As networking and mentorship continue to emerge as powerful drivers of success in the legal profession, Kurt Cheng shares essential insights to help law students begin cultivating meaningful professional relationships of their own.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Podcast, Kurt Cheng, a law graduate at Ashurst and a global ambassador at UTS, opened up about the practical, experience-driven strategies that can help law students build meaningful mentoring relationships from the very start of their careers.
In the same episode, he revealed how mentoring – in all its forms – is emerging as one of the most powerful and accessible support systems for young lawyers, helping them thrive and succeed in the profession.
Cheng highlighted that a key part of building these relationships is staying proactive – being open to connecting with anyone at university and embracing every conversation that comes your way.
“In terms of strategies, when you’re at university, be very open to talking with anyone, go to as many events as possible and just have those conversations with the people who are in that room,” he said.
However, Cheng warned that while attending events is a great first step, building lasting networking relationships demands more – it requires courage, initiative, and the follow-through to truly nurture connections.
“Be willing to make connections outside of those events. It’s all well and good to meet a person at an event, but it’s about where you take that relationship after,” he said.
Reflecting on his own experiences, Cheng shared that while meeting alumni and industry professionals at events is a great way to start building mentoring relationships, the real value comes from having the courage to follow up and take that extra step to reach out.
“I remember during university our law society would do a lot of events. There’ll be a lot of guests, alumni, people who are in the industry, people who are doing really incredible things, and you meet them at these events,” he said.
“But being willing and having the courage to reach out to them after, find a time for a coffee at a time that works for them and pick their brain a little bit more.”
While acknowledging that some law students feel hesitant about using platforms like LinkedIn to connect with potential mentors, Cheng emphasised that taking these steps is often essential for building strong, lasting relationships – and that the effort is well worth it.
“But don’t be afraid to reach out. I know our generation is very apprehensive about LinkedIn. Don’t feel ashamed to cold message someone on LinkedIn. Don’t be afraid to click on the contact info tab and track down their email, and send them an email if it’s public, use it,” he said.
“Don’t be afraid to do a Google search and find that person on the about page of a website. Read more about them, track down their email and just reach out to them.
“This all might sound and seem a little bit stalkerish, but it’s about finding a way to make these connections and, over time, that would develop into really strong relationships.”
