BecomingGolden

Uganda Law Society is a body that was set up by the Uganda Law Society Act of 1956, CAP 276, as the Bar Association for lawyers in Uganda to help protect and promote lawyers across Uganda. The Young Lawyers Mentorship series started in 2021 during COVID and has grown to impact the lives of many young lawyers in shaping their professional future.  

This May, 2023, The Uganda Law Society hosted Miss Feizin Amlani who has a background in restoring education in different conflict war zone countries through coaching and mentoring. She later pivoted in life to the legal field and has harnessed branding and networking to position herself as a formidable lawyer. She was able to maneuver this career change through perseverance, resilience, consistency and building relationships and is a testament to all of us that anything is possible.

Why networking and branding yourself is important:

• One needs to seek for new clients.
• There is a lot of competition and one needs to stand out.

These are my 10 key takeaways from her talk:

1. As a lawyer one needs to have a good reputation so people can trust you. Lawyers therefore have to mind what they post on social media. This will eventually influence what comes up when someone googles your name.
2. Use the resources around you to create something innovative. Even without finance, one can start a blog, a You tube series and leverage it to showcase one’s skills. Testament to this, this is how she started network ninja, which is a company that provides lessons on how one can improve their networking skills.
3. When one is networking, they should always have a wingman. This is a person who you can go with together for events and is a good way to make you more comfortable with meeting new people.
4. Always look your best. Imagine every time you go out, this might be someone’s first impression of you. As human beings, we are happier to talk to someone presentable and feel comfortable around them than a shabby person.
5. Ensure you are networking outside of your profession. This will enable you interact with clients who need your services.
6. Think about your value statement when you are interacting with others. This should be the key areas you would wish to be remembered for. Understand your value statement and ensure it is articulated clearly.
7. Always have a plan. Do not just attend random events, ensure you have understood how that particular networking session will benefit you. Also, understand your strengths as a human being, some people are introverts and would prefer writing to in person meetings. If you are like that do start a blog or contribute to various journals and then use social media to showcase your work.
8. Ensure that after meeting people you follow up with them. You can text them or send an email within 48 hours as this will enable them remember you and keep you in mind in case any opportunity comes up.
9. After following up, please do manage your relationships. Ensure you are interacting with people and are checking in to see how they are doing. Networking is a continuous process, engagements never stop.
10. Smile and have fun. Life is too short so ensure as you are networking, you are enjoying yourself.

Miss Feizin Almani is an incredible lady and an inspiration to us all. I truly enjoyed her insights and I am ready to put them into practice.

Written by Advocate Brownie Ebal

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NB. Young Lawyers have been offered a discount to attend the Networking Ninja Master Class.

For more information on Networking Ninja kindly visit:

https://networkingninja.co/

Information on ULS activities kindly visit: