Across industries, career advancement is dependent not only upon merit, but upon “who you know” - and the power of network influence is growing steadily as more opportunities for connectivity emerge. The legal profession is far from an exception; as many brilliant, hard-working, yet overlooked attorneys can confirm, navigating through the legal industry is difficult when you lack the proper channels. Fortunately, it’s never too late to start building a strong network - and, thanks to these five developing avenues, it’s easier now than it’s ever been before.

Whether you’re new to #LawTwitter, the legal community’s cherished social media nook, or have some experience navigating through its tangled webs of sardonic jokes and SCOTUS references, you’ve probably noticed that there are a few “must-follow” legal tweeters who tend to dominate the platform. With thousands of followers and a seemingly endless content pool, these esteemed members of #LawTwitter set the community’s topics of discourse each day - and for good reason: I can’t imagine how dull Twitter might be without David Lat (@DavidLat) and Bob Ambrogi (@bobambrogi) among others.

Whether you manage a small firm whose operations are shaped by a strict budget, or a large firm where financial decisions adhere to the best interests of major stakeholders, your bottom line matters - and every member of your firm should be actively contributing to its optimization. Billing attorneys are, of course, at the top of this list; which is why misrepresentations of your primary billers’ true production values are inherently detrimental to the firm’s collective success.