Handy Tips and Tricks for Starters in the Construction Law Industry.

Good Afternoon,

This greeting applies to you in whatever time zone you are in. Let the GMT+1 have this one (lol). I wish you blessings, light, and everything good as you go through your day.

In the past, I have had people on here reach out to me as to how I started my construction law journey and if I could give tips on how to break into the field. I have engaged some over the DM and have spoken to others over a phone call providing as much information as I can possibly share. I do this because I have met people on this platform who have freely and willingly provided answers to my questions with others providing career opportunities and thus exponentially increasing my knowledge in this field.

I was at a seminar recently where the standard forms of contract were being explained to young lawyers. The Speaker had done a great deal of justice explaining the various standard forms to participants. Towards the end, a Lawyer asked what advice the presenter has for those trying to break into the construction law field. Here are eight (8) tips that have helped me over time on this journey:

1. I have a passion for this niche. Do I want to make money out of it in the future, absolutely! but it is not what drives me. It is not what fuels this car that makes it revs so loudly. I want to be first and foremost an expert in this. I love it and it is not going to change. I discovered this passion has kept me going when it gets tough sometimes. It does get tough.
2. I am active on LinkedIn. I follow those with similar interests as me and engage with their posts. I also scout for free virtual seminars and conferences in my area of interest. Most of them are posted on LinkedIn and while in attendance, I listen to speakers while taking notes for references. Others are referred to me by my colleagues and I try to make time to attend them.
3. I am never afraid to shoot anyone an email or DM asking for career advice. The worst that can happen is to get silence. I make sure to politely ask my questions on how they have navigated their career journey and what advice they have for an upcoming like me in this field. I have gotten helpful career navigation advice on this App from people whom I do not even know. They have provided advice on courses to take, connections to follow, and organizations to lookTheyfor. Shout out to everyone who has responded positively to me. You guys are the OGs. I also never forget to appreciate them for their time.
4. I am prepared to do the work. Like the lyrics of that old song, you will have to put your back into it. I read widely and read some more. Construction law is not taught in the University or at the Law school so a lot of this was strange to me. You will dabble into other fields like Engineering and Quantity surveying because you will need some of their data to prepare your contract. Like I said be prepared to learn a lot of NEW. That passion we spoke about at the beginning will come in handy here. It will make the readings less tedious.
5. I take up virtual internship positions to gain hands-on experience. Construction is an active field. So while I can read up and learn a few things, I know I needed hands-on experience to get industry knowledge. I was open to such roles when they present themselves. I did not care too much if they were paid or unpaid, I just needed the expertise.
6. I write articles on LinkedIn to document my journey and expand my learning. The art of writing is a school in itself. While preparing my articles, the resource I looked through helped in boosting my knowledge.
7. I take courses and commit to finishing them. Most of them were online courses. While taking these courses, I realize taking courses helps make a lot of complex things simple. Some of the technical words I came across in this terrain were demystified while taking these courses.
8. ??I will be forever open to learning. Learning to me is a lifelong journey. A marathon and not a sprint. I re-read documents, articles and books I have read before and I always catch something new that helps increases my knowledge. I also read Standard Forms of Contracts, Regulations, Policies and laws and Resources from the World Bank pertaining to construction and procurement.

While I am still a pupil in this path that I have chosen, I hope these pointers will help persons who have a thirst for the construction law path and I also hope that makes their journey a little bit less difficult than mine. I hope more female Lawyers show an interest in this path too as I have found out it is a male-dominated field.

In case there are other female lawyers out there in construction law and we are not connected, if you see this letter, please reach out, I would love to connect with you.