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Spotlight On! Family Law Attorney Jennifer Alfonso
This is another installment of the series, Spotlight On! A series where we showcases Latina lawyers and learn about the early successes in their careers. Today we meet Jennifer Alfonso, a dynamic Latina lawyer. If you follow her on Instagram, then you know how refreshing it is to see that she really enjoys practicing law! Today she shows us what it means to trust your instinct even if it takes you to a place you didn’t at first envision for yourself! When did you start practicing? About a year and a half ago. What made you want to pursue a career in law? Being a journalism major and never wanting…
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Affirmative Action, Feminism, & Me
In 2003, I was in high school, when the Supreme Court decided Grutter v. Bollinger--a case discussing race as a factor in college admissions. I remember being in my AP government class with a conservative, white, male teacher who didn’t hold back on how incorrect it was to take race into account. And so most students agreed with him. The class was small, maybe 12. I remember only one or two students, aside from me being in support of Affirmative Action. I remember, a white girl next to me who made a crying sound, implying that students of color complaining about diversity were being whiny babies. I was the only…
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Summer Series: Finding Your Voice After 1L Year
Our Summer Series continues! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. We hope to provide a variety of work experiences, options for a healthy work-life balance, and general motivation through different guest contributors to help you to take charge of your summer and professional goals! Today we hear from Maria Celina, a rising 2L practicing hands-on lawyering at Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, who shows us what’s it’s like to re-discover your passion in law & justice after surviving 1L Year. My name is Maria Celina Márquez and I am a rising 2L at The George Washington University Law…
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Three Harsh Truths to Remember the Last Two Weeks Before the Bar Exam
The last two weeks of Bar prep oscillate between wishing the Bar exam were tomorrow so you can get it over with versus freaking out that you’ll never learn everything by the day of the test. The last two weeks are grueling, high paced, yet filled with hours that don’t seem to end. It really sucks. There’s not much you can do at the moment to alleviate the stress and anxiety. During this time, even I don’t recommend taking large chunks of time off to exercise or cook or to relax. Why? Because all the time you spend not studying will be mostly time stressed about the fact you’re not…
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Networking Basics: How to Master a Networking Event
Late spring/summer always seems to have so many networking opportunities. Usually there are events to help students network, but a lot of professional orgs and alumni groups have get togethers around this time as well. I remember the summer before starting law school I attended my first legit networking event and was kind of confused about what to do. Thankfully, with practice it gets easier (and sometimes it’s actually fun). But when you’re first starting out as a new professional, you really have to work on managing and maintaining your professional image at these events because you never know when you’ll cross paths again. Usually when people don’t seem to…
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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…