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Building a professional network may feel uncomfortable – and even unnecessary – for many aspiring lawyers, but one law student is urging the next generation of practitioners not to underestimate the career-changing power of meaningful connections.
Speaking on a recent episode of The Protégé Show, Piadora Rahme, a lawyer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth, urged aspiring lawyers not to shy away from the discomfort of networking, explaining that the connections built early in a career can become some of the most valuable foundations for future success.
In the same episode, she highlighted the transformative impact equity scholarships can have on law students, sharing how her own experience opened doors to opportunities she never thought possible.
Rahme acknowledged that the early stages of networking and finding mentors can feel overwhelming for law students, as it often requires them to push past self-imposed barriers and take the difficult step of putting themselves out there.
“It can be really overwhelming, I think for sure, because you have to kind of get comfortable being uncomfortable and putting yourself out of your comfort zone,” she said.
“It’s really difficult to sometimes approach those situations if your social anxiety gets the better of you and approaching people that you’re not necessarily familiar with, or in my case, that I had no relation with at all or nothing in common with at that time.”
While stepping outside your comfort zone may sound simple in theory, Rahme stressed that law students must learn to “get over that hurdle that you impose on yourself” and push past the self-doubt that can prevent them from embracing valuable opportunities.
Drawing on her own experience, Rahme highlighted how saying yes to new experiences can become a defining moment for young lawyers, with seemingly small steps often creating opportunities and connections far beyond what they may initially expect.
“The more experiences that you say yes to, the better. For instance, through their clerkship program, I did introduce myself to some structured mentors, and I think that’s great as a first start,” she said.
Rahme explained that stepping outside your comfort zone for the first time can serve as a crucial turning point for aspiring lawyers, helping them navigate the uncertainty of networking and creating a “snowball” effect as their confidence, connections and professional relationships continue to grow.
“So those structured programs are really important because they give you the advantage when you don’t know where to start,” she said.
“Then once you get more comfortable, you’ll just start meeting people naturally, and the network will just snowball. Then you can start being picky with who you want to network with more and your preferences on who you prefer to talk to. It will just snowball.”
However, Rahme cautioned that securing one mentor should not be viewed as the end goal, encouraging aspiring lawyers to continue expanding their networks and developing relationships with people from different backgrounds and stages of their careers.
She emphasised that “the more connections, the better” when it comes to building a strong professional foundation, with each relationship offering different perspectives, guidance, and opportunities throughout a lawyer’s journey.
“People really know other people, and they can introduce you, and maybe that mentor will be replaced,” she said.
Rahme cautioned that successful networking goes far beyond expanding a contact list, emphasising that the most valuable connections are those built through genuine effort, trust, and relationships that can continue to evolve over the course of a career.
“But it’s just really important to put effort into those relationships because they can come back full circle in ways you don’t expect,” she said.
