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Summer Series: Finding Your Voice After 1L Year
Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today we hear from Maria Celina, a rising 2L practicing hands-on lawyering at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, who shows us what’s it’s like to re-discover your passion in law & justice after surviving 1L Year. My name is Maria Celina Márquez and I am a rising 2L at The George Washington University Law…
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Three Harsh Truths to Remember the Last Two Weeks Before the Bar Exam
The last two weeks of Bar prep oscillate between wishing the Bar exam were tomorrow so you can get it over with versus freaking out that you’ll never learn everything by the day of the test. The last two weeks are grueling, high paced, yet filled with hours that don’t seem to end. It really sucks. There’s not much you can do at the moment to alleviate the stress and anxiety. During this time, even I don’t recommend taking large chunks of time off to exercise or cook or to relax. Why? Because all the time you spend not studying will be mostly time stressed about the fact you’re not…
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Summer Series: The Work Before Law School
Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today we hear from Briana, an incoming 1L who describes her path to law school and what it took to get her to this new phase in her life. Hi Ladies! My name is Briana and I’m starting William S. Boyd School of Law in the fall. I’m a Cuban-American born and…
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The Drive to be a Latina Lawyer
Recently there has been some notice given to the fact that there’s not much diversity in the legal field. The Atlantic recently discussed how the Law is the least diverse profession in the U.S. Additionally, Cynthia Mares, HNBA President, wrote an excellent piece on Latinos’ representation in the law. This lack of Latino representation has serious, negative consequences because when people in power make decisions through litigation, legislation, or policy-making without understanding (or caring) about the experiences, needs, and rights of Latinos the results can end up being extremely unfavorable for us. An example of a major issue I see coming down the pike is the possible demise of…
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Summer Series: Delicate Balance of Family, Bar, and Sleep.
Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today we hear from Bertha, a law school graduate studying for the Bar, and her advice on staying motivated to study while living with family (in beautiful Nicaragua no less!). I’m Bertha and I just graduated law school this past May after completing the four-year part-time J.D. program at…
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Mid-Summer Self-Review
Many internship/summer associate positions undergo a mid-summer review to get an assessment of your summer experience. While these reviews can provide important feedback and opportunities for different experiences, it is also important that you do an honest self-review of your own work. Sometimes, as interns, we go through the motions and just live for the weekend, or at most, the end of your internship where you’ll get to have a little bit of summer vacation before the academic year begins. It’s easy to forget the forest for the trees. The forest being your first job post-law school/professional reputation. Even if you don’t like the agency, or are convinced that this…
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From Day to Night: Makeup for Networking Events
One thing I hate is lugging makeup with me back and forth to work. I keep some cosmetics at work (mostly lip balms and lotions), but I don’t take a full case of makeup to do touchups throughout the day. I just figure that by 5 o’clock everyone looks just as drained—and again, the culture of my work doesn’t really call for a full face of makeup throughout the day. However, whenever I have events in the evening, I always do my best to prepare so that my face looks bright-eyed and polished; especially when it’s a networking event with private attorneys. I mean, let’s be real, other legal aid…
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Summer Series: What Art can Teach Us about the Law
Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today, we hear from Roxanne, a rising 3L who is studying in Europe, and describes the intersection between Art and the Law. I’m Roxanne, rising 3L at Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. I decided to study law because I realized that many people who are being taken advantage of don’t realize they…
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Brain Food and the Bar
Ok so it’s almost impossible to balance a healthy lifestyle while you study for the Bar. I mean you can try, but more often than not you’re going to opt for comfort and ease during these times. Your best bet is it try as much as you can at the beginning of bar prep to maintain some form of healthiness so that when you’re in the last few weeks of prep hell you haven’t yet completely spiraled out of control. With that in mind, you can’t ignore how the food you eat affects how you feel and your level of energy. And while you don’t have the luxury of time to…
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Controlling Emotions at Work: Anger
When we talk about women and emotions at work, the discussion usually revolves around whether crying is ok or not. I’d like to have that discussion some day, but I thought I’d start with a more common emotion that lawyers tend to experience at work: anger. I remember the first time I got really upset at work with an opposing counsel. We were having a telephone conversation and they were being so aggravatingly condescending. I was still a brand new attorney so I know now that part of my reaction was due to my pride. But o.m.g. was I pissed at how he was talking to me! He got nasty,…