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Big Law is Horrible…Or is it? What the Latest Big Law Drama Can Teach Us
This week a slide from an alleged presentation by Paul Hastings dropped and boy…did people have a lot to say. Whether or not it was actually part of the presentation, the overall consensus was the Big Law is horrible and this is just another example. And I get it—seeing the slide by itself and how it prioritizes work above everything seems, at the very least, a little unhealthy while others may see it and think those expectations just come with the job. There is a widening gap in the way people approach work with a younger generation being more attuned with their rights and pushing for a more tenable work/life…
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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…
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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…
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Overcoming Frustration: Building New Skills in Law School
Law school makes you a new person. There are many ways that it changes you, good and bad, but its main goal is to provide you a new way to think, write, and argue. And you’re thrown into this situation without much awareness of what’s to come. And when you’re in those classes, it can be really frustrating because all the ways you used to think, write, and argue are not necessarily wrong, but they’re just not right for this setting. Learning new skills is frustrating in general (hello, all my impatient Aries bebes!), but law school makes it worse because it also plays people against each other and makes…
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What, Like it’s Fancy? Understanding Prestige in the Legal Industry
I spoke recently on tiktok about not grasping how “prestigious” it was to work for the governor’s legal team when I was in law school. It just didn’t set on how other folks may view that as important or how I could leverage that into another opportunity. I just had no clue! And for a lot of us first-gen, low income kids who grow up detached/excluded from professional spaces, who don’t know any attorneys or people in the field, we often fail to see prestige. Why is that important? Because, as always, the legal industry loves its systems of power. Being able to create hierarchies even within the industry means…
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Who are You to Judge? Managing Feelings Around Clients
You’re not going to like your clients. Well, you’ll like some of them but more than likely you’ll have a few that you just don’t like. It could be because of their personality or because of their decisions, or because they zap your energy, or they’re downright rude…clients are humans and we normally don’t always love every human we engage with. But when you’re representing them, you’re duty to your client requires you figuring out how to overcome feelings of dislike. Now to be clear, there’s no duty to like your client. But when you dislike someone or find yourself judging their behavior/character, it impacts your work and that is…
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What I did Right in Law School
Surprise, not everything I did in law school was a mess LOL. Though I often share all my mistakes and upsets in law school, I did, in fact, manage to graduate on dean’s list after 1L year and snagged some cool experiences that helped me land employment post-graduation. But I rarely share that mostly because the overwhelming stress and chaos of law school seems to reign supreme. But as many are about to start another semester, I figured it was a good time to share some things that I did right when I was in school. And by “right” I mean that despite the internal doubt and external barriers, I…
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Taking Control: Applying to the Right Law Schools
Out of 200 choices, how do you pick? When it’s time to apply for law school, choosing which ones to apply to can feel overwhelming. Where do you even start? And each of the applications cost money? And what if you’re not sure that you’re T14 material, do you still just apply to the top schools? The first thing to remember is that the application process is a numbers game and while you shouldn’t limit yourself, you should be realistic about where to apply to make sure it’s the best option for you. And there are so many other things to consider beyond rank. Take my case, for example, I…
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Summer Series: Breaking the Glass Ceiling in IP Law
It’s another Summer Series post! The series where law students, law grads, and pre-laws share what they’re doing for the summer. Today we hear from Cassidy, a rising 2L who will share about her experience in intellectual property—one of the more difficult areas of law to break into because it’s one of the few that does require a specific background, but Cassidy is doing it! Let’s hear more from her! Hello everyone! My name is Cassidy Aranda, and I am a rising 2L at Chicago-Kent Law School. I am currently working as an Intellectual Property Summer Associate at Ice Miller in Chicago. Intellectual Property focuses on protecting people’s innovations. Intellectual Property…
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Summer Series: Discovering Public Interest Law
It’s another Summer Series post! The series where law students, law grads, and pre-laws share what they’re doing for the summer. Today we hear from Amanda, a rising 3L who has not one, but two, roles this summer—working for a major public interest institution and researching for a profession. Learn about her summer and how one class opened up so many more professional opportunities. Hi everyone! My name is Amanda McElfresh, and I am a rising 3L at the University of Kansas School of Law. This summer I have been working for Kansas Appleseed and for a professor at my school as a research assistant. At Kansas Appleseed, my role…