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Women Lawyers Should Avoid the Heat
By Susan Smith Blakely • July 18, 2017 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Yes, it is very hot this summer in most parts of America, but this is not the kind of heat I mean. The heat I am talking about occurs when boys and girls start fooling around on the job. There is no place for this in the law profession, and I hope you know it. I made it clear to you in my first book, Best Friends at the Bar: What Women Need to Know about a Career in the Law (Aspen Publishers 2009). Presenting yourself as a professional to avoid mixed or wrong sexual/relationship messages is serious business…
To be a More Zealous Advocate, See Yourself in Your Clients
By Madhavi Seth • July 17, 2017 •Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Other Career Issues, Law School, Internships and Clerkships, Issues, Other Issues
I have been blessed to have my parents, siblings, teachers, and friends as my lifelong advocates. These people have helped shape my beliefs through good conversation and have shown me how important it is to approach all challenges with optimism and grace. However, the attorney who enabled my family to immigrate to the United States from India was also my advocate. Without his work, I would not have had the opportunity to grow personally and professionally here. His advocacy inspired me to become an attorney and pursue externship experiences which would enable me…
A woman Lawyer for the Pantheon: Hommage to Simone Veil
By ilise feitshans • July 13, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Law School, •Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Internships and Clerkships, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media, Features, Myths & Truths, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
A woman Lawyer for the Pantheon: Hommage to Simone Veil Dr. Ilise L Feitshans JD and ScM and DIR Former Guest Researcher at NCRWE Copenhagen Legal Advisor for the Greek National Platform on Nanomedicine Executive Director The Work Health and Survival Project Swiss 0041 79 836 3965 USA 917 239 9960 forecastingnanolaw”gmail.com Author, Council of Europe Handbook for Parliamentarians on the Ratification of the Convention Preventing Medicrime (English and french versions available on the web coe.int) MS-JD Writer in residence on international Law Award Recipient MS-JD SUPERWOMEN- JD conference 2016 Expert on Nanotechnology for the Parliamentary Assembly…-100x100.jpg)
Join the Conversation: What For?
By Tammy Zhu • July 09, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
“To what purpose? This was why they started us here [at the tennis academy] so young: to give ourselves away before the age when the questions why and to what grow real beaks and claws.” – David Foster Wallace, Infinite Jest I realize that my posts to date have largely focused on how to increase retention and success of women and racial minorities in high-powered, male-dominated institutions where it takes mentors and sponsors in order to rise up the ranks. Sometimes these articles make me feel that I should try to stay and make it, that my success is tied…
You’ll Move Mountains, Kid: By Mastering Minutes as a Mommy!
By Joanna Nakamoto • July 08, 2017 •Careers, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
When I began law school as a single mother of two small children, I did not fully appreciate how much hard work it was going to take to be both a successful law student and a good mother at the same time. It has been extremely hard. At times, I have been very overwhelmed, stretched far too thin, and daydreamed about how nice it would be to have a personal assistant, babysitter and secretary at my disposal. Since law school consumes a lot of brainpower and time on an everyday basis, it’s important to learn how to master your minutes…
Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks: Practical Advice for New Lawyers
By Grover E. Cleveland • July 07, 2017 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
Q: I am new at the firm, and I have a legal assistant who has already saved me several times. She is invaluable, and I wanted to show my appreciation, so I invited her to lunch. At first, she eagerly accepted, but as the date was approaching she declined, saying she thought it was better if she did not go to lunch. How can I show my appreciation without having things get awkward? A: Yes. I realize the reference to “the date,” was not intended as a pun, but that may be part of the issue. Your legal assistant may…
Washington State Family-Leave
By Brenda L. George • July 07, 2017 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, •Women and Law in the Media
The Seattle Times recently reported on a "revolutionary" law, one-decade in the making. Washington State is joining California, New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island, and Washington D.C. in mandating employers pay workers' salaries while they take time off for the birth of a child. The Washington State law allows 12 weeks of leave at 90% of income (higher than any other state mandating the pay). This law, which has technically been on the books since 2007, is funded by weekly paycheck contributions from the employee and the employer and will take effect in 2020. I'm sure you can imagine how…
Take a few days off and get away!
By Anonymous • July 06, 2017 •Careers, Other Career Issues
I'm in a rut. A career rut. A life rut. Just a rut. For some reason I was under the impression that once I accomplished my childhood dream of becoming a lawyer that all the obstacles and difficulties would vanish or at the very least seem less daunting but no. I was wrong, very wrong. I've been a lawyer for two years now and I find myself more lost than ever. I read article after article about mid quarter life crisis and overcoming work burn out. While the advice in those articles are helpful it still doesn't offer me a solution…
In Praise of Independent Women Lawyers
By Susan Smith Blakely • July 06, 2017 •Careers, Other Career Issues
Happy Independence Day! Yes, it is about small town parades, fireworks and sparklers, burgers on the grill, mountains of ice cream, and being together with family and friends. It only comes once a year, so knock yourself out! But, during the festivities, do not forget about the "independence" part. I am not just talking about the Declaration of Independence or what it has meant to the evolution of this country where we all enjoy freedoms and independence unparalleled in the world. That is the focus, but it goes much further than that. It is about national independence and also about…