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Emergency Kit for Work
When you start working full-time you quickly realize just how many hours you will spend at your desk. Because we devote so much time to our work life, it’s important to make things as comfortable as possible. Aside from comfort, it’s always good to be prepared in case emergencies arise so that you’re not scrambling to look appropriate. Yes, by emergency I mean not emergencies at all, rather minor inconveniences. But, believe me–when you’re about to give a presentation to a bunch of attorneys and you realize your nails are all chipped, you’re going to wish you had something to remedy this problem! I started keeping a stash of “emergency” items,…
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Prepping for your Summer Job
My 1L year, the month I was supposed to start looking for summer job options, I received bad news after bad news involving my family– all of which culminated when I was told that my dad had just been diagnosed with cancer (he’s fine now, thankfully!). With all this added stress, guess who never made it to career services, or even knew that deadlines for jobs starting in MAY were approaching in December? Me. It was me. By the time I could actually focus on finding some type of summer employment, I was scrambling to find any agency that was still looking for help. Luckily, after cold-calling a few nonprofits, a…
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Common Makeup Missteps
Ok first, I’m not about telling women what to do when it comes to their appearance. There are so many issues when it comes to discussing makeup and fashion, and it’s far too easy to become patronizing when giving women advice on how we dress. Instead, I’m going to attempt to talk about distractions and how to avoid common missteps when it comes to using makeup in a conservative/professional setting. However, if at the end of this post you still want to do what you want to do–go ‘head! Everyone that knows me, knows I’m obsessed with makeup, but I definitely tone down my look for work. It’s just a…
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Confidence and the New Attorney
Bar results come out today in some jurisdictions!! Congratulations to all those that passed!! What an amazing feat!! While we hope you’re busy celebrating, we also want to take a moment to talk about the importance of confidence as you begin practicing law. For the most part, confidence is a self-given gift. You bestow it on yourself and say to hell with other people’s opinions and own your skills and abilities. It’s not easy getting there. Especially during your first few months in the legal profession. I never took as hard of a hit to my self-esteem and self-worth as the three years I spent in law school. My writing…
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Finding Your Voice In Law School
To talk or not to talk in class– that is the question. No one wants to be a gunner, and I won’t encourage people to talk in class just to show off–that’s not my jam. However, the unique thing about law school is that almost always there’s a forced participation by way of the socratic method. Sometimes you know it’s coming if the professor goes in some type of order; other times, you’re waiting (dreading) to be called. Because participation is inevitable, it’s important to have confidence in how you convey your opinion in class. Nothing screams timid and weak like someone that gets easily flustered and rolled over by…
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The Beginning.
It’s the last Friday of the month! How is it already almost October, Fall, and nearing the end of the year?! I don’t understand it. But this post is titled “The Beginning” because it is a new season and because tomorrow so many people will go take the LSAT, which is the official real beginning of the law school process. We wish all of the test-takers an abundance of great luck and calm minds. And for those Latinas taking the exam we want to scream: Si Se Puede! We are keeping our fingers crossed! For the last Friday post, let’s share some of our favorite stories from around the…
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Spotlight On! Solo Practitioner Daissy Dominguez
Today is the first of a very exciting series entitled: Spotlight On! The idea is to showcase new Latina attorneys and learn about the early successes in their careers. To start this series we’re interviewing Daissy Dominguez, a solo practitioner based in Chicago, Illinois. Daissy joined the bar on October 31, 2013, and opened her own practice, which focuses on criminal defense, immigration, and landlord/tenant law. I’m super excited to tell you all about her because I’ve also had the pleasure to work with her on some cases and know that her dedication to the community is the real deal! How did you decide to start your own solo practice?
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Study How You Study
We previously discussed how to prep for 1L week and –surprise–the main focus was getting prepped for studying. But it’s worthwhile to delve into “how to study” a little deeper. I say this a lot, but it’s actually really important to realize that you will be most successful if you study how you study. Think back on all the college classes where you excelled and mimic those study habits. Note that I wrote excelled, not: barely put in the work but somehow still passed–that won’t fly in law school. The reason why this is important is because law school has the tendency to push people into doing the same thing. According…
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Staying Hydrated
How much water do you drink? I used to be so bad about drinking water. I’m positive that in law school when I had a choice between buying a bottle of soda or buying a bottle of water, the soda won every time. That’s because when we’re busying working or studying it’s so easy to overlook healthy habits (and start bad ones). Needless to say it was a rough three years… Then I graduated and I started buckling down on my health and really made it a priority. This included increasing my water intake. I went from drinking no water, to drinking at least three liters a day. Four liters on a…
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Make Your Presence Known
Are you active alumnae of your school? College or law? I know many people, especially my fellow alumni of color, have no interest in contributing as alumni. Many had bad culture shock by attending universities with a low amount of minorities; others had to face blatant racism from ignorant students and faculty. Plus, you add up all the debt most of us are in (hello, I went to two private institutions), the horrible job market and it’s like–what have you done for me lately, right? I get it and can definitely understand that sentiment. But at the same time, I’ll argue that it is vital for alumni of color, especially…