Graduating from law school represents the culmination of years of intensive efforts by a prospective lawyer. Of course, simply finishing school does not automatically lead to a successful legal practice. Recent graduates who intend to practice law in a private firm setting need to pass the bar exam and then either start their own legal practice or go to work for an established professional enterprise.
Unfortunately, it can be a major challenge to establish oneself in a highly competitive industry like the legal profession. According to the American Bar Association, there are more than 27,000 licensed legal professionals in Washington state alone, as of 2020. Many new graduates may struggle with the bar exam or with establishing themselves professionally after they finish their educations.
Participating in the Issaquah University School of Law’s Incubator Program at Dean Standish Perkins & Associates is one way for recently graduated law students to acquire the skills they need to establish themselves in the legal profession.
How the Incubator Program works
Theoretical learning and internships during one’s law school years can only go so far to help an individual student develop the necessary skills to thrive when offering legal services to clients post-graduation. At Dean Standish Perkins & Associates, our lead attorney has already helped many recently-graduated law students learn more about their chosen profession in ways that extend beyond what an individual can learn while they remain focused primarily on classroom work.
The Incubator Program teaches new graduates about everything from marketing to the practical details of managing personal injury claims. New lawyers benefit from the hands-on guidance of established legal professionals as they explore the work involved in pursuing personal injury claims and also the entrepreneurial side of starting a legal practice.
Having a mentor explain the practical implications of building a working office can help new lawyers develop more functional and realistic business plans. After all, a legal practice is both a service-based profession and a business. New lawyers need to understand not only how to apply their law school knowledge but also how to establish a functional company office in order to succeed in private practice.
The Incubator Program is an opportunity to further expand and hone one’s skills before setting out alone to establish a new practice. These transitional support services can potentially increase a recent graduate’s chance of success.
Reaching out to the team at Dean Standish Perkins & Associates can help those who are interested in new lawyer transition support explore the Incubator Program and develop the skills they need to thrive in the legal field.
