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Make Yourself Heard: Increasing Your Skills as a Litgator
This article about a 96 year old judge making a rule to help encourage women attorneys to speak up more often in court is making the rounds. It’s a great piece and great example of how people in power can use their position to make a difference. Lost in the discussion (maybe ironically) is that the catalyst for this was a mentor/friend of the Judge’s; retired judge, Shira Scheindlin. Judge Scheindlin wrote an Op-Ed earlier this month about just this issue: the dismal percentage of women litigators speaking before the court. Judge Scheindlin discusses a study she conducted in New York that asked judges to observe when and how often…
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Networking Basics: The Importance of Follow Through
As the new school year starts there will be a lot of opportunities to network and meet members of the legal community. Sometimes it can be overwhelming to interact with so many new people–especially when you’re brand new and may not have a clear networking goal (other than “find a job”). But it’s vital that you make yourself part of the legal community and get into the habit of cultivating new contacts. As a new law student–or an upperclassman that really wants to up their game–here are some things to focus on: One. Participate. While obviously studying and getting used to your new program is necessary, don’t avoid all networking…
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When Your Professor is Racist
Hello! It’s been a minute and really this entire week I have been watching and reading about the attacks in Virginia. It has made me more guarded and angry. And I really don’t know what the solution will be, but I guess we can only take it one day at time or whatever. Anyway, the best way for me to refocus this energy is to connect with this community and I want to talk about ignorance in the classroom, which seems like it will be especially prevalent now. We’ve discussed reacting to ignorant comments by classmates before, but we haven’t discussed what happens when your instructor holds ideas that put your…
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Don’t Believe the Hype: Navigating Negative Emotions as a First Gen Student
I often mention how many Latinas going into the law are family leaders. Maybe you were the one that interpreted for your parents, or your siblings look to you for guidance/advice on big decisions, or maybe you’ve blazed an educational path for the rest of your family as a first gen student. This type of trailblazing status is a prominent feature in many Latina lawyers (and leaders) in our community. It is a powerful label—to be the trailblazer, the first—it paints an image of a driven, focused person. It’s a worthy title for so many of us. But it is also a difficult one. Being first can mean frustration, isolation,…
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Three Years and Three Big Lessons
I can’t believe it’s been three years since I went live with his site! When I first started Latinas Uprising, I had no clue what type of community I would find—I just knew that surely there were others that experienced the legal profession in the same manner as me. In time, I have met so many amazing women. Women who are focused, driven, passionate, and outspoken—I’m always so impressed and motivated by the accomplishments of this community! So, with that in mind, I wanted to share three things I’ve learned in the past three years: One. Latinas are amazing. Is this obvious? Maybe. In general, I know amazing Latinas who…
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There’s No Such Thing As Reverse Racism
Today, I woke up to the news that this administration is planning to investigate colleges that discriminate against White people. Specifically, they are planning to attack affirmative action programs. As an advocate for increased access to education in the Latinx community, campaigns like this make me want to scream. Anyone who is genuine about education and increased access knows that AA programs do not harm people in power. In fact, and please repeat this until you can’t say it anymore, white women have benefited the most from affirmative action. Affirmative action programs and policies gave me a spot in schools and situations where I likely would have been overlooked in…
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Summer Series: The Prelaw Fun Before the Law School Storm
Our Summer Series is coming to a close! 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 Yadilsa, a soon to be law student who decided that rather than worry about the stress and hardship of law school–she’s going to enjoy life and made the most of her prelaw summer: When people ask me who I am, it can be difficult…
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Breaking Barriers: Overcoming the 1L Emotional Roller Coaster
By now, I’m sure most of you have heard or read that super odd article by David Brooks. He tried to explain that the rich and powerful maintain a culture of separatism from other socioeconomic brackets in an effort to keep others from joining their ranks. A valid point, followed by the most asinine example of a friend too stupid to pick out sandwiches, apparently. I definitely side-eyed the hell out of that example, but I have to admit that he was right in that there’s a culture and code that is hard to break into. If you’re about to enter into law school soon, I don’t want to scare…
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Summer Series: Reconnecting with your Purpose
Our Summer Series continues! 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 Krystlen, a rising 2L from Florida, who is re-connecting with her community after feeling disconnected from her classmates during her 1L year at Hofstra: I always get asked what my plans are after law school, which is understandable, but absolutely absurd to me considering that a year ago,…
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Summer Series: Breaking the Prison Pipeline
Our Summer Series continues! 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 Crystal, a rising 3L from California, who describes the vital impact attorneys make in the lives of our Latinx youth: Growing up, my oldest brother, Christian, was in and out of juvenile detention centers. Among many other reasons, his experience is why I pursued law school. Even when I…