The legal profession is a community that you joined on the first day of orientation, and it is a community that is continuously concerned about reputation. Until the day you retire (and beyond if you continue to engage in your community through voluntarism, social events, etc), your reputation as a lawyer is continuously being developed, evolving, and being challenged. Based on your behavior in class and even in the hall, your classmates and the faculty and staff have begun to assess your professionalism. Their opinions matter when it comes time to seek out research assistants, make client referrals, send interesting job leads your way, or even just provide notes for the class you missed. If you haven't realized it yet, in many ways, the legal profession is a bit like junior high school -- lots of gossip, self-promotion, and insecurity. This is why it is so critically important that all your interactions (email, phone, voice mail, in person, on Facebook, etc) are professional and respectful. As a reminder, to use our office's services, students are expected to accord themselves in a professional manner in line with the Student Professionalism Agreeement. Addressing emails in a professional, proactive, positive manner goes a long way toward our ability to promote you or send you materials tailored to your interests. For example, alumni contacts will only continue to help us out if the students to whom we've referred them to treat them, and the College of Law faculty and staff, professionally and respectfully. In this sense, when you behave in a sloppy or snarky manner, you are also hurting the reputation of DePaul law students, which in turn dilutes the perceived value of your degree. When in doubt, ask for help, and be respectful -- that goes a long way toward establishing a professional reputation, which you will spend the rest of your life cultivating and developing.
Law in many ways is more than a paycheck, it is a calling, and don't forget that many people who can help you treat it as such.
