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When Women Lead
By Anonymous • June 03, 2020 •Features, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
On a stuffy summer evening when thunderstorm was lurking behind the cloud, Emma came knocking on my door. She was shaking all over. Before she spoke, a great sob escaped her; she covered her face with her shaky hands, and said, “We are evicted. I thought this would be my permanent home.” Emma was my childhood friend. We became acquainted when my family moved to her neighborhood in 2003. My mother often asked me to bring her cookies on my way to school. They had lived at their house for more than…-100x100.jpg)
FREE Virtual Bar Exam Summit - June 5-7, 2020
By Natasha Alladina • May 16, 2020 •Features, Bar Exam
Bar exam prep sucks. There’s nothing else to say about it. It just sucks. And now, given the pandemic, there are the added questions of when various state bar exams will happen, how bar exam prep timing will change, and oh yes, whether licensure delays will impact your job prospects. Awesome sauce. Well, I have some good news. A former Ms. JD Writer in Residence is on a mission to make bar prep more bearable and effective, especially in what is sure to go down in history as the strangest year ever to take a bar exam. Her name? Kerriann…
Interview with Sharon Simmons-Cantrell, Shareholder at Simmons and Fletcher, P.C.
By Rebecca Todd • February 26, 2020 •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Sharon Simmons-Cantrell is a very successful 28-year attorney and shareholder in a well-established law firm—Simmons and Fletcher, P.C. When interviewing Sharon Simmons-Cantrell, I learned many interesting things about her life that helped to shape her into the person she is today. Sharon did not always have her sights set on becoming a personal injury lawyer at Simmons and Fletcher, P.C.. Sharon majored in psychology at Texas A&M. When Sharon was close to graduating from college in 1991, she still wasn’t sure whether she wanted to go to grad school for psychology or law school. While in college, she had worked…
We are the phanthoms . we are not supposed to be here
By ilise feitshans • December 01, 2019 •Ms. JD, Conference, Careers, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, •Features, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
We are the phanthoms.we are not supposed to be here by Dr ilise L Feitshans JD and ScM and DIR In the middle of the spring semester of second year law school when students have often successfully adjusted to the rigors of a difficult almost military austerity and discipline regime one professor chose to rattle the box of security his students had constructed so very carefully I don't know why I am here teaching constitutional law professor Roy Schotland proclaimed in his squeaky unsettling voice. None of you are going to argue before the Supreme Court The year was…
Taking Care of Your Future Self During an 80-Hour Week
By Marisa Tashman • October 23, 2019 •Ms. JD, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues, Features, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Like many young ambitious women in the wake of Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” movement, I often have to make choices between two options that are both necessary: “sleep or work out?” “meditate or call my mom?” Beginning my career as a litigator at a large law firm in Los Angeles, I’ve been forced to make these choices all too often, eventually transforming into a thought-cycle of not being balanced enough, which inevitably transforms into being hopelessly imbalanced. Layer on psychosomatic GI issues, migraines, and an unexpected back injury, I turned to a wellness “industry” filled with preachers on becoming perfectly…
Healing Hurt With High Heels: How One Aspiring Law Student Helps Others Heal from Domestic Violence
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • October 12, 2019 •Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Other Issues, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, [1] so this article shares the story of a pre-law student who started her own nonprofit organization for survivors of domestic violence after surviving domestic violence herself. I am honored to share this conversational interview I had with Ronshanda “Nikki” Chaney about how she found purpose from her pain and in turn helps others heal through her novels and organization, Heel My Heart. --- Nikki, thank you so much for taking time to answer questions for me as the October member spotlight for Grace for the Grind™ Career Mastermind! Let’s start off with…
Join Ms. JD as our Social Media Coordinator!
By Katie Day • September 10, 2019 •Ms. JD, Careers, Law School, Pre-Law, Features
Do you have crazy social media skills? Is your smart phone always ready to Tweet, Pin, and Post? Do you have a passion for women helping women? If you answered yes to these questions, you might be just the person we are looking for! Ms. JD is seeking a part-time Social Media Coordinator to join us as an independent contractor to help build and manage our social media outreach strategies. As an independent contractor, the Social Media Coordinator will exercise her or his own independent judgment and discretion to support Ms. JD’s online presence. What will you be doing? As…
Join Ms. JD—We’re seeking a Volunteer NWLSO Director!
By Katie Day • July 09, 2019 •Ms. JD, Law School, Features
Ms. JD is seeking a volunteer Director for our National Women Law Students’ Organization (NWLSO) program! NWLSO's goal is to support female law students, in whatever capacity that may be, from brainstorming events to connecting chapters and affiliates with potential speakers to providing a blogging platform where your writing will be featured on a site that receives over 27,000 visitors per month. Quite simply, NWLSO exists to support all women law students. The volunteer NWLSO Director will work with Ms. JD’s CEO to help grow and develop Ms. JD’s NWLSO program. This includes: -Compiling and sending a monthly NWLSO…
Bar Exam Success Strategies Bar Prep Courses Don’t Teach You with Brandi D. Pikes, Esq.
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • June 15, 2019 •Features, Bar Exam, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Editor's Note: The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author and do not necessarily state or reflect those of the Ms. JD Corporation. Lack of confidence is one of the three most common Bar exam preparation pitfalls according to a recent Above the Law article. So when I heard the story of an attorney who intentionally and strategically incorporated her faith into her Bar study routine to increase her confidence in herself and her abilities, I knew I had to reach out to her! I am happy to share this conversational interview I had with Brandi D. Pikes, Esq. about her Bar…