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Young Lawyers Need to Protect Their Careers
By Susan Smith Blakely • February 20, 2020 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
I currently am counseling a young lawyer about changing a focus in the law. In that work, I am reminded of the importance of future vision and developing career plans. A career plan and the research involved in developing one are essential to protecting your ability to exercise options in time to remain true to the career you envisioned when you entered law school. I know that it is difficult to change courses midstream. Lots of anxiety and insecurity is involved. I have been through it myself, and I have helped others through it as well. One thing is common…
Types of Lawyers: Deciding What Type Of Lawyer Will You Be.
By Katherine Hernandez • December 12, 2019 •Careers, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Other Issues
It's your first day at law school, you have a lot in mind but your pure goal is to become a successful lawyer. Law aspirants and even established lawyers may struggle to decide what area of law they want to be an expert with. Going to law schools may spark your thoughts that you will eventually work in renown and large firms practicing corporate law but the truth is that may not happen and you might be directed to another path. We need to remember that all areas of the law are important and it comes handy in different situations. Whether you…
The Best Career Advice I’ve Been Given: Watch Your Feet
By Gabriella Dionise • November 22, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
I’m clumsy by nature. Not the cute clumsy, where you fall into a handsome man’s arms, but the stub your toe and break it kind of clumsy. I quickly found that I could either live in steel-toed boots or watch my feet as I walked. My favorite summer sandals don’t come in steel-toed options, so down I look. Growing up, this was my parents’ greatest annoyance. They would take me to an art museum, and I would stare at my feet, to the beach, and I would stare at my feet, to a beautiful view, and I would stare at…
Tips from Jill McBride Baxter, Sports Agent - On the Field: Women in Sports Law
By Tatum Wheeler • June 30, 2019 •Ms. JD, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media, Other Issues
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Jill McBride Baxter, a sports lawyer, and certified CFLPA and NFLPA sports agent. A graduate of University of the Pacific's McGeorge School of Law, Jill has worked as a sports lawyer for over thirty years, representing professional athletes—including those in the NFL and MMA—athletic administrators, coaches, and media personnel. Ms. Baxter also runs a blog and podcast featuring sports law topics and helpful advice for those interested in sports law. As someone who’s had a successful career as a sports agent for over thirty years, Jill has a wealth of lessons about…
Just in time for graduation, the ABA tightened its bar pass standard for law schools
By Jen Reise • May 21, 2019 •Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues, Features, Advice on Passing the Bar Exam
Thousands of new lawyers celebrated their graduation this weekend and, in time-honored tradition, celebrated for approximately one day before turning to studying for the bar exam. On Friday, the ABA announced that it was tightening its accreditation standard for law schools’ bar passage rates. The new standard will require law schools to have a bar pass rate of at least 75% within two years of graduation. Overall, this rate was 88.57% for the most recent year, but bar passage rates are highly correlated with LSAT scores. This change puts the pressure on bottom-tier law schools, i.e., those that admit the…
Come to the “SITIE” of Seattle!
By Rachel Sindorf • April 18, 2019 •Careers, Legal Academia, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, •Mentoring and Networking
Innovate Your Summer in the "SITIE" of Seattle! This is an open letter to all my Ms. JD law school colleagues. I would like to invite you to enroll in Seattle University School of Law’s Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE), in Seattle, Washington. As one of the student co-founders of the forthcoming Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law, and a past student of the Immersion Course, I am excited to help spread the word about a new academic collaboration between the law school and attorneys at many of Seattle’s most cutting-edge technology companies, including Microsoft, The Allen Institute for…
Pipe Dreams and Pumps: One Public Interest Law Student’s Two-Sided Story
By Jessica Skocik • March 14, 2019 •Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
When I decided to go to law school, I knew I wanted to help people. I wanted to be what they call a “public interest student.” For me, law school was a magic place where I could acquire a particularized skill set in order to help more people more effectively. It never occurred to me (a first-generation law student from Missouri) that people attended law school to do anything else. I capitalized on my experience studying and teaching abroad and working with juvenile sex offenders to create the most compelling personal statement I could dream up, and I was off…-100x100.png)
Webinar: Speak Up: Finding Your Voice and Taking Charge of Your Career
By Katie Day • March 08, 2019 •Ms. JD, Conference, Careers, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Internships and Clerkships, Issues, Features
On March 6, 2019, Ms. JD Board Member Katie Day sat down with Jodi Flynn, Executive Coach and Founder of Women Taking the Lead for a webinar on speaking up. In this webinar, Jodi shares three stumbling blocks to speaking up and provides practical solutions. Want to learn more about speaking up? Join Ms. JD on March 14-15 at the University of Pennsylvania School of Law for "Speak Up" our 11th Annual Conference on Women in the Law. Have questions about the stumbling blocks Jodi discusses? Want to pick her brain? Shoot her an email at jodi@womentakingthelead.com. About Jodi Jodi Flynn of…
LinkedIn Success in 3 Easy Steps: Job Hunters Edition
By Diana LaMorie • February 03, 2019 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Happy New Year dear readers! I am happy to report that I am back on the blog. In fact, after such a rewarding experience blogging as a 2018 Writer in Residence for Ms. JD, I have accepted a position on its Board of Directors. I am really excited about getting more deeply involved and helping Ms. JD bring exciting programs and opportunities for young women everywhere. My latest blogging inspiration manifested itself during a recent alumni women's circle I joined. I heard from several women recognizing the value of having a LinkedIn presence, but saying they were intimidated by how…