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Breaking Down the Fear of Networking as a Young Lawyer
By Jacob Maslow • May 15, 2019 •Issues, Mentoring and Networking
Bar association events are often the first time a young lawyer will really network. Conversations are the key to networking, but a lot of lawyers get jittery. You’re meeting new people, some who have far more experience and success than you, and it’s easy to get intimidated. The good news is that anyone can master the art of networking. Whether you’re sitting down for a cup of coffee and start a conversation with someone or you’re going to a networking event, it’s important to think positively and start making new contacts. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone from the Start…
5 Ways Women Attorneys Try to Reduce Stress…That Actually Increase Stress
By Amy Wood • May 14, 2019 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
As a professional coach to ambitious attorneys, I regularly meet with women lawyers who are beyond stressed out. And it’s not like these women aren’t trying to dial down stress. To the contrary, most of them seek me out as a last resort because, despite having applied all sorts of supposed “expert” advice to feel calm and in charge, they are evermore sinking under the weight of these issues: Nearly impossible billable hours quotas Difficult clients Snowballing workload Insufficient personal time Elusive sense of satisfaction The problem, I’ve come to realize, with successful attorneys who want to lighten their load…
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…
The Mental Load: There’s No App for Work-Life Balance…but Property Law Might Help
By Amy Bowen • May 08, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Whether you’re on team Sandberg or team Slaughter, you’ve probably realized by now that nobody “has it all”. Exhibit A: Michelle Obama's candid slip when discussing techniques for achieving the elusive work-life balance: “That $%#& doesn’t work all the time.” Despite the polarizing opinions on work-life balance (or work-life integration, if you prefer), there’s one thing all women have in common: we want things to be better, both collectively and individually. But with an overabundance of advice on how to get something that we've established doesn’t actually exist, it’s easy to feel like this whole dialogue is muddling into meaningless mush…
The Happy Lawyer: A Year-Long Experiment
By Kate Miceli • May 05, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Mentoring and Networking, Other Issues
My last year of law school, I took a seminar class called “The Happy Lawyer”. The concept was simple; ten law students, one dean, and one professor read six books about happiness and discuss them over dinner throughout the school year. Full disclosure, I took this class because it was at the dean’s house (who doesn’t want to see their law school dean’s house?) and was taught by one of my favorite professors. The happiness and mindfulness aspect of the class was secondary at best. Over the course of the year, we read six books including; Happiness: A Very…
Speak Up! Doing It For Yourself is Doing It For Others: My Pre-Law Career as a New Nurse Manager
By Christine Chasse MSN, RN • May 04, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
I was excited for my first nurse manager position. Unit 51 was a 20-bed medicine unit with the lowest patient scores in the hospital. I was ready to make it my project. On my second day of work, my new boss, “Kitty” gave me the sister unit, Unit 52. I was now doing a job that for the previous sixty years took two people to do. This led to the first time I stood up to her. I reminded her that we agreed that I would only manage Unit 51, and at a pay cut from my previous position. She…
Defying Gender Norms and Becoming a Better Advocate
By Anjel Bonilla • April 30, 2019 •Ms. JD, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Other Issues
Think back to a time when you experienced bad customer service. Perhaps the waiter was slightly rude, or an agent charged you more money than they originally stated. What did you do? Did you complain or haggle for a better deal? During my undergraduate studies, after we examined the wage gap between men and women, the class noted that men are also more likely than women to challenge things. Women are less likely to complain about bad service, are less likely to ask for raises, and are less likely to speak their concerns. This is partially because of the desire…
Chicken or the Egg: The issue of retention starts with perspective.
By Kim Tran • April 30, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues
Why can't we retain our female and minority lawyers? Last month I told you I would share my story first. The story of why I choose to stay, when a disproportionate number of lawyers like me choose to leave the traditional practice of law. I am a female minority lawyer practicing in BigLaw. I have been in practice for 12 years. I started in a smaller firm and made my way steadily through bigger more established firms. In my city, there are few lawyers like me practicing in the larger law firms. There are plenty, however, that opened up their…