One of the easiest things to do as a young advocate is to look around and wonder when your career will finally begin.
You see advocates arguing big cases, appearing on television, leading established firms and walking into courtrooms with the confidence that comes from years of practice.
You look at your own desk, your small files and your modest beginnings and wonder whether you are moving fast enough.
You are.
The mistake is believing that your career must look like someone else’s before it can be considered successful.
There is no single path to becoming a successful advocate.
Some build litigation practices. Others find their place in commercial law, conveyancing, tax, employment, constitutional litigation, arbitration, academia, public service or specialised areas of practice that did not even interest them when they were admitted.
Some will build law firms. Others will build careers within institutions.
Some will become recognised early. Others will take years before their work begins to attract attention.
Do not be in such a hurry to find your destination that you fail to build the road that will take you there.
Your first few years are not supposed to look impressive.
They are supposed to make you good.
Take the small brief seriously. Take the difficult client seriously. Take the matter nobody else wants seriously. Draft the pleading properly.
Read the file before you walk into court. Return the client’s call.
Research the question nobody thinks is important. Learn how a transaction works. Ask why a senior made a particular decision. Learn from every assignment.
You may not realise it at the time, but these ordinary things are building your professional identity.
There will also be moments when you have to decide what kind of advocate you want to become.
Do not make that decision simply because a particular area of practice appears fashionable or profitable. Find the work that interests you.
Pay attention to the subjects you naturally read about, the problems you enjoy solving and the matters that make you want to know more.
Then become good at them.
Reputation is rarely built by trying to be everything to everyone.
It is built by becoming very good at something and being known for the quality of the work you do.
But building your own path does not mean rejecting the people who helped you get started.
If you work in a law firm, learn everything you can.
If a senior gives you an opportunity, honour it with good work. If someone introduces you to a client, remember the trust behind that introduction.
But while you are helping to build the practice around you, do not forget to build yourself.
Read beyond the files you are assigned. Develop relationships beyond your immediate workplace.
Attend professional events. Participate in Continuous Professional Development (CPDs).
Write.
Speak when you have something useful to say.
Find mentors. Real mentors. Be a good mentee.
Build friendships with advocates at different stages of their careers.
Learn the business side of law. Understand technology. Learn how to manage money.
Your legal knowledge may get you through the door. Your judgment, relationships, reputation and character will determine how far you go.
And do not underestimate the importance of relationships.
There is a difference between networking and collecting contacts. You do not need to know everyone.
You need to build genuine professional relationships with people who know your work and trust your character. Help others when you can.
Share opportunities. Recommend a colleague when a matter is outside your area.
Celebrate another advocate’s success without feeling that their success diminishes yours.
The profession is not a race in which someone else’s progress prevents yours.
There will be disappointments.
A client you thought you had may choose another lawyer.
A case you prepared for may be lost.
A promotion may go to someone else.
A firm may not become what you hoped it would be.
Someone younger may appear to be progressing faster than you.
Do not allow one disappointment to become the story you tell yourself about your entire career.
A career in law is long.
You will change. Your interests will change. The kind of work you want will change. The opportunities available to you will change.
The advocate who begins by doing whatever work comes through the door may eventually discover a specialised practice.
The advocate who dreams of litigation may find fulfilment in transactions.
The person who begins in private practice may eventually find a calling in teaching, public service or leadership.
Give yourself permission to grow.
But while you are growing, do not wait for someone else to give you permission to become the advocate you want to be. Start where you are.
If you cannot afford an impressive office, do excellent work from the office you have.
If you do not have major clients, serve the clients you have exceptionally well.
If you are not yet being invited to speak, learn enough to have something worth saying.
If you do not have a large network, begin by building five genuine professional relationships.
Do not despise small beginnings.
The advocate you become tomorrow is being shaped by what you do with the opportunities in front of you today.
And remember that building your own path does not mean walking alone.
Stand on the shoulders of those who are willing to teach you, but eventually learn to see beyond where they stood.
Take advice, but develop your own judgment. Learn from other people’s careers, but do not copy them.
Admire successful advocates, but do not become so occupied with their achievements that you fail to notice your own progress.
Your career does not have to resemble anyone else’s to be a good career.
What matters is that it is built deliberately, honestly and with purpose.
One day, a young advocate may walk into your office feeling exactly as you once did – uncertain, ambitious and wondering whether they will ever make it.
When that day comes, I hope you will have more than a successful practice to show them.
I hope you will have a path worth following.
Because the goal is not simply to become a successful advocate.
It is to become an advocate who knows why they chose this profession, what they stand for, and what legacy they want to leave behind.
Ekaterina Handa
Ekaterina Handa is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya, Commissioner for Oaths, Notary Public and Partner at Gitonga, Kinyangui & Co Advocates.
