Building your network

Anne E. Joynt '05 and her mentee Rosa Guerrero '18 showing off the prizes they’d won at a Mentor Kickoff Reception.

Anne E. Joynt '05 and her mentee Rosa Guerrero '18 showing off the prizes they’d won at a Mentor Kickoff Reception

As a graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law, you instantly make contacts and know so many people.

After three intense years of law school, you might think the last thing you’d want to do is look back.

But like most UB School of Law alumni, Anne Joynt ’05 not only looks back a lot – she reaches back. One of many alumni who keep in close touch with current students, Joynt has been president of the Graduates of the Last Decade (GOLD) Group, which helps new grads bridge the gap between school and legal practice. Now she’s vice president of the UB Law Alumni Association, connecting thousands of alums worldwide, in addition to her community service as a leader in the Western New York chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.

In part that’s how she nurtures the lifelong friendships from her time on campus. And, she says, the UB connection pays off: It was a professor who recommended her to the Buffalo law firm Lipsitz & Ponterio, where she is now a junior partner and a rising star in the legal community.

“There are so many things a new lawyer needs to know,” says Joynt, who also serves as a professional mentor to UB School of Law students. “Being a young female associate, especially, is a unique role, so I try to address that with my mentees.

“The UB alumni network is such a strong one, and I still interact regularly with people I went to law school with. Sometimes I oppose them in cases, sometimes we’re on the same side. I see them in board meetings or around the community. As a graduate of the School of Law, you instantly make contacts and know so many people.”