As a solo attorney, building your network is an important step towards a successful practice. However, don’t forget to tap into your existing network.

Reconnecting with your old classmates from law school, college and even from your high school, middle school and elementary school years can lead to new business and new business opportunities. This is in addition to the personal benefits of expanding (or re-igniting) your network of friends and acquaintances.

Your former classmates in law school will likely be very interested in re-engaging with you. I suspect that every attorney considers going solo at some point in their career. They will certainly look forward to the opportunity to ask you questions about your practice. Even more, they will likely want to help you simply because they want to see you succeed, which would encourage them to make the jump at a later date. They may be in a position to refer you business, whether it be directly or through their firm by referring matters that fall outside of their firm’s scope or matters deemed too small for their firm. They may also introduce you to people in their network that can help you. For example, I have been fortunate enough to represent former classmates in the purchase of NYC real estate and worked together with former classmates on a variety of matters. Even those that practice in your area will likely focus on a specific service or clientele, providing an opportunity for each to refer business to the other.

Your college and other former classmates are likely to be in different fields. This provides an opportunity to be introduced to an entirely different network. Again, this can lead to direct or indirect business opportunities. Even access to new networking and alumni events can help you expand your network and drum up business opportunities.

A bonus tip: stay in contact with your former co-workers. They know how you work and should be in a great position to recommend you to their network.

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