Another Book You Can Skip-- Full Disclosure: the new lawyer's must-read career guide

Sorry to report that I have wasted my money on another lawyer career guide that wasn't worth it.  This book full disclosure: the new lawyer's must-read career guide is just not good.  One the cover it says "An indispensible mentoring guide for young lawyers and those about to enter the practice of law".  That statement couldn't be more wrong.  First, the book is very dispensible.  In fact, the information offered by this book is dispensed by every would-be career counselor and advice-giver out there; it is information you can generally glean from life's experiences if you are even a little perceptive.  The advice is so basic that it is not useful.  Second, the book tries to be too many things to too large an audience.  It is more 1/2 about finding a job out of law school and 1/2 about how to navigate that job once you have it.  This really means that it doesn't do a good job of meeting the needs of either the young lawyer or the law student.  If anything, this book should really be marketed to law students -- but, even then, it is not worth it.

Take this nugget of advice:

Occasionally, a client wiil request a budget consisting of a written estimate of the type and amount of services that the firm expects to provide for a client in a given matter.  The preparation of a budget is a good exercise for lawyers because it forces them to think about the value of their services and provides a yard-stick by which to measure that service.

Really?  Is this insightful?

Ms. JD Summer Book Series: The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book

Ed. Note: KHernan881, a regular contributor to Ms. JD, has agreed to sub-in for the regular Ms. JD Summer Book Series writer this week with the following review of The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book. Ms. JD's regular series should be back next week.

The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book: A Survival Guide, 2nd Edition by Thane Josef Messinger is the subject of this week's book review -- a little off track of what we've been reading so far this summer but hopefully, you'll find it useful nevertheless!

There are a bunch of advice books for new lawyers out there.  This one came highly recommended to me by a senior associate acquaintance. So I read it, admitedly in small doses about a chapter at a time until I could get through the whole thing.  I will say that I read it slowly not because it wasn't interesting but, let's face it, this is a professional advice book, not a novel, and you can only take so much advice in one sitting.

Overall, I think this was a worthwhile read for a new associate in a big law firm.  Mr. Messinger gives very practical advice in a no-nonsense kind of way. He tells it how it is in manner that isn't apologetic or politically correct.  (It is perhaps a little male-focused as he hides a little bit from the issues when he discusses gender politics in firms or gender diversity in the profession.)  By and large, I think the advice is sound and something that was worth the effort and time and would have been valuable before my summer associate job or a great read between the bar and starting work at the firm.  Some things are common sense but those things likely differ for each reader.

Ms. JD Summer Book Series: Pinstripes & Pearls, By: Judith Richards Hope

Pinstripes & Pearls: The Women of the Harvard Law Class of '64 Who Forged an Old Girl Network and Paved the Way for Future Generations

Author Judith Richards Hope, a member of the Harvard Law Class of '64, states in the introduction to her book:

"[W]e didn't fully understand what we were getting into - what obstacles we would encounter, what trails we would blaze.... We just knew, from an early age, that we wanted both to serve our country, help make our world a little better and a little safer - and to marry; rear honest, happy children; and lead fulfilling personal lives - just like our mothers."

In some ways, the concerns of Hope and her classmates are so similar to those of women in the law today. Issues of work-life balance, career success, and negotiating law school and legal careers as women, figure prominently in the book. The trail-blazing nature of the women of the Class of '64, however, stands out.

Must Read: The Counselors by Elizabeth Vrato

In 1991, Hillary Rodham Clinton in her capacity as President of the ABA's Commission on Women in the Profession established the Margaret Brent Award "to recognize some of the women who were crashing through the glass ceiling and changing the world." Elizabeth Vrato interviewed 18 recipients and collected their stories in her book, Counselors: Conversations with 18 Courageous Women Who Have Changed the World.

Book Review: amBITCHous

Debra Condren's amBITCHous is a self-help book that seeks to convince female readers that "ambition is a virtue, not a vice." Condren argues that the word "ambitious" has acquired a negative connotation in recent years, and her book is an attempt to redefine and recast ambition in a positive light. Condren posits that ambition should not be reviled but rather celebrated, for "[a}mbition is the best of who we are." Condren provides eight "amBITCHous Rules" that will help the reader learn to become "amBITCHous" - a word that Condren defines as "a woman who: 1) makes more money, 2) has more power, 3) gets the recognition she deserves, 4) has the determination to go after her dreams and can do it with integrity."

Book Review: Ending the Gauntlet

Compare the following two quotes:

1- “I feel like I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my circumstances, but I almost regret that I’m in the position I’m in…. The burden of running a home and taking care of kids is on me, and the work is incredibly stressful. And once a month, I’m the one who is paying the bills and I could be earning more, but I’m not willing to do that. So I’m at the point where I’m considering walking away.
But so many women associates in this office look to me as their role model, and I can’t tell you how many people come into my office, women associates come into my office, and say, ‘It’s so great you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s great. It’s so exciting that you made partner and you have kids and you are doing it all.’ And I feel this responsibility to these women, and I always joke with them and say, ‘Please don’t look at me as a role model. I’m a complete nut.’...

A book you can skip: It's Harder in Heels: Essays by Women Lawyers Achieving Work-Life Balance (July 2007)

I am sorry to report that this book with a very promising title is really not that good. I am infinitely interested in how women lawyers make it all work, how they balance work and life, how they network, who their mentors are, etc etc. I purchased this book with extreme excitement over the possibility that this would be the lawyer's counterpart to the Mommy Wars book which was basically written by journalists. The back cover promises essays that are "inspiring, observant, introspective, insightful, and wise."