Work Life Balance

  • Law School,  Legal Practice,  SideBar,  Work Life Balance

    Hello, It’s Me.

    I feel like a negligent parent because I really thought a summer break would mean more and more written content, but that is not what happened! My bad. Last we spoke, my job was ending and I was figuring out what my next steps would be. In early May, I decided I would take the summer to figure out—really assess—what I wanted to do next. While I kept my law license active, the days of traditional practice seem behind me. Not in a “I wish I could go back” way, but rather my goals have moved past direct rep. I put in ten good years doing it and when I…

  • Law School,  Legal Practice,  Work Life Balance

    Here to Stay: Balancing Social Media with Your Legal Career

    Bloomberg’s latest article discusses the pitfalls of Biglaw attorneys on TikTok. It discusses how slow firms are to respond and how conflicted they are with associates being active on social media. I’ve been seeing more and more legal content on TikTok and when a recent Cravath associate opted to resign then to stop creating content (content that seems to be very lucrative), I couldn’t help but notice how far we’ve come! fyi, Cravath is the most white shoe of white shoe firms–if any firm is going to have a conservative stance on social media it’s going to be these type of firms. In 2015, I wrote a social media dos…

    Comments Off on Here to Stay: Balancing Social Media with Your Legal Career
  • SideBar,  Work Life Balance

    Side Bar: the wind down

    Last we spoke, I discussed wanting to shift some of the content here and then went silent. Sorry about that. Work, as always, became really hectic at the end of the year and into January. Then last month was the election in Chicago. Unfortunately, that means the administration I work for is coming to an end in May. What does that mean? I’m not sure—there are lots of moving pieces and lots of opportunities to consider. The good news is that at the beginning of the year my loans were finally forgiven. I did ten years deep of public service so all of it was wiped away. This means I’m…

  • SideBar,  Work Life Balance

    Side Bar: Bring It On

    Hi! It’s been a while since there was a new post. I hate that. On the one hand work and the new role in addition to responding to a huge migrant need takes up a lot of my time but on the other I have been going back and forth on what is most useful for this site. Don’t worry (or sorry to disappoint) but I am not stopping writing here and creating content. But being as far removed from law school as I am, I have questioned myself about when is it time to stop talking about that. I mean, not to sound old, but when I applied you…

  • SideBar,  Work Life Balance

    Side Bar: We Outside

    June was filled with nonstop activity. Though it started with me catching Covid so the first week I was quarantining at home. Thankfully, because I’m vaxxed and boosted, the symptoms were pretty mild. The worst of it was the first few days (an intense cough, shortness of breath, sinus pressure) but after it was mostly just a cough. I’m really glad because it could have been way worse (esp those with long-term symptoms). Wear a mask, ppl! I got a little too relaxed I’m certain that’s why I caught it. Aside from Covid, the month was filled with events. I was healthy enough to walk the Puerto Rican Parade, which…

  • SideBar,  Work Life Balance

    Sidebar: Rest and Relaxation

    April owes me nothing! It was a great month full of rest. Much needed. It started with a big professional accomplishment—I facilitated my first city-wide town hall meeting by myself. How grown up lol Basically the city often puts on open meetings to discuss important issues and receive feedback from community. And of course depending on the topic, things can go south. Thankfully, my years of experience training other attorneys, facilitating discussions, and camera work all prepared me to take this on. I was really nervous for lots of reasons but not only did it not go terrible, people enjoyed my approach so it was nice to be able to…

  • Law School,  Legal Practice,  Work Life Balance

    Graduation Gift Guide: Law Student Edition 2022

    Well, grads, you did it! I know that the last few weeks before the semester ends, things are stressful and bittersweet because this chapter is ending. I remember how excited I was when I finished high school, how sad I was to be done with college, and how terrified but proud and grateful I felt to finish law school. I mentioned that in law school, especially, it is a swirl of emotions. It’s so much excitement about finally FINALLY being done with school, with earning a hard-fought degree, but also that bar exam looming in the corner not letting you quite truly celebrate. But you still need to celebrate! And…

    Comments Off on Graduation Gift Guide: Law Student Edition 2022
  • Legal Practice,  Work Life Balance

    Two Years Later…

    Two years go by so fast that you don’t even notice how things change. I  want to take some time to reflect on the past two years (times BC) because I think it’s important and also because, in general, people are so quick to dismiss the trauma and the shift we’ve experienced and that’s not healthy, bestie. First, and most important, there are so many people whose lives were upended because of this illness (to put it lightly). And as a country we’re really quick to overlook the loss of millions of people gone and what that means. I don’t have any solutions on how to make us more empathetic…

  • SideBar,  Work Life Balance

    Sidebar: Surviving a Chicago Winter

    Happy new year (a month and two weeks late)! It’s so funny because in the fall, I wrote about how things felt a little more normal and then of course the next wave came and put everything back on pause. How much longer is this going to take? Very frustrating. But easing into the year wasn’t a bad thing, it let me really plan out my time and focus on my health a little more. And that was really the theme in January–getting more in tune with how I feel/making healthier decisions. So, I think I mentioned that at my annual the Dr realized I had extremely low vitamin D.…

  • Work Life Balance

    My Nightstand Routine

    The thing about me is that I love routines. And routines within routines? Omg, forget it! I think the stability of it really scratches some itch in my brain. So of course, I have a nightstand routine that I totally recommend. What is a nightstand routine? It’s simply items I keep on hand that I use before bed but if you’re a night owl, like me, then little things that help my brain underscore that it’s time for sleep help me not just scroll on my phone until 1 am (which of course I never do 😬).   Here is what I keep on hand: St. Jane’s Body Serum. This…