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Love Connection
By Sarah Valdes • March 02, 2020 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Everyone else feel like we blinked and suddenly we are in the third month of the year? I’m pretty sure I still haven’t finished writing out all those New Year’s resolutions and that groundhog has the audacity to not see his shadow? Before you move on to planning spring brunches and trying to figure out what parts of our closet spark joy, I invite you to take a moment to reflect on the month of February. For most, that means it’s the month of love. I filled my home with convenience store hearts and baked cookies filled with icing (if…
Women Lawyers Have a Right to Choose Their Paths
By Susan Smith Blakely • January 29, 2020 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
"Lean in" as a career strategy never has appealed to me. I have been saying that and writing about it for more than a decade. The reason is that many women do not have the resources of a Sheryl Sandberg to "lean in" and go directly to the C-Suite or the corner office. Many women cannot afford the in-home childcare with multiple caregivers and the arsenal of hired help for everything from grocery shopping, to carpool, to pick-up at the dry cleaners, to travel planning for exotic family vacations. Rather than giving many women an edge, "lean in" makes many…
5 Secrets You Didn’t Know About Personal Finance
By Joshua Holt • January 09, 2020 •Careers, Law School, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
If you’re like me, you spent the holidays trying to stay warm, avoiding your phone, and curled up under a blanket watching a few lawyer movies, thankful that you’ve somehow avoided getting staffed on one of those must-close-by-December-31st deals. But now it’s the new year and you’re thinking that you need to “control your money, so it doesn’t control you.” You’ve mastered the basic principles of creating a budget, avoiding credit card debt, and keeping a close eye on your decreasing student loan balance. But what else can you do to master your money and build wealth and security? Here…
My Mom, the Lawyer
By Susan Smith Blakely • January 09, 2020 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I just read a book that you all need to know about ---- to read and to recommend to all of the lawyers in your lives. By "all" I mean both the female lawyers and the male lawyers in your orbits. The book, My Mom the Lawyer, by Louisville, KY lawyer/mom Michelle Browning Coughlin, hits all the marks of my own Best Friends at the Bar project for women lawyers. Like me, Michelle and her project, Mothers Esquire, are devoted to increasing retention and promotion rates for women lawyers. And, like me, Ms. Coughlin also extends her project to male lawyers, who are parents and caregivers.…
Multi-Tasking Self-Care and Professional Development: Podcasts
By Jenny Patten • October 31, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Like most working professionals, I spend a significant part of my morning and late afternoon commuting to and from the office. My 30-45 minutes to and from daycare drop-off and the office often are the only time that I have truly to myself, and for a number of years, I’ve spent that time listening to music, participating in work-related conference calls, or using the time to call a friend or family member to catch up. However, as work and family duties and responsibilities have gradually eroded the time I used to spend for myself, I realized that my commute may…
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…
How to Get A Handle on Student Loans
By Joshua Holt • October 14, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues
It's that time of the year again. Fall is in the air and thousands of newly-minted lawyers across the country are walking into their first jobs after having passed the bar exam (we hope!). While the flush of starting a career is a lot of fun, there's usually a monster hiding in the background that many lawyers would prefer to avoid: staggering student loan debt. Luckily, paying off your student loans is a problem that you're well-equipped to handle, assuming you decide to take a proactive approach rather than burying your head in the sand. Get your arms around your…
5 Practical Tips for New Lawyers to Avoid Depression
By Anonymous • September 03, 2019 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
A survey from the ABA Young Lawyers Division found that 41% of female attorneys were unhappy with their jobs. A highly cited study from Johns Hopkins University of more than 100 occupations found that lawyers had the highest incidence of depression. While these figures are alarming, it’s not surprising that many lawyers are depressed. After all, the practice of law is inherently stressful. It’s a demanding career, and some days, it feels as if the work will never be done. For new lawyers, the first few years can be especially stressful. Here are five practical tips to help prevent depression.…
What Is the Need for Professional Liability Insurance for Lawyers
By Arpita Arya • August 16, 2019 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Professional Liability Insurance is one of the most crucial insurance coverages a law firm can carry. Although the responsibilities of a lawyer frequently involve defending their clients in court, lawyers themselves can become defendants when a professional lawsuit is filed against them. Their mistakes can result in their client's loss of money. It is the reason that you can sue them for professional negligence. This can also be called as malpractice insurance. It can pay for the cost to defend lawsuits against you and your firm. They also come to your aid when any judgments or settlements arising out of…