Browse Topics
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…
The Mental Load: I Couldn’t Care Less About My Job
By Amy Bowen • April 29, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Other Issues
Caring drives success in any endeavor. And caring, by its nature, requires emotional investment. While some career guidance cautions that “emotional investment is normally a stigma you want to avoid in the workplace”, an authentic caring-based approach to your substantive work, your relationships with colleagues, and your personal goals can not only steer you clear of the emotional turmoil caused by acting in discord with your true instincts, but also pay off in spades. Caring helps a lawyer empathize with clients to provide meaningful insight and guidance. Caring leads to identifying and inventing deeper and more creative arguments and solutions.…
Something Blue: Have no shame in your networking game
By Molly Timko • April 29, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
Back home in Niagara Falls, I learned that it was somewhat shameful to get a job or any other advancement opportunity due to “having connections.” Perhaps this is due to some deeply rooted “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality mythology that seems to exist in my hometown. Nevertheless, I have since come to accept that this is simply not true. Networking is integral to achieving career success in virtually any field, and this is especially true in law school and the legal profession. Believe me, I understand that networking events can be awkward and downright painful, even for individuals from…
Health(s)Care: Provider Consolidation
By DeJeune O'Garro • April 28, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Other Issues
In Short In recent years, the U.S. has seen an increase in hospital mergers and acquisitions and in hospitals acquiring physician groups. This wave of provider consolidation led to measurable operational efficiencies but has possibly exacerbated the preexisting lack of access to care and removed incentives on providers to decrease the cost of care. Through it all, patients are caught in the cross-fire without much say in the matter. Fortunately, a few non-traditional health care entities are bringing care closer to the patient, and giving more traditional health care providers a run for their money. In Full The number of hospital…
Interview with Genie Doi, Esports Immigration Lawyer - On the Field: Women in Sports Law
By Tatum Wheeler • April 26, 2019 •Ms. JD, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media
I am pleased to introduce Ms. Genie Doi, founder and attorney-in-chief of immigrate.la and of counsel to ESG Law. Genie worked at top immigration firms in the Los Angeles Area after graduating from Loyola Law School with a concentration in Immigrant Advocacy in 2014. Prior to starting immigrate.la to handle immigration services for the Silicon Beach community in 2017, Genie served as General Counsel and Vice President of Operations for a mobile app development company. Genie became of counsel to ESG Law in 2018, joining Ms. Krista Hiner in the first US law firm devoted to esports. Thank you so much for your time today!…
Square Up Imposter Syndrome
By Helen Osun • April 19, 2019 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Other Issues
Quick tips for young minority lawyers who question whether they belong or are qualified. How do you “square up”[1] against an intangible phenomenon? My name is Helen Osun, a graduate from the Howard University School of Law. I am currently a junior associate at Crowell & Moring in D.C. and with all of my achievements and past successes, I still struggle with imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is described as a “psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments… despite external evidence of their competence, those experiencing this phenomenon remain convinced that they are frauds, and do not deserve all…
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…
Two Reasons You Shouldn’t Be Upset if You’re Struggling with Being Productive
By Kate Unfrazzled • April 15, 2019 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Does this ever happen to you? As you’re caught up in the day-to-day of all the things you’re juggling, as you’re feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff you have to get done, do you ever stop and wonder exactly why it’s so hard? I mean, you’re obviously smart, determined, and hard-working, so why can it be so difficult sometimes to keep everything up? It’s totally frustrating, and you may even beat yourself up a bit over it. It’s so easy to think – “Shouldn’t I be able to do all of this?” “Shouldn’t I just be good at time management?”…
The Mental Load: Unpacking the Excess Baggage
By Amy Bowen • April 01, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
The Mental Load column explores the paradoxical effects of Type A personality traits. The perfectionism, drive, and ambition that propel women lawyers up the career ladder also tend to contribute to chronic stress, burnout, anxiety, and attrition from the profession. I’m going to dive right in with this first post at what seems like the logical starting point – the actual mental load. Why The Mental Load is Extra Intense for Successful Professional Women The “mental load”, despite being a creature of recent cultural debate, is very real. Shouldering the lion’s share of a household’s innumerable responsibilities leaves many women…