Community Service Involving The Law

You’ve probably already done this in one form or another, likely by offering services pro bono to low-income clients. You can go above and beyond this standard, though. Consider joining the board of a nonprofit in order to give them a better understanding of legal issues surrounding their work. Hold a free clinic in which you highlight some things lower-income citizens should know about tax law or to tell people about what their rights are when they’re interacting with police. The advantages here are twofold. The first and most obvious is that you’re actively networking by associating your name with these clinics or nonprofits. The second is that you’re sharpening skills that are already important to you, from your ability to tell clients what they need to know about the law to your ability to form a real connection with strangers.

Other Community Service

Of course, the community service you’re doing doesn’t have to be connected to your legal work at all. You can simply find what’s meaningful to you and get to it. You’ll still get the benefit of connecting to your community, which can bring you new clients. You’ll also connect with people you might have never met if you’d stuck to the often treaded ground of only volunteering for legal matters. The skills and connections you develop by going outside your comfort zone can be surprising and incredibly fulfilling.

All of this work does take up a lot of time and energy but when you look at that as an investment - in yourself, your community, and your firm - it can be a bit more palatable. For those who simply can’t find the time, check out some of our other blog posts on making your firm more efficient. What’s more, we offer local counsel services so if you need someone to help you cover a case in a far-off courthouse, we can help, and that can save you the time and energy you need.