YLD spotlight
YLD Celebrates
by katherine e. camadeco, esq.
N
ovember is National Career Development Month. In August, the Young Lawyers Division had the pleasure and the opportunity to host Mary Beth Link, founder of Monzingo Legal to discuss how to position yourself for growth in your career. Link provided attendees with some great takeaways. Below are some of her top tips:
Be clear on your career goals. It is important to be clear on your career goals at any stage. Take the time to think about your career goals. What are your long-term goals? What are your shortterm goals? And what steps do you need to take to achieve your goals? Over time, some of your goals may change; however, take the time to consider your career goals, write them down and then check in with your goals from time to time.
Stay on top of current market trends in the legal industry. One way to monitor the job market is to subscribe to the Florida Bar’s
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job flash or other job boards. Prior to the pandemic, approximately 80 jobs were regularly being listed; today, that number is almost 200. Even if you are not actively looking for a job, monitoring hiring trends can help you see practice areas that are growing. Link advised that some pandemic-proof practice areas include family law, real estate and estate planning.
Know what firms are looking for. Monitoring the current job market can also assist you in knowing what firms are looking for when they are hiring, so you can develop your strengths. Writing is the number one skill firms look at. Besides writing, firms also look at experience with court hearings, trials and depositions. And according to Link, firms want to see numbers, so be specific about the number of hearings you have conducted, the number of trials you’ve participated in and the number of depositions you have conducted or defended. Firms are looking for attorneys who provide excellent client service and are meeting, and exceeding, billable hours. It is also LeeBar.org
critical to know how to work with and delegate to a paralegal. And lastly, it may be important to consider adding an advanced degree or other certifications to your resume. Link said you may want to consider an LLM, especially in areas like tax and estate planning. It is never too early, or too late, for career growth and development. For more information on the legal market and career growth, check out the LCBA YLD: August 2021: Legal Recruiter Workshop with Mary Beth Link on YouTube. And for more career growth, come network with the Young Lawyer’s Division at our annual Christmas Party on December 3, 2021, at Millennial Brewery. More details to follow.
Katherine E. Camadeco, Esq. is the President-Elect of the Young Lawyers Divsion of the Lee County Bar Association and an attorney at O’Halloran & Simmons, PLLC where she practices in the area of Marital and Family Law.
