The Road Less Traveled: 10 Things to Remember as a First-Generation Law Graduate Sitting for the Bar Exam
By Ms. JD Editor • July 29, 2021 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Features, Bar Exam
“I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams.” – Unknown This past year has been a year like no other. A year full of social unrest, with an unprecedented global pandemic and an economic crisis. Despite these circumstances, thousands of law school graduates are studying and sitting for the Bar exam. Many of whom are first-generation law graduates. Being the first is never easy. When you are the first, you’re repeatedly in the position where you learn life lessons through "trial by error." As a first-generation law student, you often create the course rather than have a path to follow. Sometimes the…
The Neurodiverse Guide to Bar Exam Accessibility
By Ms. JD Editor • July 28, 2021 •Writers in Residence, Features, Bar Exam
It’s hard enough to study for the bar. It shouldn’t be harder if you learn differently. I always end up reflecting on some form of isolated feeling during law school. As an autistic law student, I often felt alone. I didn’t know anyone else who had a similar disability until nearly the end of my 3L year and I spent law school accommodating myself in how I studied, took notes, and navigated the law school culture. I’m hardly the only one who was neurodivergent in law school, in law practice, or in that…
Fare Thee Well, 2020
By Katalin Tarjan • December 31, 2020 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
Like all of 2020, our year-end reviews feel different this year. As an avid planner and reviewer I find it hard this time to put a full stop at the end of a chapter and form expectations about a fresh new one. In Michelle Obama’s „Becoming” journal (who else loves guided journals?) the other day I arrived to the end of the year question „How has this year been different from last year?”. At first I laughed. My short answer would be „in every single way”. Then I really started counting the ways… During these last days of the…
Am I wearing too many hats? Learning how to juggle it all: I did it!
By Crystal Elaine Ellison • December 31, 2020 •Writers in Residence
Welcome to my final blog for Writers in Residence of 2020! I did it! As my Writers in Residence blog comes to an end, I can’t be prouder of myself. I stepped out of my comfort zone and blogged! I’m officially a blogger. Correction: a Ms. JD blogger. I have truly enjoyed this journey and I love my Ms. JD family! I have shared with you how I juggle wearing many hats, how it affects my daily life and how my A-type personality can be both a blessing and a curse. I have shared some of my personal experiences regarding my…
Looking Back
By Sarah Valdes • December 31, 2020 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
As we wrap up 2020, and I sit down to write my final post as a Ms. JD Writer in Residence, I can’t help but laugh. You read that right: laugh. When I applied to write for Ms. JD, I set out to cross off one of my resolutions, to get outside of my comfort zone. I decided that I would focus on community and our place within certain groups. After the first quarter of the year, the world looked very different than what I expected. Group yoga classes turned into a short session where I rearranged the coffee table…
Intellectual Property in 2021 and Beyond
By Desiree Goff • December 31, 2020 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
As the last article for the 2020 Writers in Residence column “Becoming a Zebra”, I want to thank the many influential attorneys who continue to lead, working diligently and persistently with passion for endeavors to improve the world around them. While this series was very limited in describing areas of legal practice and awe inspiring women in the legal profession, what I hope you the reader take away is a fervor for excellence in the legal career you dedicate yourself to and a remembrance to contribute to the community in which you find yourself. As we look ahead to the…
Everything is Reproductive Justice
By Leigh Creighton Bond • December 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence
As an attorney, a Black woman, and a creative, I have decided to end 2020 and my time as a 2020 Writer in Residence with one of my personal stories from 2020. I had a hysterectomy this summer. I am not quite ready to share every detail of my hysterectomy story; yet, I am not sure I will ever be ready. My first thoughts when I approached my own story turned into a question, “how do you share a story when you hold shame?” The answer may be to contend with that shame and attack its roots. The roots…
Techlegality: Reflection
By Victoria Willingham • December 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence
In true end-of-the-year fashion, I find myself in a time of reflection. Some of my thoughts have centered around my journey as a 2020 Writer in Residence. I remember when I first discovered the Ms. JD platform as a nervous law student. Constantly in search of inspiration, I often found guidance in reading various articles from the blog. As a result, I was elated when the opportunity arose for me to serve as a columnist. Never in a million years could I have anticipated that this experience would coincide with one of the most notable years in modern history. As…
Everything Nobody Ever Told Me: People Skills Make All the Difference
By Paula M Jones • December 30, 2020 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Other Issues
Yesterday my colleague called me up for a vent session. She had prepared a really complicated tax filing for a client and the client responded by sending a list of about fifteen things she thought was wrong with it. Well, the clients concerns were all unfounded and my colleague patiently and politely addressed each and every complaint. The client apologized for her snippy e-mail and stated that taxes made her anxious. It was really nice to get an acknowledgement from the client that her behavior was unacceptable. Everyone gets snippy once in a while and its entirely forgivable. Unfortunately, this…