Law school email addresses are an essential tool for law students to connect with their academic community and maintain an association with their institution. Indeed, these email addresses are widely used throughout the duration of legal studies and perhaps a year or two after graduation, helping former students maintain communications within their network and fostering a sense of institutional identity. However, continued use of a law school email address years after graduation is beginning to raise questions about its appropriateness.
It’s not uncommon for graduates to use these email addresses as their primary communication tool years after leaving the academic world, particularly if the law school they attended is prestigious. However, this practice often gives off a pretentious vibe, as it seems to be a way to subtly announce their affiliation with a highly regarded institution; information that can easily be found on a resume or a LinkedIn profile.
Even though it was believed that such behavior was an outlier, it seems to be more pervasive. Interestingly, those mostly observed using their law school email accounts years after graduating tend to be from the same law school – a resemblance to Andy Bernard from “The Office” constantly implying his Ivy League education. Unless there are benefits unknown to general populace associated with this practice, it would be in their best interest to align with the norm and switch to a generic email address shortly after graduating.
One could argue that ditching an alumni email account could make communications within a network more challenging. However, there are countless ways by which ex-students in the same alumni community can engage. LinkedIn serves as a great method for messaging contacts, and easily accessible work email addresses can also be used. In most cases, there are no tangible reasons to adhere to law school email accounts once their legal careers have begun.
Of course, there are notable exceptions. Professors, mentors, or others still part of a law school community in some capacity, could well have a logical reason for retaining a law school email account. Furthermore, access to these accounts can be preserved without actually using them for communications. Many may have valuable resources and materials associated with their email accounts that they are unwilling to forfeit.
Nonetheless, it’s a matter of introspection for those who insist on using their law school email addresses years after graduation, evaluating why they do so might reveal some uncomfortable truths. Using an educational email to flaunt worthy academic credentials often comes across as supercilious, and can make individuals seem notably hung up on the past.
Read more on this topic from an expert’s perspective in an article by Jordan Rothman, partner of The Rothman Law Firm and founder of Student Debt Diaries: People Should Stop Using Law School Email Accounts Years After Graduating