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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 won’t be as vast. And that’s 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 don’t know how well you’re 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 don’t know who’s idea it was to just hope people get what’s being taught without much check in but here we are. Of course, most schools do have ungraded mid-term exams, but if you’re like me, it’s not very helpful. Or maybe it’s not that it’s helpful but rather you don’t know what to do with the information. When I took my…
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What Will You Be? Figuring Out Your Legal Practice
I’m going to reveal a big secret—a lot of law grads and new attorneys don’t 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 course—that’s great! But maybe you’re unsure because all you know is you want to “do good” 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 I’m adamant is how personal injury attorneys are born).…
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What’s the Point? Understanding the Purpose of Networking
We’ve discussed networking before of the many pitfalls that can come with it but lately I’ve seen some takes on networking that doesn’t seem to capture the purpose of what this type of relationship building really involves. I understand why—as a new student or professional, you’re often bombarded with the cry to “network!” And it promotes this idea that you go to these events to meet people to see how they can help you. It feels transactional and disingenuous and icky. And yes, part of networking is to meet people with connections, especially if you’re job seeking, but if you’re only going to these events when you need something, then…
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What Did I Just Read?! Mastering 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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That’s It? The legal industry’s slow, resistant march towards diversity
First, if you haven’t had a chance to do a deep dive in the latest legal profile by the ABA here it is. It is full of great gems and covers various sectors but as usual focuses heavy on big law. Ultimately, what the profile reveals is that it is hard out here for a Latina attorney. Latinx have the highest rates of attrition, attorneys of color, in general, are less likely to be promoted to equity partner than white attorneys and more likely to leave the firm. Women also left during COVID to take care of households and that will have long-lasting implications that we are yet to see.…
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Happy Anniversary! Seven Years of Latinas Uprising
I can’t even believe that Latinas Uprising is turning seven this week! When I hit publish in summer 2014, I had no idea—I could not have imagined—the type of community this would form. All I knew was that I wanted to find other Lawtinas like me and offer whatever support I could. From that grew a community of fierce, engaged, and driven people who work to make this profession better. I’m alway so grateful for everyone who reads this space and for the support and encouragement provided. Seven years went by in a flash! So I wanted to share some of our top posts, those that created dialogue and motivated…
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Summer Series: Prepping for the Marathon
Another Summer Series story! Summer Series shares stories all summer long from Lawtinas all over the country. We get to hear from pre-law students prepping for their upcoming year 1L year; students in different internships; and law grads prepping for the bar exam. Today we hear from Danielle Taylor, a Texan who has moved to the Windy City to start law school. Danielle breaks down all the things she’s focusing on to put herself in the best position for a successful fall semester! Who can serve as an authority on the best way to prepare for law school? Could someone have enough perspective on if they prepared correctly…
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Are you ready? Things to ask yourself if you’re interested in the law
There is a never-ending flow of advice about law school (hello, exhibit A is this blog). But a lot of the advice, as we’ve shared, often fails to take into account the circumstances that many Latinas experience that make their decision to go to law school the right step for them. We’ve shared before why it’s important to ignore bad advice, why you have the skills to be a lawyer, but what else should you be asking yourself before you take the big leap? One. What’s my motivation? I am one of the weird zealots in the profession that feel being a lawyer is a calling. We should be…
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Summer Series: From Imposter to Empowered
Welcome to another Summer Series post. Summer Series allows us to hear from Lawtinas from around the country sharing their summer with us—we’ll hear from pre-law students, law grads prepping for the bar, and rising 2Ls/3Ls in their summer internships. Today we hear from Angelica Austrich, a risking 2L in New York. Not only did she come to the states from the DR to study law and had to adjust to culture shock but she also scored an immensely cool and empowering summer gig with Congressman Espaillat’s office! Here is her journey, so far… One of the statistics that sticks with us is knowing that only 2% of the…