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Don’t let law school take your joy!
Around this time each year I share this post. But a lot of time has passed since the original and I thought an update was warranted. For law students, as you try to enjoy your time off, I know that for many there will be a little voice in your head reminding you about your grades. And reminding you about a tough question and how you’re not sure about your answer. Or you’ll agonize over the question you didn’t get to because of time… What if your grades are bad? What if you don’t grade on to journal? What if you can’t apply to the job you want? It’s nerve-wracking!…
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My Nightstand Routine
The thing about me is that I love routines. And routines within routines? Omg, forget it! I think the stability of it really scratches some itch in my brain. So of course, I have a nightstand routine that I totally recommend. What is a nightstand routine? It’s simply items I keep on hand that I use before bed but if you’re a night owl, like me, then little things that help my brain underscore that it’s time for sleep help me not just scroll on my phone until 1 am (which of course I never do đŹ). Here is what I keep on hand: St. Jane’s Body Serum. This…
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Proud of You! Recognizing Your Accomplishments During Difficult Times
We talk a lot about stress and frustrating aspects about this work or school because it’s important to dissect that and figure out solutions. We’ve also all gone through two really tough years that includes loss in different areas of life. I know it’s easy to end this year by just steeling ourselves for whatever’s to come but I think that would be a slight disservice to ourselves. Instead, I want us to wind down the year recognizing all the great things we accomplished. Ok, caveat, I’m the last person to lean into posi vibes only–I literally wince when we have to do calming techniques or centering exercises during workshops…
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Feeling the Pressure: How to Respond to Stress
We talk about stress, burn out, vicarious trauma, whatever you want to call it A LOT. For me, it’s important to discuss what stress and trauma look like in this profession because it impacts not just how much we enjoy the day to day practice but ignoring it can result in real negative physical/mental effects. This has been at the forefront of my mind lately because of a recent incident at work. It was an unusually hectic week and it culminated with an in an incident that caused a huge adrenaline rush (in a bad way). In the heat of the moment, I felt fine and in control. But a…
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Picking the Right Internship
Your first year of law school, it can feel like a lottery as to where you end up for your first summer job and, unfortunately, it still is a struggle to gain clarity as you move on to your second year. If you are a 2L/3L, picking internships can feel like such a make or break experience and as if youâre at the mercy of the potential internship site/employer. Let me share a story: when I was a 3L, I attended the biggest public interest job fair in my area (fun fact, I had missed the previous year because I had to work and a law school admin sort of…
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Five Things I Brought Back to the Office
Yes, itâs true, Iâve been back 5 days a week to the office. Work for Home really said we had a nice run, goodbye. Itâs ok. Iâm ok. I know for many remote work is still reality or thereâs 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 youâre still WFH, these items may still be helpful! One. A small fan. Sometimes offices are warm, other times we get agitated at work. Sometimes itâs 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 Iâll 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? Â As if. âI…
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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 wonât be as vast. And thatâs 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 donât know how well youâre 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 donât know whoâs idea it was to just hope people get whatâs being taught without much check in but here we are. Of course, most schools do have ungraded mid-term exams, but if youâre like me, itâs not very helpful. Or maybe itâs not that itâs helpful but rather you donât know what to do with the information. When I took my…
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What Will You Be? Figuring Out Your Legal Practice
Iâm going to reveal a big secretâa lot of law grads and new attorneys donât 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 courseâthatâs great! But maybe youâre unsure because all you know is you want to âdo goodâ 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 Iâm adamant is how personal injury attorneys are born).…