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Side Bar: We’re Back!
Hi, remember side bar posts? Where I share a bit about general things happening my life to keep things fresh and interesting?! I barely remember that. Frankly, sheltering in place and then working during a pandemic meant things were pretty boring. How many virtual zoom meetings could I talk about?! But things are feeling more “normal,” and being tripled vaxx’d (yes, booster included), I feel so much better going out to community (a job requirement) and not just staying at home. October included a trip up north, which was nice—minus having to evacuate a theatre because of a shooting—thankfully we were far from the danger! I spent most of the…
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Five Things I Brought Back to the Office
Yes, it’s true, I’ve been back 5 days a week to the office. Work for Home really said we had a nice run, goodbye. It’s ok. I’m ok. I know for many remote work is still reality or there’s a hybrid routine in place. Still, with more and more folks going back to the office I wanted to share five things I brought back with me to help as you adjust. And, honestly, if you’re still WFH, these items may still be helpful! One. A small fan. Sometimes offices are warm, other times we get agitated at work. Sometimes it’s both! For either instance, a small fan is nice…
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Lessons in Success: learning from Justice Sotomayor
Recently, Justice Sotomayor made the news because of a study that showed how the women justices were interrupted more frequently by their male counterparts. I really liked this story because not only did Sotomayor bring it to the attention of Chief Justice Roberts, but Roberts actually changed their process to help address this behavior. I mean I’ll take any victory big and small to celebrate. Good for any change that strikes back at the weird toxicity of this profession. But the rule has just change. What did Sotomayor do before? Did she just let her male colleagues take her time? Not let her make her point? As if. ”I…
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Making the Right Choice: Picking Law Schools
When it comes to deciding where to apply to law school it may seem like you have 200+ choices and that can feel super overwhelming. But the reality is that based on your goals, needs, stats, and finances your options won’t be as vast. And that’s a good thing! Lots of people cast nets far and wide when they apply, which is one strategy. But if your finances are limited (like mine were) then you have to be judicious when it comes to deciding how many fee applications you want to pay for and that means really understanding what each school can offer you. When I applied, the LSAC fee…
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How Am I Doing? Preparing for Finals with a lot of Unknowns
One of the great things about law school is that you don’t know how well you’re doing until you get your grade. Because most traditional classes are graded based on one anonymous exam at the end of the semester. Did I say great? I meant horrible. I don’t know who’s idea it was to just hope people get what’s being taught without much check in but here we are. Of course, most schools do have ungraded mid-term exams, but if you’re like me, it’s not very helpful. Or maybe it’s not that it’s helpful but rather you don’t know what to do with the information. When I took my…
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What Does Confidence Get You? Career Growth While Facing Systemic Barriers
This past weekend I had the chance to speak on a panel on leadership with other super accomplished Latinas (including an elected official!). It’s always a great opportunity to glean tips and knowledge from others both in the audience and fellow panelists. Because we were discussing leadership, one of the big themes was having the confidence to go for it-to go for the leadership roles and have faith in your ability. I totally agree. You have to be aware of your abilities and have the confidence to know your strengths and talents and to push yourself to the next level because you know you got it (or have the skills…
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What Will You Be? Figuring Out Your Legal Practice
I’m going to reveal a big secret—a lot of law grads and new attorneys don’t exactly know what kind of lawyer they want to be. Seriously! Maybe you go to law school with the exact idea of what you want to do and stay the course—that’s great! But maybe you’re unsure because all you know is you want to “do good” or make money but not sure how that looks. Or maybe you have an idea of what you want to do but one day you are in torts class and suddenly realize you have a passion for personal injury (which I’m adamant is how personal injury attorneys are born).…
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What’s the Point? Understanding the Purpose of Networking
We’ve discussed networking before of the many pitfalls that can come with it but lately I’ve seen some takes on networking that doesn’t seem to capture the purpose of what this type of relationship building really involves. I understand why—as a new student or professional, you’re often bombarded with the cry to “network!” And it promotes this idea that you go to these events to meet people to see how they can help you. It feels transactional and disingenuous and icky. And yes, part of networking is to meet people with connections, especially if you’re job seeking, but if you’re only going to these events when you need something, then…
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What Did I Just Read?! Mastering Assignments
One of the biggest problems with being a new law school student is that you rarely have a chance to truly gage how you’re doing in your courses until the end. Of course, some professors offer midterms to help you understand what’s going on, but that’s not always a given. Additionally, you not only have to worry about mastering the topics, but more importantly you have to learn how to analyze, i.e. that elusive “thinking like a lawyer” thing. My 1L year, by midway through, I felt really confident in my classes. I thought I was understanding the topics and could follow along with the discussion—I thought things were great.…
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Adjusting to Work as a New Lawyer
First, if you’re new a attorney—whether you just received your law license or are awaiting bar exam results, CONGRATS! That is such an exciting time and not to be dramatic but this marks the beginning of your career as a lawyer and how you’ll participate with your local legal community—the possibilities are endless! But it may not feel that way as you get used to process of being a lawyer; the day to day stuff that can be a little tedious, plus possibly adjusting to a new work/office culture as well. Oh! And add loan payments but also substantial paychecks that you also have to learn how to manage—especially for…