The king of connections

Photo: Buffalo Business First.

Photo: Buffalo Business First

“It’s about having relationships with individuals who are influential in the marketplace and are as passionate about connecting a network as you are.”

If anyone still used an address book, Nate Yohannes ’12 would be the size of a humvee.

Yohannes, a 2012 School of Law graduate, has deep connections in the world of politics and in Washington, D.C. During the Obama administration, he served as a senior adviser in the Office of Investment and Innovation, part of the U.S. Small Business Administration. Now he has joined a private equity firm that invests in socially responsible companies.

And as chair of the D.C. Chapter of the UB Law Alumni Association, he knows that succeeding in Washington is all about making connections.

“We’re there to connect and promote the law school and its graduates, to help each other and the students,” he says. “I like to say that we’re the Delta Force: We’re relatively small but really lethal and effective.”

The School of Law’s D.C. connection was his springboard to working in the nation’s capital, Yohannes says. “My first job in Washington was through a UB law alumnus, and there is not a city in America with more relationships,” he says. “It’s a buyer’s market for attorneys, so you need to grab every business card you can.

“It’s about having relationships with individuals who are influential in the marketplace and are as passionate about connecting a network as you are. My law school connections have been unbelievably influential in my success here in D.C.”