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Finding the Mentor You Need
My image of mentorship is something that I have never really experienced. Starting my career, I always envisioned having a mentoring relationship with another attorney, hopefully Latina, who would be able to guide and advise me throughout my work. Someone who I would touch base with every couple of months that was interested in helping me succeed. There are mentor relationships that are like this, but this isn’t something I have experienced. Instead, I have been really lucky in connecting with professors, lawyers, and other professionals that have given me bits and pieces of guidance and advice. When I look back at the people who helped me, I realize that one…
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Quick and Healthy Breakfast Options
I’m one of those odd people that don’t really enjoy breakfast food. I know–I’m a freak. I just have more of a salt tooth than sweet and most American style breakfasts are so heavy on the sweet. Also, around the time I turned 16 I stopped eating breakfast (and hello, all of Freshman year in high school I stopped eating lunch–I was the epitome of healthy eating). I eventually starting eating lunch and dinner, but never got back on track with eating breakfast. I was a two-meal-a-day (plus snacks) person for the majority of my life. It wasn’t until law school graduation, when I started seriously reviewing my unhealthy eating…
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Re-Gaining Momentum: How to Keep the Winter Blues at Bay
When I started at my first job post-law school it was a week from Thanksgiving. By the time January and February rolled around, I was still so immersed in learning new material, getting accustomed to my work’s culture, and just being thrilled to have a job that everything went smoothly. Imagine my surprise, when a year later, I started feeling a sense of ennui and lack of motivation. I think most people experience a type of post-holiday funk or a mild case of the winter blues. Once the shine of being a working attorney wears off, the reality is that we’re working long hours and often aren’t home until it’s…
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Breaking Law School Barriers: Law School Essays
This series, Breaking Law School Barriers, tackles the big and small issues that come into play when you’re deciding if you’ll even attend law school. The purpose is to give practical advice for college students, and for current law students and attorneys to give suggestions about their real world experience. Nothing seems to stop people in their track more than having to write about themselves. It’s a hard endeavor. I see it all the time in clients who have to write statements about certain events in their lives. The client and I are going along just fine, and when we move on to the next step of writing their statement,…
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Romantic Information: Balancing Love and the Law
I recently read an article where a marriage was quickly going south. One of the partners said that they had thought their marriage was in the bag and decided to focus on other areas instead, which led to the slow dissolution of the relationship. Anyone in a relationship quickly learns that if you don’t put in the time and dedication then the relationship will not work like it once did. As attorneys, we sometimes have to deal with added pressures of the job that can seep into relationships and make it harder. These added stresses could be why women attorneys have a higher rate of divorce. So seeing that tomorrow is Valentine’s Day,…
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Big Spender: Paying for the Bar Exam
Everyone knows that this is an expensive profession. Getting into law school costs money; being in law school costs money; and being admitted into the bar costs a lot of money. Aside from paying for the bar application ($500+), you also have to pay for a prep course ($1000+) and it’s strongly encouraged you don’t work during this time. Obvi, this is super easy because we all are trust-fund babies that survive on light and air so we don’t have to worry about rent, food, or bills. :/ Ok so actually not so easy. I remember the last semester of law school just feeling this constant pressure of always thinking, “how…
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Culture Conflict: Looking Latina
At Latinas Uprising, we talk a lot about forms of assimilation and how to “look” like an attorney. These discussions aren’t done because we believe that we should erase all forms of individuality or culture from our appearance; rather they are provided as a way to give guidance for those that haven’t had the chance to interact with the legal profession and want to learn how to be accepted by the legal community. Ultimately, the goal is to help people learn what it takes to be accepted as an attorney, but also encourage empowerment so that you are the one that decides what your appearance will entail, regardless of what the status…
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Great Grades, Now What?!
A few weeks ago we talked about steps to take when you receive not-so-great grades in school. The likelihood of not doing as well you expected is very high in law school for various reasons. But that’s not to say that no one will do well. In fact, I know many Latinas students (both current and former) that excelled in school and that is worthy of acknowledgement! Aside from recognizing the fruition of hard work, there are still steps you have to take to ensure that you continue on a successful path. When I was in school, a friend earned very, very, very good marks, but was at a loss…
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Quarterly Report: Saving for Retirement
We’re back again with another post on money! Before we dive in, can I tell you a secret? Before I got married, I used to tell my boyfriend (now husband) that because I was Latina I didn’t need to save for retirement–my kids would take care of me, obvi. Of course, I was joking, but the idea that family helps our viejitos is so deeply entrenched that I never really gave much thought about saving for the long-haul. But then as I learned more and more about gender inequity, the wage gap, and saw how poverty continues to afflict women, I realized that saving for retirement at an early age…
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Not so Great Grades and Law School
Grades are in for many people, and others are anxiously awaiting the final verdict. Today’s post isn’t very happy because it’s about dealing with the aftermath of not-so-great grades (“NSG grades”). First, NSG grades happen, so please don’t be too down on yourself. Remember that law school is usually graded on a curve, and it’s based on one anonymous test graded by one person. This one grade doesn’t signify your worth or your capabilities in school, or as a future attorney. But unfortunately, the reality is that many people will not get the grades they expected, and for all those usually straight-A students, these grades may be the worst you’ve ever earned.…