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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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What Not to do at a Job Interview
Lately I’ve been doing a lot of networking and interviewing with students. I really enjoy this interaction and am super impressed with most students. Acing interviews really requires a lot of preparation, both in knowing the company, the job description, and your own strengths. Of course there are people who stumble. Often the stumbles occur because of self-doubt or (even worse) being ill-prepared. It’s really awkward to see a good candidate miss the mark because they did something that was very avoidable. I mean, it’s awkward for me, but it’s bad for the candidate because a big stumble may result in not getting an offer. Let’s avoid that! …
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Preparing for Law School Finals
It’s almost that time. Stress level is probably at an all time high. You may be behind in some classes, trying to get all your reading done; finalizing your legal writing class memos; editing writing samples and resumes for your job applications; maybe even working on cites for journal, on top of everyday life. First, I’m sorry. Second, have you started preparing for finals? Because it’s time. I know if you’re a 1L, it may seem like an impossible task, and as an upperclassmen, it’s just another layer of work you have to dig through. But before you know it, you’ll be sitting for your tests so it’s vital that you…
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Emergency Kit for Work
When you start working full-time you quickly realize just how many hours you will spend at your desk. Because we devote so much time to our work life, it’s important to make things as comfortable as possible. Aside from comfort, it’s always good to be prepared in case emergencies arise so that you’re not scrambling to look appropriate. Yes, by emergency I mean not emergencies at all, rather minor inconveniences. But, believe me–when you’re about to give a presentation to a bunch of attorneys and you realize your nails are all chipped, you’re going to wish you had something to remedy this problem! I started keeping a stash of “emergency” items,…
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Prepping for your Summer Job
My 1L year, the month I was supposed to start looking for summer job options, I received bad news after bad news involving my family– all of which culminated when I was told that my dad had just been diagnosed with cancer (he’s fine now, thankfully!). With all this added stress, guess who never made it to career services, or even knew that deadlines for jobs starting in MAY were approaching in December? Me. It was me. By the time I could actually focus on finding some type of summer employment, I was scrambling to find any agency that was still looking for help. Luckily, after cold-calling a few nonprofits, a…
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Common Makeup Missteps
Ok first, I’m not about telling women what to do when it comes to their appearance. There are so many issues when it comes to discussing makeup and fashion, and it’s far too easy to become patronizing when giving women advice on how we dress. Instead, I’m going to attempt to talk about distractions and how to avoid common missteps when it comes to using makeup in a conservative/professional setting. However, if at the end of this post you still want to do what you want to do–go ‘head! Everyone that knows me, knows I’m obsessed with makeup, but I definitely tone down my look for work. It’s just a…
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Confidence and the New Attorney
Bar results come out today in some jurisdictions!! Congratulations to all those that passed!! What an amazing feat!! While we hope you’re busy celebrating, we also want to take a moment to talk about the importance of confidence as you begin practicing law. For the most part, confidence is a self-given gift. You bestow it on yourself and say to hell with other people’s opinions and own your skills and abilities. It’s not easy getting there. Especially during your first few months in the legal profession. I never took as hard of a hit to my self-esteem and self-worth as the three years I spent in law school. My writing…
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Finding Your Voice In Law School
To talk or not to talk in class– that is the question. No one wants to be a gunner, and I won’t encourage people to talk in class just to show off–that’s not my jam. However, the unique thing about law school is that almost always there’s a forced participation by way of the socratic method. Sometimes you know it’s coming if the professor goes in some type of order; other times, you’re waiting (dreading) to be called. Because participation is inevitable, it’s important to have confidence in how you convey your opinion in class. Nothing screams timid and weak like someone that gets easily flustered and rolled over by…
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Spotlight On! Solo Practitioner Daissy Dominguez
Today is the first of a very exciting series entitled: Spotlight On! The idea is to showcase new Latina attorneys and learn about the early successes in their careers. To start this series we’re interviewing Daissy Dominguez, a solo practitioner based in Chicago, Illinois. Daissy joined the bar on October 31, 2013, and opened her own practice, which focuses on criminal defense, immigration, and landlord/tenant law. I’m super excited to tell you all about her because I’ve also had the pleasure to work with her on some cases and know that her dedication to the community is the real deal! How did you decide to start your own solo practice?
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Study How You Study
We previously discussed how to prep for 1L week and –surprise–the main focus was getting prepped for studying. But it’s worthwhile to delve into “how to study” a little deeper. I say this a lot, but it’s actually really important to realize that you will be most successful if you study how you study. Think back on all the college classes where you excelled and mimic those study habits. Note that I wrote excelled, not: barely put in the work but somehow still passed–that won’t fly in law school. The reason why this is important is because law school has the tendency to push people into doing the same thing. According…