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Summer Series: Attitude Check–Getting Excited for the Bar Exam
Our Summer Series begins again! 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 Tiffany, a Santa Clara law grad who took the Bar in February and is filled with great advice to get you started on your summer bar prep journey! It might seem impossible to get excited for summer bar prep, but mindset is a huge part of…
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Game Plan the Bar Exam
I am all about to-do lists and making action plans to get to your goal. If your goal is to pass the the bar this summer then how are you going to do that? I remember starting my Barbri course just days after graduation and just jumping into the content. Then I realized how I apparently didn’t remember anything from 1L year because I kept scoring SO low in torts and I was sure that this was a sign that I wouldn’t be able to pass. The truth is that bar studies is a long-form game because you have to study, memorize, and recall content in the certain way, so of course,…
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My PreLaw Summer: How to Prepare for Law School
Ten years ago I graduated college. Ack! I remember graduation day so vividly because I was so excited about what was to come—law school, finally! If I had only known just how difficult my summer was going to be, I don’t think I would have been as excited. I’ve mentioned before that summer before law school was incredibly difficult. There were a lot of family issues happening that made things very tight, financially. Literally, I scraped together my final deposit check through what then seemed like a miracle. It was really touch and go. All that uncertainty about whether I would even be able to enroll into law school, put…
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Take a Break: Managing Work-Related Stress
So I am the biggest proponent for mental health days–I wish employers (especially law firms) were more supportive/less judgmental of people taking a day when they need it. And lawyers need it! I don’t want to sound like a broken record, but obviously this job is stressful as our profession suffers from high rates of depression, anxiety, and problematic drinking. To me, it’s no surprise–for most of us, we often meet our clients at one of the worst, most stressful time in their lives. We also see an ugly side of humanity, when people dig their heels in, unwilling to compromise to stick it to the other side. The work…
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A Community Living Through Trauma
I’ve been think a lot about trauma and the experience of Latino youth. What spoke to me most recently was the video of this young girl, Fatima, crying because the U.S. government took her father away from her. It’s clear by their story that her dad is an immense part of her life, a supporter, motivator, protector, provider—everything a good dad is. And now he’s been ripped from her. For what purpose? I read this story and thought of countless of others that I’ve read of Latino children who live in constant fear and anxiety of this happening to their families. Who hear their parents being called illegal or criminals.…
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First Impression: What if You’re Not Good Enough?
A few weeks ago I read some reports from the Yellow Paper Series—reports on studies conducted on racism and bias in the legal field. The report, Written in Black & White, discusses the way implicit bias impacts how supervising attorneys review written assignments by attorneys of color, specifically Black attorneys. Previous studies have shown that supervising attorney are more likely than not to perceive Black lawyers as having subpar writing skills in comparison to their white counterparts. Written in Black & White delved further in the topic by seeking out whether confirmation bias causes supervising attorneys to then evaluate legal writing by Black attorneys in a more negative light. Implicit…
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Skills Beyond Question: Beating the Imposter Syndrome
I have been writing a few pieces outside of this site lately and have been trying to find the guts to make pitches to “bigger” platforms because there’s a voice in the back of my head that questions my ability to write? And to be honest, I would have taken the leap to do more and more writing a year ago, but my fear kept holding me back. I keep thinking that I’m not that good, I have no real training, is my voice even needed? But a few things happened that encouraged me to push myself. Maybe I will fall flat on my face in my attempts to write…
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Why We Talk About Our Struggles
There was a big back and forth online this week about the discussion that took place between Jessica William and Salma Hayek at some like women in Hollywood retreat. LA Times had a transcript on the event. Essentially, this was a huge, missed opportunity in intersectional feminism. Jessica tried to explain how her identity as a black woman is almost always on the forefront of how people see her and Salma (and Shirley MacLaine [da fuq]) dismissed this as almost silly. On top of also making some statements that seemed to imply programs that are akin to affirmative action are condescending… But Remezcla did a great piece on this situation…
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There is No Try: Last Things To Do Before the Feb Bar
Many of you are just three weeks away from the February Bar. Eeek! This far out you just want it to be over but you also feel like you’ll never know what you need in order to pass the bar. It sucks. At the moment, there is also so many distractions. Every day there seems to be a new situation that demands our attention and/or creates unease about the state of our nation. I don’t envy any you, for realsies, but I am sending positive vibes your way. Here are some things you should keep in mind as you finish your bar studying: One. Be selfish. These last weeks are…
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What’s a Weekend? Use Your Break Wisely
One of the things that law school stole from me is the ability to take a nap. During law school, I just couldn’t nap from the anxiety of having something “more important” to do. Now, that I’m far out of law school, I barely ever nap and I totally blame law school for that. I hope you come out better than I did. But for a lot of people, it’s break time and that means a lot of napping and other fun things! Most of us are either at break from school or there’s a lull at work (or even better, you’re on paid vacation–holla!). I’m taking time off before the…