Legal Practice
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Fair Pay: International Women’s Day 2016
We discussed this last year, but the theme of International Women’s Day 2016 is parity: What can we do as individuals and a community to close the pay gap so that women are paid their worth? One of Latinas Uprising’s focal points, when it comes to discussing women, equality, and progress is almost always on women and the workplace; most importantly, women and the income we earn. The sad reality is that we earn a pittance compared to other groups and that impacts our quality of life (and that of our families), our earning potential, and our economic capital. So any raised awareness on the income disparity and how to close gap…
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Celebrating the Bar Exam
Way back when I was researching and planning my law school applications (so a while ago), I remember reading about post-Bar exam trips. This was pre-recession, and what seemed like truly gilded times. The idea was that you had a job lined up pre-graduation and so after you took the Bar, you wouldn’t start until September, giving yourself a month’s time to do something awesome, like travel to Europe. As I write this, it seems so laughable to me. These ridiculous standards that were set (and sometimes are still set) by the status quo just seem so out of reach for most of us. But regardless, that was how it…
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Too Late to Say Sorry
Early in the year a new app was released to help women gain some power at work by eliminating qualifiers in their speech. Words like, “just,” “sorry,” “I think,” etc. The idea is that if your emails sound less like apologies and more assertive then that will lead to a better executive presence. Of course, there was also backlash because why is it always women’s behavior that is judged? Men do a lot of odd things too but they are not judged as harshly as women. I totally get the stance behind this, to say F-U I’m going to speak how I speak and your judgement won’t stop me.…
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Spotlight On! Solo Practitioner Christina Alvarez
This is another installment of the series, Spotlight On! A series where we showcases Latina lawyers and learn about the early successes in their careers. Today we hear from Christina Alvarez, a solo practitioner in Florida! She paints a great picture of career progression through all the legal ranks–from paralegal to attorney/business owner (a path many Latinas opt to take before starting law school)! When did you start practicing? I started practicing law in September of 2014. I have also served as support staff in the roles of file clerk, receptionist, legal assistant, paralegal, and law clerk at various law firms in the Orlando area since 2007. What made you…
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Love & Self Care
Self-care is such a difficult concept because it’s encouraged so much, but there’s such a stigma when attorneys actually state that they need a moment of rest. I’ve cited a million times how attorneys have higher levels of depression and alcoholism than most other professions. Couple that with the high rates of diabetes, heart disease, and other illnesses that Latinos face and many of us are putting ourselves on a path that will be difficult to overcome. What if instead, we knew going into our profession the importance of taking care of our mind and bodies so that we didn’t allow the stressors of the profession to impact us so…
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Love & Cleaning Supplies: How to Manage Chores When Both Partners Work
It’s almost Valentine’s Day and this year, I wanted to discuss some practical advice that affects most couples that work outside of the home: gender roles and household duties. As in, when you both have demanding careers who is in charge of cooking and cleaning and must it always fall onto the woman? Yeah, definitely not romantic, but practical. I see many articles that cover this topic-two people suddenly cohabitating and then face an impasse when one is made the de facto cleaner. Or another assumes that because (s)he makes more money (or will make more money) they don’t have to contribute to the household in the same way. And…
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Get Rid of Stress in Ten Minutes or Less
If you follow me on Snapchat (and you should!) you saw that this week I had a crappy morning-so bad that I went off my regular tea-only schedule and bought myself a latte to feel better. I know that indulging in bad calories is probably not the greatest thing to do, but sometimes we just need the comfort, tu sabes. Anyway, I had a semi-hectic week (it got a lot better), but when combined with the anxious vibes I could feel from the soon-to-be attorneys studying for the February Bar, I found myself a little stressed out. It made me think that it would be a good idea to share…
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Latina Lawyers: Conquering the Corporate Ladder
Everyone needs to read this Fortune article- Why Race and Culture Matter in the C-Suite. The article discusses some experience black executives (men) have had in relation to their race. It’s pretty stark. There are very few who have successfully climbed the corporate ladder and those who did make it don’t feel like they fit in with the culture or other executives. That feeling of isolation is largely due to those with power making them know that they don’t fit in. In summary, it’s lonely at the top and many end up quitting to create their own entrepreneurial path. This article provides fantastic information for Latinas pursuing careers in the law—especially those…
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Conquering the Bar Exam with Kids
There’s no way I can imagine what it’s like to study for the Bar as a parent. I’ve mentioned before that I noticed that mom-law students were always the best prepared (so well organized!), but I can’t imagine the added stress of children + the Bar. It’s tough, no doubt. For those February Bar takers that are juggling the exam and their family responsibilities, we have a guest writer today: Ariana Marte. She gives some tips and advice for parents as they head into the last month before the Bar. This past summer I studied for the July New York and New Jersey bar exams, and my son turned…
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Horrible Bosses
My first disclaimer is that thankfully, mercifully, I don’t work for any of the horrible bosses I’m about to describe, but it’s likely that sometime in our career we will find ourselves working under conditions that have been made impossible due to the person filling the leadership role. And when you have a bad boss it really sucks. It impacts your work, your skills, and your mental/physical health. Unfortunately, bad bosses are a symptom of bad leadership overall. Their behavior chases away good talent and the higher-ups are too lazy to manage these bad actors. Bad bosses come in all forms and I want to discuss the two that are…