Advanced Advocates BLOG

Advanced Advocates survived the beta phase! Advanced Advocates is a new social platform built exclusively for law students. I built the platform to fill a much needed niche in the law school space. With all the great networks around us like Facebook and LinkedIn, there was nothing in my opinion that law students could leverage to enhance their education. Law students are a talented bunch and they each have a unique story. Getting into school is an accomplishment by itself. When I was in school, I only networked with students in my particular school. I met some great folks, learned a lot, and had some fun. But with technology now, law students should be crossing geographical divides and networking with EVERYBODY. Why not?

With AA, we’ve tried to create features that were relevant for law students that enabled them to collaborate with law students across the country (or globe). In order to students to network on a regular basis, there had to be a compelling reason to return to the site. Got a question about a case? Find the case and start a discussion thread. There’s ZERO marketing budget so it depends on positive statements from the users. As a relevant service, the network effect kicks in, meaning more users, more value, leading to more users, etc. Positive stories help.

It’s refreshing to see so many bright law students leveraging social media to create their personal brands. You can never start too early! Without a doubt, the universities will eventually get on a board and the entire system of legal education will be changed DRAMATICALLY. With AA, students can now discuss cases, form groups, leave feedback about summer jobs, share outlines, etc. Soon, it’ll a place where interested lawyers and recruiters can find the best and brightest. And it’ll always be free for students.

Lawyers are like the IRS…we’re slow, but not stupid. We’ve never been an industry of early adopters. It took a while for lawyers to grasp email, but, to the detriment of our marriages, we got there. It took a while for lawyers to jump on the blog bandwagon, but we got there. Students will eventually network across geographical divides. Enjoy the ride!