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Am I Dumb? Combating the Microaggressions at Work that Question Your Intelligence
First, I’m so glad we have a space here to talk about this because I’ve been thinking about this for a long time. And, recently, when I read this article about how “well-meaning” liberals often dumb themselves down for our supposed benefit it all kind of clicked… Let me start at the beginning—tell me have you ever experienced any of the following: You’re really good at your job, but it seems almost impossible to be assigned complex cases, important clients, or other glamour work and you’re not sure why? You give guidance, advice, input on cases, but colleagues, even subordinates, question or push back on your correct analysis? Or You’re…
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Latina Leader: Mayra Rodriguez Alvarez
After a way too long hiatus, Latina Leader Lunes is back! And I’m super thrilled to start with Mayra. Just from the small peeks of her life via social media, I know she is a force to be reckoned with! She is exactly what a Latina leader is all about–she saw how the Latino community in Northwest Indiana was underserved and marginalized. Then she worked hard to become the leader that they need. After graduating law school, she opened her own practice and is continuing to provide for her community. Here she gives us some insight on her journey through law school and goals for the upcoming year: 1. …
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Harnessing Growth Mindset to Advance your Career
Happy New Year (and yes, this isn’t a mirage, it’s actually a new post)! I’m hoping everyone is having a great start to the month and is easing back to work/preparing for the new semester nicely. Because January is always all about new beginnings and progress, I wanted to talk about the importance of your mindset and how you view your abilities and skills. Likely, many have heard about growth mindset and the importance it plays in your ability to succeed in school and career. I probably first heard about this in undergrad as a Sociology major, but it didn’t really resonate with me until many years later when I…
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Do It Again: Overcoming the “Prove it Again” Bias at Work
A funny thing happens after you’ve been practicing law for a few years. While you are developing your skills and growing more confident about your talent, you start to sense other people being surprised at how great you perform. Almost too surprised… This is a phenomenon the Harvard Business Review calls “prove it again.” A cycle women experience where we’re not given credit for our potential. Instead, our capabilities are questioned more harshly and when we do deliver, those in charge need you to “prove it again” because obviously you’re past success was a fluke… It is exhausting and disheartening. A punch to the gut when you realize a respected…
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Drawing the Line: Pushing Back Against Problematic Standards in the Law
Of the million and one things that were incredibly wrong with the Kavanaugh confirmations, one of the stories that jumped out at me was a story involving Amy Chua. Chua, of Tiger Mom fame, is a Yale Law School Professor and is um, well, somewhat problematic, to say the least. The story that made the rounds detailed how Chua allegedly instructed women law students on how to dress and style themselves to please Kavanaugh because he liked his clerks to look “a certain way.” She denies this, but many people have heard similar advice in their own school settings. And so this type of advice does happens to various extents–that…
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Push Yourself: Becoming Comfortable with Public Speaking
As attorneys, our ability to persuade is mostly dependent on our writing skills. There’s no such thing as a good lawyer who is a bad writer. But there are plenty of lawyers who are, well, trash at public speaking lol I don’t mean to be harsh, but speaking confidently in public setting is an art form. There are some that are naturally good at it, and those that loathe it. Those that hate it may look for opportunities that keep them away from having to speak on the record as much as possible. And while I don’t judge people who opt to keep as transactional caseload because they don’t want…
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Everyone Has Help: Why Kavanaugh’s Denials are a Detriment to our Profession
I got into Yale Law School. That’s the number one law school in the country. I had no connections there. I got there by busting my tail in college. You’ve probably heard that re-play of Kavanaugh’s hearing in his attempt to become a Justice. There are so many things that were a sloppy mess in this hearing, but for me, this was such an eye-opening statement. This is a man that comes from wealth, working and living with DC-elite, is a legacy student (aka White Affirmative Action) and yet he sat there and screeched he did this all on his own. He ignores every leg-up, privilege, assistance given to him…
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Landing the Job: It’s the Little Things
It’s job hunting season for many of you. Whether you’re in law school and prepping for your next summer gig, a 3L looking for a fall fellowship, or a recent grad waiting to for Bar results you need to make sure you showcase yourself as a top candidate. When I was first starting out, I had never written a cover letter before–I had never had a professional job and all my internships in college had been obtained informally. I didn’t know the importance of a good cover letter or resume. Thankfully, I had a good career counselor who had strongly held beliefs about what cover letters should look like and…
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To Be or Not to Be: The Problem With Gender Roles & Sexism in the Courtroom
I just finished reading two articles that I recommend people read about women litigators and issues they face at work. One is from The Atlantic and the other is a response in the ABA Journal. Each article tackles how women, who make up a dismal percentage of lead counsel/first chairs in trials, can push back against sexism in the courtroom to win for their client. The article in The Atlantic, written by Lara Bazelon–a former Federal Public Defender and Clinical Professor, suggests that women face such systemic sexism in every area of the courtroom that it behooves us to abide by gender roles so that we’re not seen as too…
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What Beyonce Teaches Us About Power
Have you heard the Good News? Beyonce is on the cover of Vogue, September Edition. Not only that, she discusses so much of her private life that makes me love her even more. Not only that, but she had complete control and decided to use that control to hire a relatively unknown young, Black photographer to shoot the cover. The first black photographer in the magazine’s entire history (embarrassing). Beyonce said: If people in powerful positions continue to hire and cast only people who look like them, sound like them, come from the same neighborhoods they grew up in, they will never have a greater understanding of experiences different from…