Browse Topics
The Westside Justice Center—Legal Aid & Community Outreach
By Janee Prince • September 02, 2016 •Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Community justice generally refers to various crime prevention techniques that explicitly include the community. The idea behind community justice initiatives lies in restorative community goals –creating a “grass roots” path to neighborhood inclusion by active involvement. Recently these initiatives have included community: crime prevention, courts, policing, prosecution, etc…. Access to the legal system, or the lack thereof, plays a large role in whether the community has faith in its lawmakers and the justice system as a whole. The Westside Justice Center (WJC) works to fill that void; providing Chicago citizens with legal services in immigration, family law, real estate, estates and trusts, etc. The…
7 Tips to Choose the Right Area for Law Specialization
By Andera Colon • August 31, 2016 •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
From Admiralty Law to Health Care Law, the possibilities in law specialization seem to be endless. It can, therefore, be difficult to choose a specialization that is most suitable for you. Usually, law students have to take mandatory classes in all legal topics during the first year. In the second and third year, they are allowed to choose the classes they want. The reason law schools allow students to choose classes in the second and third year is so that they can experiment with different areas of the law. Most law schools don't expect you to choose a specialization until…
Domestic Violence, Abuse and the Shocking Statistics
By Shirley Wray • August 23, 2016 •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Domestic Violence by a spouse or a partner in a relationship is defined as aggressive or violent behavior that can include a range of abusive behaviors such as name calling, sexual assault, stalking, intimidation and physical harm or threat of physical harm, to name a few. The Numbers When it comes to domestic violence, the statistics among American women are shocking. Between 2001 and 2012, the number of American troops that were killed while fighting in Afghanistan was 6,488. Meanwhile, the number of American women killed by a current or ex male partner in that same time period was almost…
Top Ten Tips for Law Firms to Make the Most of Summer Programs
By Christina L. Martini • August 07, 2016 •Ms. JD, 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, •Internships and Clerkships, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Dear Readers- I hope you are well and that your August is off to a great start. Last week I wrote a post with 10 tips for summer associates to make the most of summer programs. As legal internships draw to a close and we are now knee-deep in on-campus interviewing and job fairs across the country, I thought it would be a good time to share my top 10 tips for law firms who are deciding on offers for their current summer classes and conducting interviews for their summer programs for 2017. Whether you are a law student, law firm or legal department, this…
Top Ten Tips for Summer Associates to Make the Most of Their Summer
By Christina L. Martini • July 31, 2016 •Ms. JD, Ms. JD Weekly Roundup, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, •Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Internships and Clerkships, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Dear Readers- I hope this post finds you well and enjoying the your summer. As we wind down the last hours of July and begin a new week and month tomorrow, we are reminded that summer associate programs are drawing to a close at law firms and for in-house legal departments. We are also gearing up to begin on-campus interviewing and job fairs across the country. Whether you are a law student who is participating in one of these summer programs or getting ready to begin the fall interviewing process looking for a job, you will find the following article useful. It…
Defining Success in the Law
By Christina L. Martini • July 08, 2016 •Ms. JD, Ms. JD Weekly Roundup, 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, Internships and Clerkships, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Hello Ms. JD Aficionados! I hope this finds you well and that you are enjoying the summer so far. Many of you may be summer associates in law firm summer programs across the country, others of you may be getting geared up for on-campus interviewing in the next several weeks, while some of you may be practicing attorneys with a few years under your belt. Whatever the case may be, each of us can use some advice about how best to define success in the context of where we are in our careers, and some do's and don'ts. In that…
SUPERWOMEN TIPS FOR TAKING THE BAR EXAM
By ilise feitshans • July 05, 2016 •Features, Bar Exam, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
As a second generation lawyer whose father jumped the legendary hurdle of passing the New York Bar the first try, the Bar was quite high for me when taking my Bar exam, even though I was in a land far away, the Commonwealth of Virginia. I did and I did, but I recall that it was as much a question of stamina and personal discipline as much as it was about legal information and knowledge of law. The old adage that Law School has nothing to do with practicing law has, years later, proven to be untrue. Staying awake and using my…
Attorneys Across America: Featuring Amy Ismail
By Seaira Christian-Daniels • June 27, 2016 •Ms. JD, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Law School, Internships and Clerkships, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
From a tiny office in rural Alaska to a skyscraper in Manhattan, from The Sunshine State to The Prairie State, Ms. JD seeks to capture snapshots of successful women attorneys practicing law from sea to shining sea. Ms. JD had a few questions for Amy Ismail who is a an associate at Reid Rubinstein & Bogatz in Las Vegas, Nevada. 1. Where do you practice law? I am an associate with Reid Rubinstein & Bogatz in Las Vegas, Nevada. 2. Describe your legal market. What is the size of the market? How would you describe the culture? Fortunately, Nevada has more jobs…
6 Things You Should Know about Child Support Law
By Melissa Burns • May 05, 2016 •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Whether you are going to receive or pay child support, it is always a good idea to find out more about the conditions on which it is provided. Here are some things you probably didn’t know: 1. Monthly Child Support Obligation Can Increase or Decrease Depending on circumstances of both parents, monthly obligation can get bigger or smaller. The latter may happen if the paying parent can prove substantial financial difficulties caused by severe disability, long-term unemployment or other drastic and provable changes in regular income. And vice versa, if the payer’s monthly salary has considerably and permanently grown above what…