Originally published in Student Lawyer magazine, January 2004 (Vol. 32, No. 5). All rights reserved.

SPOTLIGHT

Pace Law Students Have Fun With Networking

by Amina Rana

Fourth-year evening students Adrian Baron and Brendan Murphy of Pace University Law School really wanted to enjoy their networking opportunities. For them, wearing name tags at wine-and-cheese receptions only goes so far.

So last year, they created a student organization at their school in White Plains, N.Y., 25 miles north of Manhattan. The Barrister's Guild, which has grown to 250 members, introduces students to lawyer-mentors in unconventional settings such as baseball games, ski outings, and indoor climbing walls.

"Unlike traditional networking events where a student wears a name tag and meets with alumni for a few minutes, Barrister's Guild events entice attorneys and area professionals to participate by doing things they want to do," Baron says. "And the venues have been interesting."

The Barrister's Guild takes no more than 10 students per outing to provide for close interaction with potential mentors. A recent event focused on the rigors of working in the office of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as recounted over dinner with the mayor's chief of staff. At other outings, students attended a Broadway show with a former local prosecutor, enjoyed a family-style Italian lunch with MTV's vice president of business affairs, and ate Mexican food with the lawyer for hotel entrepreneur Leona Helmsley.

Pace's dean of students, Angela D'Agostino, attributes the group's success to Baron and Murphy's leadership skills and initiative.

"It's the most well-run student organization at the law school with the least amount of administrative support," she says. "Their ability to attract people to the law school is exceptional. They are organized and committed not only to their own success, but also to that of other students around them."

Murphy says he and Baron were determined to start the Barrister's Guild on their own after other groups were skeptical. "Adrian and I started this because of all the things we were told we couldn't do," he says. "They said it was all pie in the sky. Well, no, it's not."

Murphy credits his classmates for the group's success. "I think the Barrister's Guild is helping to build school spirit," he says, "… but that's a reflection of the students themselves."

Students and members of the bench and bar who participate in the group's networking services are quick to offer praise.

"The Barrister's Guild provides a forum of honest dialogue between students and practitioners that creates a sense of collegiality in the legal field. It's also a really fun time," says lawyer Mark Wellman, who spent a day with students skiing.

Like many other evening students, Murphy brought lots of experience to law school. He's a 17-year veteran with the Harrison, N.Y., Police Department. And he's the father of four girls and one son, who was born just two days after Murphy started law school.

Baron and Murphy were scheduled to graduate in December 2003, and both are interested in practicing immigration law.

To learn more about the Barrister's Guild, visit the group's web site at www.barristersguild.com.

Amina Rana, a third-year law student at Georgetown University Law Center, is a reporter for the Georgetown Law Weekly.

Do you know a distinguished law student who would be an interesting subject for Spotlight? Please e-mail suggestions along with your name, address, and daytime/evening phone number to abastulawyer@abanet.org (subject line: Spotlight).