Best of Levo League: Week Ending April 6, 2012

How the Deschanel Sisters are Changing the Way We Think About Women in Primetime TV
Emily and Zooey have been on the silver screen for a long time-- but never before have two sisters had primetime TV slots on the same network centered around their two strong female characters. Levo's Managing Editor Elizabeth Burke looks into the qualities that make Temperance Brennan and Jess Day strong and confident women.

Career Strategy from the Life of Miss Piggy: Branding and Poise Will Get You Everywhere
She was a teaching figure in many of our childhoods, and now she's back to teach us to be successful in business: Miss Piggy's over Kermit, ladies, and she's back in our lives (with the perfect pig-sized pair of heels).

How to Rock Your Kickstarter Campaign– and Your Social Network.
Levo Community Manager Mercy Bell has a very active life as a musician-- in fact, last year Mercy raised $8,000 for a studio-recorded album using the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter. How'd she achieve success with Kickstarter-- and how can her tactics help you maximize the value of your social network? Come find out.

Ultimate BCC Botches from History, and How to Recover from a “Reply All”
Let's talk about the etiquette of BCC. We've all been there: the heart-freezing moment of, "Oh no, did I just send that to everyone?" So how do you recover from an awkward "Reply All" situation? Who else has made this flub, and paid for it with infamy? Some examples-- like the German Parliament-- might surprise you.

Waitlisted: Overcome the Anxiety and Find Some Hidden Benefits of College Waitlists
For many future college students out there, this has been the week: the week where college acceptances and rejections fall where they may. Here are some helpful tips on letting go and moving on from the colleges that refused to do either and waitlisted you. 

Ms. JD Celebrates: Happy Birthday from Debbie Epstein Henry!

Editor's Note: In a continuation of Ms. JD's Sixth Birthday celebration, Debbie Epstein Henry, author of Law & Reorder, shares her insights about the benefits of getting involved with Ms. JD.  To read more about Ms. JD's plans for the year, click here. To give Ms. JD a birthday present, click here.

The Benefits of Getting Involved with Ms. JD

When I got involved with Ms. JD at its inception, I thought it was the right thing to do.  Here was a group of dynamic young women who had a wonderful mission to achieve gender parity and create an empowering community and resource for women law students and women lawyers.  Over the years, I spoke at Ms. JD conferences, wrote posts to their site, mentored individual members and otherwise interacted with its Board and members to help promote, brainstorm and bring further reach to Ms. JD’s work.

What surprised me about my interactions over the last six years is how much I personally benefited from the process.  Many experienced women are frequently asked to mentor junior women and contribute their time but they seldom realize the personal value it will bring to them. In working with Ms. JD, I have been privileged to get to know and learn from the brightest legal minds and future leaders of our profession.  These relationships have brought me knowledge about the future direction of the profession and they have put me on the pulse of what the younger generation wants.  These interactions have also brought me profound friendship and given me inspiration for the work that I do. 

Ms. JD Celebrates: Board Member Keisha Stanford

Editor's Note: In our final post celebrating Ms. JD's birthday month, board member Keisha Stanford looks back at what Ms. JD has done for her and the way serendipity played an important role.

Ms. JD has taught me that our paths are as much about serendipity as they are about preparation. More than four years ago, in the midst of a stereotypical 1L freak out, I received an email about a conference in New York. Every rational part of me (i.e., that little voice reminding me that I had reading to do, outlines to prepare, practice exams to take) said that I should decline the invitation. But for some reason, I ignored my normal inclination to take the safe route and in the midst of planning a conference, figuring out summer housing, and trying to simply make it through my first year of law school, I decided that I would take the 6+ hour flight from San Jose to New York to find out what Ms. JD had to offer.

In a long list of unexplainable decisions in my life, Ms. JD counts among the many of which I am immensely proud. Like many women, I spent many years tepidly feeling out relationships with other women. I am not sure if it was the fear of things going terribly awry, bitter cat fights, or a reliving every stereotypical sitcom portrayal of women. Regardless of the reason, I had begun to believe that few women supported other women and had become increasingly selective about my female friends. I found this reality to be disheartening, since I owe many (if not all) of all my successes to the love and guidance of a truly amazing woman — my mother.

Ms. JD Celebrates: Happy Birthday from Justice Duffly!

Editor's Note: In a continuation of our Ms. JD Celebrates posts, Justice Fernande Duffly offers her perspective on Ms. JD's mentoring programs, sponsorship, creating a pipeline of future leaders, and why she invests time in the Ms. JD Fellowship. Let's hope we're creating future women judges like Justice Duffly!

Mentoring of many shapes and sizes is important. One of the most important is your mentor/sponsor within your law firm or other legal work environment. This is the person who will take you under his or her wing and provide good work opportunities, the kind of choice assignments that lead to skill enhancement and advancement both within the organization and without. Although doing excellent work, and working hard, is essential to success in any field, it generally is not enough, so it will be important to find someone who will support your efforts on the path to leadership.

Your sponsor should not be your only mentor. There are other opportunities that are increasingly available through national organizations such the ABA, NAWJ and Ms. JD, and local bar associations. Many minority or specialty bars have instituted formal mentoring programs that match experienced lawyers or judges with younger ones; the collaboration between the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and Ms. JD, to create the Ms. JD Fellowship is a good example. These types of programs give you the opportunity to get answers to questions you may not feel comfortable asking within the confines of your firm or to explore other career options that you may be interested in.

Ms. JD Celebrates: Happy Birthday from Kelly Hoey!

Editor's Note: Kelly Hoey is a connector, business strategist, and co-founder of Women Innovate Mobile (WIM) a mobile accelerator geared toward supporting women entrepreneurs. Before going into the business world, Kelly was an attorney and professional development manager at White & Case. Kelly has been a Ms. JD supporter since the beginning and we are thrilled to have her writing a piece as part of our sixth birthday celebration.

Why You Must Celebrate Ms JD

When I was asked by then President-Elect, Katie Larkin-Wong to write a post for Ms JD’s birthday celebration, my answer was an immediate Yes! This is an organization I have known for a number of years and contributed to by participating in their Chicago and Los Angeles conferences. So why am I, a 1991 University of British Columbia Law School graduate a fan, supporter, conference-attending member of Ms JD?

Ms. JD Celebrates: Happy Birthday from Pat Gillette!

Editor's Note: Pat Gillette is a partner at Orrick and the founder of the Opt-In Project a nationwide initiative focused on changing the structure of law firms to increase the retention and advancement of women in the workplace.  She also serves as a Commissioner for the ABA Commission on Women in the Professsion.  Pat was a Ms. JD Fellowship Mentor for the Ms. JD Fellowship Class of 2010.  This piece is part of Ms. JD's Sixth Birthday Celebration. 

Ms JD is celebrating its birthday. And the timing could not be more perfect. As we see more and more political speak that seems to be returning us to the 1950s, the importance of harnessing the power of women in the legal profession can’t be overstated. And one of the ways we focus that power is by joining the forces of the women entering the profession with the power that is held by more senior women. Ms. JD provides that forum and the mentoring fellowship program provides the vehicle for transferring the power from one generation to the next.

Ms. JD Celebrates: Bobbi Liebenberg, Former Chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession

Editor's Note: This post by Bobbi Liebenberg is part of our birthday celebration! Bobbi was the President of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession when we co-founded the Ms. JD Fellowship. To support programs like the fellowship, give Ms. JD a birthday present! Just click here. 

Ms. JD is now a precocious six year old, and I am delighted to join in the celebration of its founding. It has already established itself as one of the leading national organizations for women law students and young women lawyers. Its blog and Library are “go-to” resources, and its national conferences, scholarship and Network have provided invaluable assistance and guidance to countless young women as they begin their journey on a legal career.

Ms. JD Celebrates: Here Are Our Current Plans for This Year!

Dear Ms. JDs,

We’re back and as promised, we’re answering the all-important question: what can you expect from Ms. JD in the coming year?  We’re kicking off March with a celebration of Ms. JD’s sixth birthday.  If you haven’t noticed, our Ms. JD logo has her party background on and we’re going to spend this month doing just that.  We’ll have posts from a number of board members talking about what Ms. JD means to them.  You’ll also hear from some of Ms. JD’s most prominent supporters about why they support Ms. JD.  Look for all of these posts under the banner Ms. JD Celebrates.  You can celebrate Ms. JD by posting to the blog or giving Ms. JD a (tax deductible!) sixth birthday present!

This year is packed with a lot of exciting programming!  In general, you can expect a focus on leadership skills.  We’ll continue to profile top women leaders and open a new conversation about leadership skills on the blog.  Our public interest scholarship competition will also go up this month and we’ll be announcing the next class of Ms. JD Fellows and their mentors in April!  Later this year, we'll provide another round of data from the Law School Journals Survey.

A Letter from Ms. JD’s New President, Katie Larkin-Wong

Dear Ms. JDs,

It is with a great sense of pride, excitement, and a bit of good nerves that I step into the roll at Ms. JD’s second President.  As Elizabeth and Karen elaborated this morning, Ms. JD has grown from a blog and an idea six years ago to an incredible organization providing community, mentorship, and support to women lawyers around the world.  Elizabeth and Karen have left big shoes to fill and I am incredibly grateful to them and the entire board of Ms. JD for trusting those of us coming up in the organization to fill them. 

Elizabeth and Karen along with a number of our current board members have built Ms. JD by always emphasizing that women’s victories are everyone’s victories.  They have led by example, as incredible lawyers, friends, and colleagues, and today, they led by introducing the new generation of leadership.  We are glad that they will continue to lend their wisdom, humor, and strategic vision to Ms. JD as Board Emeritae!  Elizabeth will also continue to lead the charge in our international work through the Global Education Fund and Karen will serve as our new pro bono counsel.  We are very grateful for their continued support. 

As Karen and Elizabeth said this morning, the legal industry is poised for change and Ms. JD is excited to be a part of the mission. At its base, Ms. JD helps improve the profession through our people.  We provide a pipeline of future women leaders.  The new women who have joined our board to help fill Karen and Elizabeth’s shoes are an excellent example of that pipeline at work.  Each of them has come up through Ms. JD’s programs before taking their place on our board. 

Read more about them after the jump!

Ms. JD Celebrates Six Wonderful Years with a New Generation of Leadership

Six years ago, women from twelve law schools around the country met at Stanford Law School to start a conversation.  We shared a vision to connect women law students and support one another to reach ever greater heights within the legal profession.  Ms. JD was born. 

It has been our great privilege to serve on the Board of Directors of Ms. JD since its inception.  Ms. JD is more than an organization, it is a community.  As a community, we’ve expanded from a blog and a dream to create a range of programs including the National Women Law Students Organization, the only national organization for women law students; a Fellowship that pairs talented law students with superstar mentors from among the ABA Commission on Women and Margaret Brent Award winners; the first survey of law reviews to collect statistics on gender and leadership; and the only initiative to support disadvantaged women in third-world countries to pursue legal educations.  We have hosted national conferences and connected with mentors and friends we otherwise would never have met.  This network of friendship and professional mentoring is the heart and soul of Ms. JD, and when we think back on our years of service to the organization, we are most grateful for the connections we’ve made with countless women and men who share our commitment to achieve gender equity within our profession.

The mission of Ms. JD has always been to serve law students and recent graduates.  Nearly five years into our own legal careers, we are proud to leave the Ms. JD Board of Directors in the capable hands of the next generation of current law students and recent graduates.  We are not going far as we move into our new roles as the inaugural members of the Ms. JD Board Emeritae.

After years spent connecting with women in law schools nationwide, we have good news to report as we move into our new roles.  The legal community is poised for change.  The upcoming ranks are talented and committed to climbing the peaks of the profession.  Working together, we form the ladder that leads the next generation up and through the glass ceiling.  Ms. JD is a vital piece of that ladder, one whose rungs we ourselves have climbed.  As we continue upward, we remain devoted to those who come next and focused on our continuing contribution to what lies ahead.

We hope you will continue to climb with us as Ms. JD continues on to serve the next generation of law students and recent graduates!

With gratitude,
Elizabeth Pederson
Founder and Inaugural President, Board of Directors

Karen Deschaine Hernandez
Founding CFO, Board of Directors