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Beware of Burnout
When I first started practicing I was so fueled by excitement and hope that I never, ever thought I would get tired of doing my job. And thankfully for me it took a long time before the negative aspects of lawyering started to feel like a drag. I count myself lucky because my work didn’t have a ton of adversarial encounters (my immigration practice was mostly affirmative based). My clients were literally the best people ever, and I was lucky enough to do really novel work in terms of addressing gender-based violence. Oh and did I mention I practiced immigration during a time where immigration law was pretty much steady…
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When You Feel Like You’re Always Failing
I joked on instragram the other day about not letting a trial team’s account follow me because when I was in law school they would never let me on a team. Obviously, it was a joke and I promise I’m not upset by it (anymore!) but it was a good reminder of one of the more draining and frustrating experiences in my law school career. Basically, when I was in school aside from moot court and journals there was an elite trial team and I wanted nothing more to join them. I tried out my 1L and 2L year–and while 1L was a disaster–by 2L year, I had grown a…
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The Bad and the Ugly of Being an Attorney
Beginning your career as a new attorney is so exciting. You’re finally working in your dream career and it feels so rewarding to start a fresh, new chapter in your life. Plus, when you go to court people call you counselor and it’s pretty awesome the first few times it happens–not going to lie. But soon you’ll realize the big open secret: being a lawyer is hard y’all and that is in large part due to the culture shock you may experience. Culture shock is normal and typical when starting something new and learning new codes of conduct and expectations. Where I think some struggle with moving beyond the shock…
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Is Law School Worth It?
We’ve spoken before about how law school isn’t really for anyone–it’s a difficult experience for almost everyone. But here I am pushing all lawtinas to reach this goal and for what? We definitely hear about all the downsides of law school (primarily the debt), but what are the real tangible, benefits you receive once you earn a JD? One of the reasons I encourage more of us to become attorneys is because being a lawyer isn’t just another career option. Lawyers are leaders. They are the ones looked to during crisis. They are the ones that help create, set, and executive policies and laws that impact our loved ones’ daily…
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When You Don’t Have Enough: Mastering Lack of Resources as a 1L
I have described my summer before law school many times–how emotionally difficult it was because I didn’t think I’d be able to pay for my law school deposit. And how frustrating 1L semester was when I had to work extra shifts at a retail store just to make rent, sacrificing precious study time. I could go on and on about how draining it is to go into this endeavor (and college really) as a student from a low-income family, and when you’re first gen, there’s an added barrier of navigating the higher Ed system with little guidance. It is tough. So I wanted to take this time, as many of…
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Summer Series: The Importance of Seeking New Experiences
Summer Series is coming to a close (did this summer fly by or what?!) and I am so thrilled to share Nadia’s summer with all of you. Nadia decided to try something new to expose herself to different areas of the law, to re-align her purpose after 1L year, and decided to spend her summer as a judicial clerk and is sharing the nuts and bolts of her day-to-day. This is immensely helpful info if you’re a prelaw or just unsure about what clerks do (I definitely did not consider it when I was in school and had no idea how great it looks on a resume! so don’t be…
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What do Leaders Look Like
A while ago I listened to the late, great Cerebronas podcast where they were guest in another WOC podcast. In the discussion, one of the hosts mentioned how surprised she was when she started law school at the homogeneity in body types. As I was listening, I found myself nodding along because it was true that in the law there is generally not a ton of body variation. And when I stopped to think why, the first explanation that jumped out at me is that most law school students are or were athletes at one point in time. For many of them, long-term participation in a competitive sport is how…
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Summer Series: The Power of Planning
Summer Series 2019 continues! Today we have Melinda Reyes, a pre-law student who is not a law student…yet, but she will be! And she’s sharing her goals and plans on getting to law school and why the power of planning is just as important as the power of yet. Latinas are a force to be reckoned with and we often second guess our own greatness. And because of that, my dream of becoming an attorney sometimes felt out of reach. But even when it felt that way, I kept my dreams in mind and let them be my guide. I graduated last year from Boston University, and I now feel…
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Law School Lingo
Starting law school is excited until you feel like a fish out of water–you’ve never read so slowly in your life, you’re confused about the process, and often you’re confused about terms and phrases that other people just seem to know. I’m not talking about the latin phrases in case law, but rather a classmate talking about joining a white shoe firm. Like, what even is that? No fear, today, we’re sharing some law school lingo to review and refer to that will hopefully help explain this new world you’re joining. As you review these phrases you’ll notice I mention “prestigious,” “elite,” and “competitive” a lot. And well, welcome to…
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Summer Series: Fighting for the Environment
Summer Series 2019 continues! Today we have Natasha Viteri, a rising 2L who decided to use her first summer working on environmental issues. Environmental law lacks enough of us in the space, which is a shame because Latinx suffer so much from harmful environmental policies. Knowing this, Natasha hustled to get her internship and shares with us the tips that worked for her to get her internship! ¡Hola Hermanas! My name is Natasha Viteri and I am a rising 2L at the University of Colorado Law School. I am originally from Quito, Ecuador and I lived in Houston before moving to Boulder. This summer, I am interning at Earthjustice, an…