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Veggie Quesadillas: Simple & Quick
When my husband and I married we were both kind of unsure about how we would handle dinner. Neither of us were particularly good cooks, and I had so many evening classes that for our first year of marriage we kind of just did our own dinner thing. After I graduated, I had three months of unemployment after the Bar and so I randomly decided that dinner would now be my thing. Surprisingly, it turned out that I was a pretty good cook. It’s so funny how you can have talent for certain skills and you won’t know how good you are until you try–thats a subtle reminder for myself…
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You Don’t Have to be Nice
I recently finished Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and aside from being super funny, one comment caught my attention right away. In the pilot, one of the Indiana Mole Women says that they followed the Rev to his car because she didn’t want to be rude. Matt Lauer casually comments that he’s always amazed at the lengths women will go through to not be seen as rude. I definitely laughed, but it was such a true statement. Too often, we are trained to be nice and polite above even our own comfort. Little girls are always told to be nice, to be polite, or to not make waves. We apologize for our opinions (prefacing almost all…
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Long Nights, Bright Eyes: Looking Alert after Working Late
If you follow Latina Uprising on Instagram (and you really should because the community on there is so awesome!), then you saw my post last night about having to work late. I really have no room to complain because in all the years I’ve been practicing, I’ve rarely had to stay extremely late or come in during the weekends. Of course that is the trade off with working in public interest; the money is low, but we aren’t chained to our desks and can expect a better work life balance. But in every legal practice there will be some late nights and the last thing I like to do is…
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Financially Surviving 1L Summer
Last week, I saw my supervisor from my first summer job as a 1L and I realized it’s been seven years (!), since I emailed her hoping that she’d hire me as an intern. Time flies guys! It was a great summer, but, like usual, it was not easy financially. I remember hearing of other students getting unpaid clerkships or needing to sublets apartments and all I kept thinking was how can they afford it?! And then as spring drew closer and closer, all I could think was how was I going to afford my summer? 1L summer can be a little tougher than 2L summer because many positions for…
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Social Media Mistakes
I remember when Facebook came to campus (omg does that make me sound old? lol); I was what they call an “early adopter.” Soon our college administration started having sessions to warn us about Facebook and what not to do. The litmus test was always, “would you be ok with your grandmother seeing this?” I always would roll my eyes because ascribing to the life norms of a woman decades older than me doesn’t make sense. It’s important for everyone to be aware of the impact social media can have and how a comment/picture/joke can go wrong if you’re not careful. Here are some mistakes I have seen students do…
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How to Network With Higher Income Brackets
It is common to feel like an outsider within the legal profession because we often have to network and work with people that have always been in higher income brackets than what we have experienced. It is just statistics that we enter this profession having to navigate a system that involves working and connecting with a richer crowd—richer in both finances, resources, and in experiences that are better appreciated by the status quo. For example, when a colleague from a wealthy family is able to backpack through Europe, a hiring partner may see that as valuable life experience. In contrast, our life experiences that may consist of working part-time jobs to help our…
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Easing into Fitness.
When I started my first job out of law school, I suddenly realized I had so much time on my hands. Yes, I worked 9 to 5, but it was steady work with weekends free. Completely different than law school, where I had an unpredictable schedule of classes, studying, meetings, etc.; plus, I didn’t have to block off huge chunks of my time to commit to studying for finals. Life after law school felt so much more unrestricted-it was great! However, I quickly realized that if I wasn’t careful, then I would be wasting hours watching t.v. and eating mindlessly. Instead, I decided that I finally was going to commit…
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A Rock and Hard Place: Negotiating Salaries as Women
When I was a 2L, my Women’s Law Society brought in a group called WAGE to talk about salary negotiations. It was an eye-opening experience and I’m so grateful that WLS opened my eyes to the wage gap and helped us learn skills to push back and feel confident in negotiating our salaries. When I started my job and received my offer, I knew I didn’t have much wiggle room because our salaries were based on our Union contract, but I still made it a point to see the COO so that he could explain to me the reasoning behind the offer. Mostly, I just wanted to feel comfortable and…
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Try Out Tips for Moot Court.
One of my goals when I started law school was to participate in my school’s very prestigious mock trial program. It just seemed like the path to success. The day I tried I out, I had no experience doing mock trial; I had no attorney mentor or upperclassman to provide insight; and I didn’t dress the part. Surprise, surprise–I did not make it. I was disappointed because I knew that participation in this program would be so beneficial. In fact, participating in any law school trial advocacy or moot court is a great way to increase your skill set, and it also builds connection between you, alumni, and other members of…
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Ending the Latina Dropout Problem
I listen to the amazing Latinos USA podcast every week–it’s my absolute fave NPR program, second only to the late, great It’s All Politics, RIP :(. Last week’s story focused on Latinas and confidence–the first story pinpoints the problem with Latinas, confidence, and education (discussion starts at 3:3o). I think the producer identifies the problem incredibly well when she states that often Latinas struggle to feel empowered because we fear that we’re taking something from someone. This idea that if we feel too confident, too secure in ourselves and our goals, then we’re doing something wrong. I agree with her assessment and think this is a struggle many Latinas face when…