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The Barred Life: A Series of Indefinite Length - Part I
By Jannet Matthew • May 30, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues, Features, •Advice on Passing the Bar Exam
PART I A Personal Thing, but a Family Affair I’m a December graduate of Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles and took the February 2018 California Bar Exam. The month is May but I've been an emotional wreck since February. I write this post sitting two days away from knowing my fate and an alien feeling has come over me - my emotional wreckage is finally settling. The closer I’ve gotten to the result date, the more I let go of my anxiety, fear, numbness, and desire to control. This is a major breakthrough I'm profoundly proud of because I've…
To be a Woman and to be Workplace Ready
By Ava Lee • April 18, 2018 •Ms. JD, Conference, Ms. JD Book Reviews, Ms. JD Weekly Roundup, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, 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, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
For a man, the common mantra is “seize the day.” For a woman, the common mantra is “act accordingly.” The ideal woman projects grace and cooperation. She is to complement situations, not challenge them. She is to follow rules, not make them. Easy to smile and easy to laugh, she is to sidestep her wants and needs for the greater good. One must be assertive, firm, and steadfast to reach personal and professional objectives, however these traits are downplayed at the for fear of being rejected or unlikeable. I remember my first day as a law clerk. It was standard protocol to listen and take notes during meetings. No one wanted to…
Chudnovsky Law
By Tsion Chudnovsky • April 02, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Chudnovsky Law profile and firm information Chudnovsky Law is a law firm founded by Tsion Chudnovsky with offices in Los Angeles and Newport Beach, California. The firm's multi-lingual lawyers practice criminal defense, DUI defense, immigration, professional licensing defense and personal injury law. The firm's legal team includes a former government prosecutor and public defense lawyers that know the California legal system inside out and how to achieve the best possible outcome in client cases. Chudnovsky Law's highly skilled lawyers have a great track record in California courts and have successfully handled thousands of cases and trials of all types. Our experienced, multi-lingual legal team includes different types of…
Dynamic Duo: Matthew O’Leary and Janet Wallace
By Power Pairs • March 26, 2018 •Features
Ms. JD is on a mission to interview power pairs--best friends, sisters, spouses, and business partners--who suport each other in life and/or work. We asked our former VP, Janet Wallace, and her partner, Matthew O'Leary, about their business partnership. 1. Tell us a little about your relationship. Janet: We co-founded O'Leary Wallace LLP. Matt: We're co-founders of a trusts and estates law firm. We're also libation confidants. 2. What brought you together? Janet: We were at a local bar function where two attorneys were presenting on disruptive innovation in law practice. These two attorneys were running a successful firm with low overhead through the…
It’s Time To Beat The Burn Out: The Importance of Well-Being In The Legal Profession
By Paige Marie Robinson Greene • March 07, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, Features, •Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths
THE CURRENT CLIMATE Burnout, stress, anxiety, depression – whatever you want to call it – if you’re in the legal profession there is a chance that you’ll feel it at some point in your career. Lawyers are constantly reaching for a professional-personal life balance, and the pressure to deliver can feel enormous for even the most confident and most competent lawyers. Unsurprisingly, burnout starts in law school. A 2014 research survey on law student well-being revealed that law students might have higher rates of anxiety and depression than other graduate students. (Jerome M. Organ et al., “Suffering in Silence: The…
It’s February Bar Season. But It Doesn’t Matter If You Pass. No, Really.
By Amy Impellizzeri • February 27, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Features, Advice on Passing the Bar Exam
Eighteen years ago this month, I was sitting for the Bar Exam in New York. I was already barred in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and had been practicing law in New Jersey and Philadelphia for several years, but still, the New York Bar Exam was sitting like a roadblock to my future that February. Or so I thought. I had just taken a new position in the Mass Torts Department of Skadden Arps in New York City. One of the Hiring Partners called me in December 1999 to convey the offer to me while I was sitting in my Newark,…
#MillennialMom: Law Student, Leader, and MOM!
By Katherine Larkin-Wong • February 26, 2018 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Shortly after I launched #MillennialMom on Ms. JD last month, I got a DM on Twitter (you can follow me @kmlarkinwong). "Did you know that THREE of the ABA Law Student Division's Leaders are Moms? I think this is column-worthy!" You know what, I agree! So I reached out to the #MillennialMoms who are leading the lawyers of the future and asked them a few questions about being law students, leaders, and Moms. Two of them were able to be interviewed between school and Mom Life! First, a bit of biographical information: Name: Meredith Parnell ("MP") Law school: Harvard Law School…
10 Habits of Wealthy Lawyers
By Joshua Holt • February 25, 2018 •Careers, Legal Academia, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Other Issues, Features, Myths & Truths
Setting yourself up for financial success isn’t about making one good decision. If willpower were all it took to get rich, we’d all have a million dollars by 3 pm and on a flight to a tropical island by 7 pm. Unfortunately (or fortunately really), building wealth is about changing behaviors through developing new habits. And just like any habit you’ve ever changed, it’s not something that happens overnight. You’ll have to build these habits over time. Here are my top 10 habits of financially successful people. Habit 1: Paradigm Shift People that are successful with money believe that money…
Interview with Linda Mercurio, Esq., Founder of Transformative Impact
By Amy Impellizzeri • February 12, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Linda Mercurio is the Founder of Transformative Impact, a company providing coaching, training, and consulting services to transitioning attorneys. From 2008-2016, Linda served as the Founding Executive Director of the American University Washington College of Law Lawyer Reentry Program - a program she designed and implemented. I've followed with admiration Linda's career path for some time now, and when I reached out recently to tell her so, she sent back a same time photo of her desk with my book, Lawyer Interrupted, atop her own "To Be Read" pile. I love when life sends us those moments of impactful connection. You…