I would immediately get involved in external activities and professional relationships, such as Bar groups. I did not become involved in those activities the first nine years of my practice and changed course after I joined Jenner & Block, where bar and pro bono work are strongly supported. A good part of your development depends on those networks and relationships. For that reason, one of the program modules we have developed at NAWL is called, "Not What You Learned in Law School" - addressing the skills, information and networks that are so essential to careers but are not taught in the case books. It is also a lot of fun to meet and work with lawyers from around the country who share your interests.

Do the best work you can do; be generous; and be brave enough to pursue a good idea even if it is different from what went before.

Varies enormously from year to year, month to month, but the ideal is to do it consistently, at least one hour a week.

Develop relationships. Good relationships will lead to business. Focus on giving not getting, on helping people, not just getting things from people. I realize that is easy advice to give, often hard to do, but to me it is the ideal to strive for.

I initially thought that telling people about my qualifications and experience was a good rainmaking strategy. It failed because it was "all about me." I came to realize that a client or prospective client assumes you are qualified or you would not be in the room. Rainmaking should be about the client and the client's needs.

Young women lawyers should concentrate on practicing the skills needed for rainmaking. Don't wait for someone to do it for you because that likely will not happen or will not happen often enough to sustain you. Rainmaking is a process. Be patient with the process, be flexible enough to recognize opportunities, and when something does not work out, no need to beat yourself up about it, just look for the next chance. It will come.