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Summer Series: Success is What You Make Of It
It is time for Summer Series 2019. Truly my favorite time of the year! We are so lucky to kick it off with Gaby, a rising 2L at Yale, who shares her summer plans with us. But more than her summer plans (a summer in New Haven!) she shares the struggles that happen to many of us during 1L year and the courage it takes to pick your own path when law school pushes us to pick proximity to power over better options. When I was preparing to start my 1L year at Yale, I was incredibly confident. I was sure that I would not be the one to end…
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50 Lessons for Women Lawyers, a Review
A few weeks ago I received a copy of 50 Lessons for Women Lawyers by Nora Riva Bergman. This book is a compilation of contribution from 50 successful, accomplished women lawyers in the U.S. and Canada. The attorneys are in different stages in their life, have had different careers, experiences—it is a really great group of people offering guidance. What I appreciate is that many of the contributors share vulnerable moments in their personal life and careers that are experiences many of us can relate to—the attorney who opts to take a break to take care of children, the one who experienced domestic violence as a child, and the most…
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Overcoming Burnout: Stress and the New Lawyer
Call it burn out, adulting so hard, winters blues–whatever you want to call it, it’s likely that sometime into your career as a new attorney you will feel drained from the responsibilities of your work and life. It’s completely normal to feel out of balance because suddenly not only are you juggling lawyer responsibilities, but you’re also adjusting to the demands of daily, adult life. And if you’ve always been in school or your gap year(s) didn’t really involve full-time work, then this adjustment can be difficult. When I was a new attorney, it took a while to find a steady routine that didn’t leave me drained. I was also…
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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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Summer Series: Your Experience is Your Strength
Our Summer Series winds down, and what an amazing summer tho! This series highlights different Latina students and law grads as they embark in their summer jobs and/or bar prep all across the country. This series provides 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 also hear from Noelia, a rising 3L who is leaving her career as a teacher behind to commit, full-steam ahead, to becoming an attorney. She shares her summer experience, the lessons learned, and the expertise she brings to our profession as an educator and advocate…
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Am I In This Alone? Navigating Feelings of Isolation as a PreLaw Student
One of the emotional barriers we have to overcome when we start the law school application process is the loneliness and feelings of isolation. It’s likely that very few of your friends or family will have gone through this process. When you’re starting a path less traveled, it’s normal to feel like you have no one to turn to for practical advice, or that no one understands the stress you’re experiencing, or generally feel like it’s so unfair that you have to navigate this process all alone. When no one else has succeed in the goal you’re setting off to achieve, it feels daunting. There will be moments that you…
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Surviving the Gaslight: Microaggressions at Work
Imagine, you’re in the middle of a networking event and a partner at a firm casually mentions that they’re so impressed with how well you speak English…cue record scratch. Or you’re starting a new job and your new boss says they’re so excited to have you because they really need someone to spice up the office. …que que?! You’re likely no stranger to these micro aggressions. You know what it’s like when people keep asking where you’re from, are surprised you speak English, or assume you’re not capable just because of the way you look. Believe it or not, there will be many incidents where people act way out of pocket…
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Sidebar: Wtf is Happening
I can’t believe June is over. It flew by–I think it helps that I’ve been super busy at work. I have one month of supervision under my belt and now that we’re “fully” staffed I finally feel like I’m not drowning. Being a supervisor hasn’t had a lot of changes–some extra meetings, and more consultations than ever before but not much else has changed. I did realize that how I approached being an attorney has to be different than how I manage. Most attorney jobs are very solo-work dependent. I’m used to doing my work and calling it a day, but I’m really aware now that I have a other…
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Summer Series: Remember Who You Are
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, Kas, a recent graduate of DePaul Law School reminds us of the power that law school gives us and how vital it is to remember our the reason we are pursuing this profession–especially when things get difficult. When I was applying for law school, people would say, “good luck girl, I heard…
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How Can You Study In Times Like These?
Everything can feel so overwhelming right now with what’s happening in the news. It can feel like a useless endeavor to study for the bar when so much chaos is happening at that border and in our communities. Even still, it’s so vital for you to keep going, to focus on the bar (or whatever goal you have this summer). Use what’s happening as motivation to get to your next chapter. But I really want to volunteer! I remember the travel ban last year and how people swarmed the airport. So many students participated in that as well. So, yes, you can certainly volunteer in whatever capacity you can. But…