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Breaking Barriers: Racism in College
Starting college can be a real trip if you’re not used to being in mostly White spaces. If you’re lucky to attend a diverse college where you don’t feel isolated, that’s fantastic (fr fr) but most of us attend incredibly homogenous schools where your awareness that there are few students of color is super acute. This situation can create feelings of loneliness, a sense that you don’t belong, and in turn, can make you believe you aren’t capable of succeeding in that environment because there are few like you. It can feel overwhelming. And at the time, you may not understand exactly, why it is your feel that way you…
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What Did I Just Read? Mastering Your Law School 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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Latina Leader: Community Coordinator Talia Rodriguez
This is another installment of the series, Spotlight On! A series where we showcase Latina lawyers and learn about the successes in their early careers. Today we hear from Talia Rodriguez, based in Buffalo, NY, who coordinates a legal aid clinic and shows what it’s like to do legal work that has a direct impact in your own local community. Talia is also a powerhouse and community leader, having recently recognized by the Minority Bar Association of WNY! 1. When did you start practicing? I am not admitted to the NYS Bar. I have passed two of three qualifying examinations and am awaiting from results from the UBE. I started managing school…
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Be the Boss: Latinas as General Counsels
I made the right decision to attend at a panel last month hosted by my local Latina bar association. The topic was on Latinas as General Counsels and it was so great! First, the panelists consisted of four talented, committed, intelligent, and successful Latina lawyers so I knew it was going to be a win already, but the advice and stories they shared were fantastic. I want to share some of the gems I picked up from them. Basically, a General Counsel is HB(oss)IC of a group of attorneys. They not only have to keep the best interests of the firm/company in mind, but also have to manage a team…
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Goals: Making your way to Law School as an Undocumented Student
We are so lucky to have a guest post today by Brenda, a current undergrad student with law school on the horizon. She is also undocumented and has overcome the obstacles many of us or our family members have experienced. It is always so inspiring to see people in our community working so hard on their goals in spite of these huge obstacles. It helps put things in perspective for me and motivates me to push harder for true immigration reform. Here is Brenda’s story on her journey through higher Ed: Hello my loves! My name is Brenda and I am 23 years old. I was born in Guanajuato but raised…
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A Balancing Test: Managing Busy Schedules as a 2L/3L
When you’re a 2L or 3L, everything may seem like chaos—not because you’re new to school and anxious but because as the second and third years begin you’re suddenly thrust with a lot of work and responsibilities that didn’t necessarily exist when you were a 1L. You have a normal course load, plus most of time you have new duties on a journal, clinic, student org, internship during the semester to keep your skills strong, social life, responsibilities at home, and oh—you may also need a job to pay a little thing called rent. It’s a lot. The spring semester of my 3L year I remember flipping through the pages…
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In It to Win It: Overcoming Competitive Law School Environments
How exciting for all of you starting your 1L year! The first few days are usually a good mixture of excitement and dread. The dread comes from many places—not knowing what’s happening, waiting to be called on, and dealing with the weird situation of making friends but also knowing these friends are also competitors. That sounds overly-dramatic. I mean, yes, you’re competing for rank and grades but it shouldn’t be as high-stress as some law school communities make it. But law school is horrible like that—it creates an environment where you have to be all about your self-interest and that leads to some really dick-ish experiences. We’ve all heard the…
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Balancing Act: Dealing with the Guilt & Frustration Attached to your Finances
I was running out of data on my phone early this month and had to resort to reading during my commute. Usually I have a book, but this past week I decided to read my “guilty pleasure” magazines and I’m so glad I did! I’m a long-time subscriber to Glamour and was so impressed by this article on finances. The author focuses on helping young adults establish some financial standards for themselves, but through her writing she also revealed some struggles that first-generation professionals experience. I kept thinking, “omg, this is a struggle so many of us experience!” Yes, I said omg because somehow growing up in the Midwest I…
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Must Have School Supplies for Law School
Ok so all the summer students have left the building and I am super sad that it’s back to business as usual—meaning, I’m the one in charge of all the business. So sad to not have anyone to help out here and there… But the end of summer also means that I get to stock up on school supplies! I know, I don’t technically need them as my agency provides basics but I so much prefer to have my own things, you know? Since the new semester is starting, I thought I’d share some must-have school supplies. I’m trying to not be obvious about it because like duh we all…
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My Name’s Not Sweetie: Harassment in the Courtroom
The first time I felt like I was being truly patronized at work I got into a shouting match with the guy over the phone and threatened a lawsuit. It was not super professional, but in my defense I was still a baby attorney and this guy was just the worst! We were having a conversation and he kept interrupting and prefacing everything with, “listen to me.” I became furious and went off and then he got mad and eventually I hung up. After I was able to gather my thoughts I was so upset with myself for letting that guy get to me. After that, I decided to make a…