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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…
Millennial Women: Estate Planning is for You Too!
By Iffy Ibekwe • May 10, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues, Features, •Myths & Truths
Millennial Lawyers are Powerful. I can say that because I too am a millennial lawyer. We are highly educated (sometimes in the school of hard knocks), talented, committed, innovative and ready to take on any challenge head-on. Watch out! The world is changing for women and millennials are leading the way for future generations: Around 72% of millennial women are in the workforce. [i] Although a gender pay gap still exists but is narrowing. [ii] More than 28% of millennial women start a business because they see an opportunity. [iii] Millennial women are more likely to have bachelor degrees than their male…
Time Management Tips for Women Lawyers from Harmony Planners Creator Kellie Beach Sims, Esq.
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • May 10, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
A survey of 146 female lawyers revealed the “constant need to be the best” as the “single greatest obstacle to juggling career and family,” and that more than half of the female lawyers surveyed “reported difficulty delegating responsibility (compared with about 38 percent of the overall sample).” But the average woman lawyer probably doesn’t need a survey to validate these facts: many of us feel stressed getting it all done in our demanding careers while also being present and showing up in our family and personal lives. As women, we often want to “have it all” and may feel like…
Speak Up!
By Dawn Trivolis • May 06, 2019 •Features
When I worked at Boise Girls Academy, I helped the clients (teenage girls with risky behaviors) learn how to speak for themselves. Many times, their own voices had been lost in the poor decisions they had made in the past. They followed the crowd. Over time, I helped the girls see themselves differently. By building trust, the girls shared their fears, hopes, and goals. Their future was bright—not bound to a life sentence of continual poor choices. After working at Boise Girls Academy, I needed to practice that advocacy myself. The recent break-down of my marriage resulted in many life…
Usual Misconceptions About Outsourcing Virtual Assistants
By AlexL LOPEZ • May 06, 2019 •Features, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Are you an online entrepreneur or business owner that thinks of hiring a virtual assistant? Then, you most probably heard a lot of things on working with a virtual assistant. And this includes some horror stories when it comes to working with VAs. It can be easy to fall for most of the misconceptions that you read and hear. But that will change today. Here, in this article, we are going to start clearing up the usual misconceptions on outsourcing virtual assistants so you can decide based on facts and reality. After all, It's hard to only rely on rumors.…
Learning the Securities Industry: Lessons from a Panel of Experts
By Vanessa Stephens • April 24, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Politics and Government, Features, First Women
This time last year, I developed a newfound love of securities law while I was studying for my Corporations final. Locked in a study room with my study partner, outlining the elements of classical insider trading and the misappropriation theory, I discovered an area of law that was new and very interesting to me. The following semester, I enrolled in a mix of business and securities law classes to learn more about the intersections between the two areas. I even enrolled in accounting (which I found fascinating). Despite having worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Honors Intern…
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…
Announcing the 2019 Ms. JD Honors Recipients!
By Ms. JD Editor • February 19, 2019 •Ms. JD, Conference, Features
We are thrilled to announce the recipients of the 2019 Ms. JD Honors Awards! Sharing Her Passion Award - To a woman who has practiced for more than ten years who is inspiring younger women lawyers through sponsorship, mentorship, and sharing her passion for the practice. Awardee: Fran Griesing Women's Strength in Numbers Award - To two or more women who have partnered with one another to create a unique program, business, or organization. Awardees: Women Owned Law Road Less Traveled Award - To a woman who is using her J.D. in a unique, non-traditional, way to pursue an issue…
Dear Future Lawyer: Advice for Minority Women Law Students From Author Neena R. Speer, Esq.
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • January 17, 2019 •Careers, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
In 2018, the American Bar Association reported that less than 40% of lawyers in the United States are women, and that less than 20% of lawyers in the United States are people of color. As the statistics make clear, women of color are overwhelmingly outnumbered in the legal profession. Having experienced this isolation herself, lawyer, author, speaker, and nonprofit founder Neena R. Speer, Esq. seeks to help provide solace for this underrepresented population by sharing her experience with other women of color on their journeys to becoming lawyers. As a minority woman lawyer myself, I am happy to share this…