Influencer Marketing: How can I make money or expand my network while in law school?

As I sit in the expansive meeting hall amongst a sea of other 1Ls during orientation, I think about how nervous I am to be here. Even my scholarship-subsidized $20,000 tuition for the year was difficult to come up with, but it's significantly less than what most others pay (UC Davis Law tuition is just under $60,000)––or will have to pay after incurring significant debt––for law school. One of our academic deans walks up to the stage and announces that law school will be rigorous, stressful, and time-consuming. She also announces that we should not have jobs while in school.

This is not a unique experience. Many friends who attend other law schools told me that their deans don't just advise against students getting jobs, they forbid it. Students are thus faced with a difficult question during their first year of law school: do I incur massive debt and throw myself into my law school experience, or do I work and achieve financial security while putting my law school experience at risk? 

There's now a third option in a growing age of social media marketing: law students can monetize their "influence" by either documenting their law school experiences online, or by engaging in brand deals where they recommend products to their “followers.” Two of my friends have particularly enjoyed their experience as “influencers,” and have reaped other perks, too. 

One friend, "A.J.," shared that her experience working with brands resulted in transferable skills in her job as a transactional attorney at a “big law” firm. As an influencer, she often "marked up" potential contracts with her brand partners, negotiating key terms such as deliverables, timelines, price, and usage rights. During interviews, she explained that the negotiation and contract-drafting skills she acquired would allow her to be a stronger negotiator. Her personal experience translating "legalese" to lay terms allowed her to do the same for clients once she began working as an attorney. 

That said, she also acknowledged several risks to availing oneself to an online audience. These include the potential for reputational damage. A.J. writes, "Your professional reputation starts in law school, if not before. If you are connected with your classmates and coworkers on social media, they may judge you for what you post. Being called an 'influencer' has had a negative connotation in my opinion, so you may have to manage that."

Fortunately, a growing community of lawyers engage in content creation. This mitigates some of the negative perceptions of being an "influencer." 

Potential tax liability can be another pitfall. A.J. warns that "free gifts" or "free trips" delivered by brand partners to influencers are actually income on which taxes must be paid.  

Another friend, "B.Q.," shared that she "wouldn't consider herself an influencer" but has enjoyed sharing her experience online as a first-gen and DACA student. She garnered her platform after posting a "reaction video" to Tiktok of opening her California Bar "Pass.” Since then, many individuals have messaged her, often to ask questions about the law school application process.  She thus realized there was a need to document what it's like to attend law school and work at a "big law" firm. She is using her platform to post educational videos about the law school admissions process, on-campus interviewing (“OCI”), and her journey in general. B.Q. has connected with women in San Francisco who share identities with her, and she says it has helped her foster community. 

That said, B.Q. cautions against having too-large a social media platform. 

Every law firm has a social media policy. Many are becoming more conservative with respect to their social media policies, so I definitely recommend being very cautious about what you post. I don't post my firm's name in any video and am careful to not come across as speaking on behalf of my firm or posting any confidential information on my platform. 

B.Q. also shared that, during the OCI process, she made most of her social media accounts private to avoid being judged for her personal views. 

Whether you decide to supplement your law school career financially via influencer marketing, or to grow your network via influencer networking, social media is a new tool law students can use to expand opportunities. While it was not the best opportunity for me, I have seen several friends successfully manage their accounts to supplement their experiences in corporate world, be it through paying off debt, speaking about “influencing” in interviews, or finding a community or network of similarly situated individuals.  

As the legal field adapts to technological and media advancements, influencer marketing could be a useful skill to add to your resume. 

Should we find a better name?

The concept of white privilege has been a very hot button topic, particularly in recent years. Conversations in class have also prompted me to reflect further on this concept.

Privilege as a Trigger Word

As we have discussed, part of the frustration with the phrase “white privilege” rests in semantics. This frustration is particularly prevalent in underserved and underprivileged white communities. How can someone accuse them of having privilege when they are lacking in so many other ways? 

This can feel like some sort of attack or even a form of gaslighting. This idea that a person can see someone struggling and still call them privileged can seem like a minimization of that person’s struggle. 

The Complexities of Privilege

Privilege can be complicated. How do you explain to a white person in poverty that they have privilege in a way that someone like LeBron James or Beyonce does not? 

Ultimately the answer rests in the fact that there are different types of privilege that individuals can experience. 

A person of color or Black person can still experience privilege – both within their own communities and compared to the general population as a whole. One of the easiest ways for racial minorities to have privilege is economically. There is no doubt that access to capital and resources gives people access to power and opportunities that others may not have, regardless of race or ethnicity. 

Within their own communities, racial minorities with lighter skin complexions such as myself have privilege because of colorism. Though I still experience racism, I do not have the same struggles as darker skinned members of the Black community. This is also a form of privilege.

Furthermore, some individuals experience an intersection between being a racialized minority, economically disadvantaged, and even part of another marginalized group such as being LGBTQ+ or being a woman. Some people, on the other hand, may experience only belonging to one of the groups that I just listed. 

Ultimately, different people experience different privileges and also experience different barriers. Some of these privileges are based on phenotype, while some are not. Privilege is no monolith and it is important to acknowledge any form of privilege that one may have. 

This acknowledgment helps create a space where stating that another person has a certain form of privilege seems less accusatory. Additionally, this can help validate another individual in their struggles, even if those struggles may be different than one’s personal systemic challenges. This may make others more receptive to the idea of recognizing their own privilege and create a safer space for a genuine conversation to take place rather than an argument.

Is it Really Just Semantics?

I am not sure that there is a simple answer to this question. While I do agree that language matters and that changing the name could lead some people to being more receptive to this concept, I am not sure that it is that simple. 

There seemingly is a rather large group of people who are not just frustrated with the semantics of the word privilege, but also the underlying message. There is a frustration with the idea with the acknowledgement that being a certain race can give certain groups “perks” or benefits. A frustration with the acknowledgment that race is the one place that does not serve as a barrier in any capacity. 

While altering the semantics could be enough to change the minds of individuals who simply get triggered by the word “privilege” and nothing else, I do not believe it would be enough to change the minds of individuals who have an issue with both the word “privilege” and the underlying message. 

Maybe there are people who would accept this idea. However, I have had many conversations with different people who genuinely do not believe that their race gives them any meaningful advantages. I have even had conversations with individuals who have stated that White people are actually the groups being targeted and discriminated against currently. I understand that there are people who would be receptive to the idea that their race has not been a disadvantage for them. However I also think that there is an underestimation of how many people truly do not believe that being white has certain advantages. 

Again, I am not arguing that there would be no benefit to changing the name from white privilege to something less triggering. However, I personally believe that more people have an issue with the underlying message than the name itself. Until we can address how to make people more receptive to the underlying message, the concept will continue to be hotly debated. 

The Solution? 

In all honesty I really do not have a solution. I would be very dishonest in saying that I am a fan of making lessons about racism more “palatable” in order to appease people who are often willfully obtuse about the subject. 

However, I do understand that in order to make progress, there do need to be adjustments made as to how we talk about the complexities of racial identity and privilege. Looking at the semantics of the phrase “white privilege” and establishing one solid definition of the phrase that acknowledges nuances may be a good first step in the process of getting people on board. 

Ultimately, people on both sides of the aisle must listen to each other. Not listen to respond, but rather truly listen to the frustrations and concerns of each other so that they can find ways to move this conversation forward.