A great way to cultivate relationships is by becoming active in bar associations and key groups in your practice area or industry.
Join a committee or take on a volunteer role. This type of work can help you become more visible in the field and lead to introductions and connections who can become clients or refer work to you. Just make sure that you do the role well – you can hurt your reputation by not doing what you said you were going to do.
In addition, become active in your college and law school alumni groups, as well as the alumni network of any former firms at which you worked. Even defunct firms often have alumni groups on LinkedIn and in person. Reach out to a well-connected former colleague to inquire about them.
Attend in-person events as well as join the online alumni community and related #LinkedIn alumni groups. Create your own informal alumni group composed of key former colleagues/classmates and make a plan to get together in person at least two times a year.
For more on how to build your network and brand, read my JD Supra article.