Academic Communities and Networks
Chloe Wallace
I am not a good networker. Or at least I’m not if I go with my first instinct that “networking” means awkward conference receptions, strategic LinkedIn connections, and the pressure to be visible. But at its heart, networking is not about self-promotion—it’s about doing better work. The universities we work in exist to confront, and maybe even solve, some of the most pressing challenges of our time, and for most of us that is why we got into academia. But this is not something we can do in isolation. The work we do is inherently collaborative, and it is through networks and communities that we begin to make a real difference.
For most of us, networks are also fundamental to our job satisfaction and sense of well-being. Academia is often seen as being an individualised and isolating job. For some, that is part of its attraction. But we are all social beings, however we may express and experience that, and we need that sense of connectedness. Our networks expose us to new ideas, challenge our assumptions, and offer support when we need it most. They provide friendship, solidarity, and a sense of belonging.
Of course, networks can also support career progression. Many institutions include internal and external engagement in promotion criteria. Networks can facilitate access to research funding, collaborative projects, and examples of good and novel practice, all of which really help our careers to progress. In a sector marked by precarious employment and declining real-terms pay, these opportunities matter. But my experience tells me that focusing on these benefits alone not only feels a bit hollow, but can also harm your ability to be authentic in your work. On the other hand, if you focus on the intrinsic value of networks—better work and better relationships—the career benefits often follow naturally.
Start with Good Working Relationships
The foundation of any academic network is relationships—especially “weak ties” that connect us to people we don’t work with closely but with whom we share interests or commitments. Whilst long-term deep collaborations are valuable, it is through these weak ties that we can build a broad and diverse network, and from which our deeper collaborations may well emerge.
Begin with your immediate colleagues, both academic and professional services staff.Get to know what they do, and let them know what you’re working on. These connections by themselves can create opportunities to work together on department/school-specific activities, as well as broadening your horizons and opening doors. They are also relatively easy to make; attend internal staff seminars, external seminars and lectures and work in progress sessions, or simply join people for lunch. Try to reach out beyond your narrow areas of interest, module teams or research centres- nobody can do everything, but the most interesting collaborations tend to derive from unexpected connections, so broaden your net as far as is practical.
Reach beyond your law school. Attend university-wide events, join interdisciplinary networks, and explore what’s happening in other faculties. In my view, this is particularly important when it comes to student education innovation. It is easy for us to become silo’d within individual programmes, assuming that our way is the only way of doing things, and reinventing the wheel rather than learning and building on what others have done. If nothing else, knowing that something is done differently in another School can be helpful in trying to navigate the inevitable bureaucratic barriers to making change in our own. My own work on study abroad has benefited both from engagement with my University’s study abroad office, and an awareness of practice in our School of Languages, Cultures and Societies. The latter helped me think beyond the traditional methods of assessing study abroad, and the former were invaluable not only helping me understand the practical context in which studio board happens, but also in supporting my efforts to ensure that my work had practical impact.
Finally, think nationally and internationally. Engage with societies like the Association of Law Teachers (ALT), the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA), and the Society of Legal Scholars (SLS), as well as the brilliant Connecting Legal Education network. Attend national and international conferences focused on both legal research and the scholarship of teaching and learning. These spaces facilitate further connection across jurisdictions and discipline. They can be more challenging to access, however, so a later section of this entry considers ways in which this kind of networking needs to be done inclusively.
Making Connections: Beyond Profile Building
Corporate-style networking advice often emphasizes visibility—attending events with a target list of people to meet, or using LinkedIn to draw attention to your work. While profile building has its place, it’s not the same as building networks. Good networks are built on relationships, not attention, and grow through genuine interest, active listening, and mutual respect. Don’t assume who does or doesn’t have something to “offer” you. And don’t assume that you have to be particularly extrovert or sociable; making connections looks different when you are introverted and/or socially anxious, but it is possible. I’m always looking for the thing that equates to the bottle of wine at the party; the thing that I can hold onto and use as an introduction into the small groups during coffee breaks rather than just having to awkwardly stand there and wait for somebody to notice me. Somewhat counterintuitively, introverts often do well organising events; having some sort of role gives you something to do that may help you feel less self-conscious.
Universities are busy, with countless events and initiatives. You can’t attend everything, but pay attention to what sparks your interest. When you find someone’s work interesting or relevant, let them know—send an email, connect on social media, or simply introduce yourself. People will welcome this, particularly if you engage authentically. You can join existing networks or build your own; while creating something new may seem more prestigious, contributing meaningfully to established communities can be just as valuable, and a proliferation of similar networks can be counter-productive.
Networking Inclusively
If the one of the purposes of networking is to learn from and collaborate with others, its value disappears when we only engage with people like ourselves. Inclusive networking means seeking out diverse voices—people who don’t look or sound like us, who are from different types of institutions, countries, jurisdictions, and lived experiences. You may already be reflecting on the barriers which you, or others, might experience in following some of my advice. Many of the barriers relate to attendance at conferences so what follows focuses on that. But, for example, out of hours events, whether academic or social, can be tricky to attend, for reasons relating to caring responsibilities or to illness and disability. Addressing these barriers is an ongoing project, and I’d strongly urge you not only to let people know of any barriers that you experience but, more importantly, to advocate for greater flexibility and accessibility for everyone. See Robinson at al (2020) and Ni Drisceoil et al (2025), for two complimentary accounts of events with a focus on inclusivity.
There is no perfectly inclusive way of networking-the key is to avoid relying on a single method or event to form all your connections. In-person conferences are not accessible to everyone. Parents and carers may struggle to travel; disabled people may face physical or logistical barriers; visa restrictions and university budget cuts can exclude many (particularly, but not exclusively, PhD candidates and student education focused staff). Overall we are in an environment where fewer and fewer people are able to attend the big conferences and meetings. Hybrid events offer a way forward, but can be difficult to network at. If you’re attending in person, make an effort to connect with online participants who won’t be at the lunch break. If you’re online, send personal messages to presenters whose work interests you.
Social media has transformed academic networking, and has been valuable when it’s difficult to travel to events. However, online life is changing fast, particularly for minoritised people, for whom very few online spaces are safe to be authentic in, and substantial online engagement is not always good for mental health. Some people are engaging less, some people are engaging differently, and many have left platforms entirely. Whilst Twitter (X) has been the focus for some of this disenchantment, alternatives like Bluesky or LinkedIn have their own challenges, especially for minoritised scholars who are often particular targets for harassment. It’s very much worth thinking about ways in which you can create an online presence in a way that works for you, but nobody should feel pressured into being online. When you are advertising events or calls for contributions, don’t just rely on social media, and don’t pressurise people to be online if they don’t want to.
Final Thoughts
If, like me, networking isn’t a word that resonates, I hope this entry has given some ideas for other ways of thinking about it. It’s about finding your people, contributing to communities, connecting with people worth listening to, and building relationships. You can’t do academia without it.
Where Next?
Networks can provide opportunities to collaborate with others, including when Starting your Pedagogical Research.
Or
As you network with others, you will likely encounter others who are early career academics who you might want to consider signposting to this guide, as well as other resources on Beginning your Career in Legal Academia.
Or
Reflect on your pathway through legal academia and view the Afterword to this guide to hear more about the history, purpose and support of the ALT.
Where After?
A useful engagement with the concept of weak ties can be found in the Squiggly Careers podcast episode 244 (https://www.amazingif.com/listen/how-to-work-your-weak-ties/). For the origins of the concept see Granovetter (1973).
Sources:
Robinson S, Baumhammer M, Beiermann L et al, ‘Innovation in a crisis: rethinking conferences and scholarship in a pandemic and climate emergency’ (2020) 53 The British Journal for the History of Science 575
Granovetter, Mark S, ‘The Strength of Weak Ties’ (1973) 78 American Journal of Sociology 1360
Ní Drisceoil, V, Doherty, M, & Bleasdale, L ‘Joy, connection and doing things differently: reflecting on the connecting legal education “Fest”’ (2025) 59 The Law Teacher 127
