Announcing the 2010 Ms. JD Fellowship

Ms. JD is pleased to announce the Ms. JD Fellowship program, which will select 20 of the most promising second-year law students in the country and provide them with one-on-one career mentorship from the nation's most accomplished female attorneys.

Who Are The Mentors?

Fellowship mentors will be assigned to the Fellows from among the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession's alumnae of commissioners and Margaret Brent Award Winners. The list includes U.S. Circuit Court judges and state Supreme Court justices, general counsels from the Fortune 500, managing partners from the nation's
largest law firms, and leading professors and practitioners from around the country. 

Mentoring pairs will be made based on geographic location and shared professional interests. We aim to identify the most promising students in a variety of fields and practice areas and pair them with the most successful woman in that field. 

What Will the 1-Year Mentorship Entail?

In addition to being identified as one of the nation's highest-achieving law students, mentees will receive:

• Invitation to the 20th Anniversary Margaret Brent Awards on August 8, 2010, in San Francisco
• Invitation to Ms. JD's annual conference in March 2011, location TBA
• Mentor review of their resume and writing sample
• Invitation to 2 other networking events with their mentor
• At least 2 additional activities with their mentor, based on mutual interest and availability

How to Apply/Nominate?

Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled full-time as a second year law student in an ABA-accredited law school.

If you would like to nominate a 2L to be considered for Ms. JD's 2010 Fellowship, email her name and school to Fellowship@ms-jd.org.

If you would like to apply to be considered for Ms. JD's 2010 Fellowship, email the following to Fellowship@ms-jd.org.

• Resume
• Transcript
• Writing Sample (legal writing, no length requirement, redacted documents accepted)
• Availability for phone interviews April 12 - 30th (indicate on what days you will be totally unavailable)

We will accept nominations and applications until 5:00 pm PST, April 1, 2010.

Advice for success from New York's top female attorneys

New York Magazine recently reached out to some of the most successful women lawyers practicing in New York City to solicit their advice for younger lawyers. The verdict? “In a nutshell, you have to be prepared to work very hard for very long hours” and “unless you really love the work, it won’t be worth that very high cost.” Exploring “how hard is hard,” the article references one partner who was using her Blackberry during labor, another who took “literally no time off” after giving birth three times, and others who forfeit sleep to work “around the clock when the situation demands it.” Though for many, “a work ethic bordering on obsession isn’t worth the price,” the women interviewed for the article “say the key is that they love what they do.”

In addition, to hard work, flexibility also played a role in the featured women’s successes. Valerie Ford Jacob, “one of only a few women to head a major United States law firm,” was able to bring her kids to work (and not secretly—they were playing soccer int eh hallways!). Another attorney cited the importance of “giving permission to men and women so they don’t feel furtive about the demands of family life.”

While flexibility is helpful, taking time off to raise your children is harmful. One woman noted that “unfortunately, if you take a year off, it’s equivalent to taking two or three years because technology changes, the market changes, the law changes . . . If you are really committed to your career, I really believe taking time off is going to hurt you.”

My first legal mentor

“You should really learn to be more humble,” my college guidance counselor told me. I was seventeen years old, alienated from my parents, a scholarship student at a very expensive high school, an opinionated and outspoken young woman with only male teachers and administrators, about to go before the judicial committee, and my arrogance was all I had to fight back the feeling that my life and plans were completely out of my control and quickly unraveling. But there was a mom, my boyfriend’s mom, a successful corporate attorney mom, who stepped in and stopped the unraveling for me.