by Meyling Ly
DAYL President
Summer is definitely here – and we all know what that means…longer (hotter) days, vacations, and newbies! Yep — tis’ the season of recent law school graduates, judicial interns, summer associates and in August, new federal clerks, who are either new to life after law school (besides BarBri), new to the practice of law, or new to our lovely city, Dallas. And if we’re lucky…I’m hoping that we get to meet them all!
Now here is where I’ll need all of your help – I know that the longer days are awfully tempting to keep billing or knock out some errands right after work, but I hope I can count on all of you to take at least one time this summer to show our newbies a little Texas (Dallas) hospitality. This is our one shot to make a good first impression and to dispel the stereotypes: whether it’s that we all have big hair, wear boots and say y’all, or that we are “30K millionaires” who only associate with others who look exactly like us. Yes, I exaggerate…but I truly believe that we live in a fantastic city, with so much to offer, and more importantly, I believe that the young lawyers in DAYL are welcoming and inclusive, and that the DAYL is a great organization to get involved in from day one.
So what can you do to help?
Come to a DAYL event this summer and bring a newbie! We have some great signature events lined up this summer, in addition to our usual socials, like the DAYL Wine Tasting, Bowling with the Bench, Dinner & Dialogue, and Yappy Hour. I’m also working on a women’s business development event for July.
Don’t know a newbie to bring? Introduce yourself to someone new at one of our events and make him or her feel welcome. We all know that awkward feeling of being new, not knowing anyone and being resigned to stuffing your face at the appetizer table. This is your opportunity to pay it forward and alleviate that social anxiety, while you also proceed to stuff your face at the appetizer table.
Not sure what to say? For the recent law graduates, be kind and positive. Maybe save the “so many people in my class failed the bar” stories for later. For the judicial interns, you may also want to save the “there are no
jobs” stories or “being a lawyer is not fun” for another time too.
Of course, if you are so inclined, feel free to talk about how last year, DAYL won first place among other young lawyer bar associations for its wellness initiatives for young lawyers, for its resources for minority law students, and for its newsletter (Shout out to Sarah Rogers, Immediate Past President, Cherie Harris, Executive Director, and last year’s Wellness and Lawyers Promoting Diversity committees!).
Facetiousness aside, I truly hope you’ll join me in being the welcoming party for DAYL this summer. See y’all soon!