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Article Review: Women, Work, and Policies
I recently read this article by the New York Times that I thought required more than just a highlight on the monthly links post. The article is entitled, Why U.S. Women Are Leaving Jobs Behind. The author describes the difference in parenting policies enacted by the U.S. compared to Europe. This is always an interesting topic for me because I’m vehemently opposed with creating a façade that women have a choice, but really they’re arranging it so that only one choice ends up being the better option. The article discusses how the European policies seem to give favorable maternal leave, daycare subsidies, and higher protections to women once they have children. Whereas the…
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Responding to Performance Reviews
Having to sit in front of your boss and receive criticism, even if constructive, can be tough. Your ability to show that you can accept feedback in a stable, steady will help you move forward in your career, but it’s anxiety-inducing. It can cause emotional response that can affect your reputation at work. When there’s a face-to-face with your boss regarding your review, the key is to try to relax and go in with an assumption that this will be a learning tool. If you have moderately competent bosses then you should be aware ahead of time of any major issues. This really shouldn’t be a time with big surprises.…
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Starting your Job Search
Whether you were just sworn in a few weeks ago or have been a lawyer for a few years, dusting off your job search skills is never any fun. Looking for work is time-consuming, frustrating, and sometimes it seems never-ending. Unfortunately, it requires a lot of work upfront, but today we’re sharing five things you should consider doing to kick your job search into gear: One. Contact your contacts. Do all the people in your network know that you 1) graduated from law school, 2) passed the bar, and 3) are looking for work? Likely not. Consider sending a genuine individualized email to all your contacts (former intern supervisors, clinic…
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Gift Guide for New Attorneys
I love seeing all the status updates on people being sworn-in during this time of the year! Being admitted to the Bar is always such a special moment, and for us Latinas it’s a hard-won prize. It’s important to celebrate this milestone and if you have a new attorney in your life (or even one that has been practicing for a few years) the holidays are a perfect time to acknowledge this accomplishment! Business Card Holder. A very necessary tool for networking, and a card holder is the best way to keep your cards nice and clean. Giftcards. Yes, the new attorney may be starting their journey as a young legal…
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Advice to a Baby Lawyer
This week marked my fourth year as a practicing attorney. I still remember how excited I was to be shown my own office. It was the former windowless library/storage area that had been converted into an office, but it was mine! Thankfully, my first year proved to be a really great experience that confirmed that my life-long goal of being an attorney was exactly what I wanted to be doing. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t bumps along the road. So I thought it would be fun to give my old self some advice—maybe it will be helpful to all you new baby lawyers! Dear Nubia, Ok so you…
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Culture Conflict: Being Humble
Being humble is often held up as a positive attribute among Latino families. How many times have we heard our parents or family talk about being humilde? Humble is defined as not thinking of yourself as better than other people. It is someone who is not proud or haughty. This can be a great quality and one that is definitely venerated by most of our communities. However, there is a second part of that definition that blurs the line and makes me call into question as to whether this quality is a trait that will help you succeed in your legal career. For some, being humble also means someone who is easily…
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Supervising Law Students
I remember the first student I ever supervised as a new attorney. It was an awkward relationship. I was all of 9 months removed from law school and felt so out of my element asking this student to help me do research. I was weak and hesitant in my requests, and remember being surprised when the student turned in her “research”–not a memo like I had expected, but rather print-out of a whole bunch of cases. Yikes. Though in her defense, I never once explained or clarified what kind of work I wanted from her. Thankfully, I have learned a lot since then and am pretty confident in managing student…
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Latinas Are Leaning In, A Book Review
Two summers ago, I brought the book Lean In with me on vacation to St. Martin and promptly threw it back in my travel bag because this is just not beach-reading material! A few months later, I was having lunch with one of the few Latina lawyers I know and she highly recommended the book. I started reading it and couldn’t stop. It was so informative and compelling, not just because the stories and statistics provided illuminated problems women face in the professional workforce; or because the advice seemed practical and useful; but because it was a window into a powerful world that we are trying to join. First, from a…
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Promoting Yourself in Performance Evaluations
Filling out evaluations is usually no fun. It can be time-consuming, anxiety-inducing, and can result in criticism you weren’t expecting. But some C-level executive decided evals were a good idea, and now most of us have to do it. Let’s just be happy that Microsoft’s former method of evaluating on a curve (!) hasn’t gone mainstream. When you have a chance to do a self-evaluation, it’s really important that you take advantage of highlighting your accomplishments as much as possible. The reason being that you’re likely the only one that is best suited to describe everything you’ve done well. Sometimes it’s difficult to do it, but we have to get used…
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When to Take a Compliment and When to Take a Hint
When you first entered the world of law, did everything feel normal and natural? For most, it takes time getting used to working in this profession, partially because we have to learn how to navigate the ins-and-outs of appropriate professional etiquette and customs. All systems of power create these procedures and social norms as a way to distinguish themselves from others. The legal community is no different in that it has imposed high standards of professionalism and business etiquette. If you didn’t grow up with parents or a close network that also abides by these standards then often it’s going to take a lot of trial and error before you feel like…