Legal Practice
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Mastering the Business Lunch
One summer I participated in a program where I interacted with a lot of private attorneys. This resulted in a lot of business lunches, which was fun, but there were also some cringe-inducing moments. I remember one lunch where a coworker’s main focus seemed to be figuring out how many glasses of wine he could drink. This wasn’t a lunch among friends or even same-level staff, but rather with clients and supervisors! Needless to say his behavior ended up being super awkward. Now that it’s summer (though it’s constantly raining here in Chicago), there are more opportunities to step outside the office for networking lunches, and of course, if you…
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Makeup Transition for the Summer.
After spending a long weekend in Tampa, I’ve decided to officially switch into my “summer makeup mode,” even though it’s still not super warm here in Chicago. If you’re a professional woman who uses makeup, then I really recommend switching gears to lighter, brighter hues and products during the hotter months. Not only do the lighter products keep you feeling refreshed, but softer tones make you look fresh and brighter than if you stick to the same routine throughout the year. For me the change in routine may seem a little dramatic because I’m a little out of control when it comes to “putting on my face” before work. i.e. I…
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Summer Series: Selecting Your Bar Exam
Our Summer Series officially begins! 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 Jannette and her decision on which Bar to take, and some tips to help you make your decision as well! Hello Ladies! My name is Jannette, and I just graduated law school! I was born and raised near Chicago, IL, but I attended law school in…
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Networking Basics: How to Master a Networking Event
Late spring/summer always seems to have so many networking opportunities. Usually there are events to help students network, but a lot of professional orgs and alumni groups have get togethers around this time as well. I remember the summer before starting law school I attended my first legit networking event and was kind of confused about what to do. Thankfully, with practice it gets easier (and sometimes it’s actually fun). But when you’re first starting out as a new professional, you really have to work on managing and maintaining your professional image at these events because you never know when you’ll cross paths again. Usually when people don’t seem to…
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How to Study for the Bar
So–I wrote this post a million years ago in a different forum but thought I’d share here rather than create new material on how to study for the bar since this was written when the Bar was still fresh in my mind. For those that have started your bar prep course, you’ve likely found that you don’t remember much from 1L year and aren’t scoring very high on the tests and essays. That is completely normal. It takes a while to remember the basics, but what happens is that everyone starts to freak out and then it’s hard to handle the stress. So first, regardless of how you’re doing on…
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Good-Bye Spring: Favorite Links!
May is always so eventful—aside from celebrating Mother’s day, Cinco de Mayo (I swear, I must have been a frat bro in another life), I also lived vicariously through everyone’s graduations. It was so great to see so many celebrate the accumulation of hard work along with so much determination to succeed in whatever new phase they were heading towards! Now, of course, I’m looking forward to summer in Chicago because there’s always so much to do, including visiting pretty pink flamingos at the Lincoln Park Zoo (highly recommend it!). This month we discussed: Study supplies for the Bar Exam (trust me on the tape and flash cards); Student loan…
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Working with Interns as a New Attorney
Summer is my favorite time at work—not because of the nice weather or all the trips planned, but because we have a ton of student interns working with us, and that means that I’m going to get a ton of work done. A TON! Now, when I was still very new, I was uncomfortable directing students and didn’t know how to give them proper guidance. I would be disappointed in the completed work, and instead of confronting the student; I’d decide to just do the work myself. I think that is the method a lot of attorneys take because they get frustrated in the amount of work they have to…
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Necessary Study Supplies for Bar Exam
Right before my 3L year ended, my comparative law class went to dinner with our professors (you know, the one course with a cancelled trip to Chile that still made us write a paper #stillbitter). Anyway, dinner was lovely, but I remember that one professor made it a point to tell me I was about to embark on the worst summer of my life while I studied for the bar. She wasn’t right, but she wasn’t wrong either. However, instead of scaring all of those that are starting bar prep, I come with better information–necessary bar exam supplies to help you get the most out of your studies. Obviously, you…
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Quarterly Report: Student Loan Repayment Plans
We’re back again with another post on money! While we celebrate everyone graduating from college and law school, another sore topic is paying back loans. Today our “in-house” accountant gives us some info on payment plans, and other important financial info to keep in mind before our grace period ends and we suddenly find ourselves unable to reduce or pay back our debt. More likely than not, you’ll be graduating from law school with student loans from law school and possibly even from your undergrad program. And if you’re like most people, you’ve probably thought about what happens after graduation, but instead decide that you’ll deal with the loans when…
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The Importance of Self-Reflection
There is so much to look forward to when an academic year ends—especially if it ends with your graduation. It’s just such a happy and exciting time! In the midst of all the excitement it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget to really step back and appreciate your big accomplishment. Taking time to self-reflect on all the good you accomplished (and the dips along the way) is the best stepping stone for your next phase in life—whether that phase be a new school year in the fall, or starting your career. I really encourage new grads to take a moment after the celebrations have quieted down and really review all…