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Interview with Title IX Coordinator Allison Lyng O’Connell - On the Field: Women in Sports Law
By Tatum Wheeler • March 31, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media
I’m pleased to introduce Allison Lyng O’Connell, J.D., Title IX Coordinator and Clery Act Compliance Officer. After graduating from Northeastern University School of Law, Allison became an Assistant District Attorney in Suffolk County, Massachusetts. From there, she transitioned into Dartmouth College’s Title IX Program Coordinator, ultimately stepping into the lead Title IX Coordinator and Clery Act Compliance Officer role in August 2017. For those unfamiliar, Title IX is a United States Education Amendment signed in 1972 that states: “No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the…
Learning to Deal With Breast Cancer As a Law School Student
By Dennis Hung • March 29, 2018 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Facing breast cancer is one of the scariest things a woman can face and the uncertainty it presents can stir a wide range of emotions. Learning to accept the condition and to confront the battle ahead with courage is not something that comes easy, but it's also not something that anyone has to deal with alone. There are millions of breast cancer survivors willing to share their advice and lend their support to help you submit to treatment and face a life after recovery. Keep a Journal One of the most important things a woman confronting breast cancer can do…
Friend or Foe? Technology In Our Everyday Lives: Connectedness & Connectivity
By Keisha M. McClellan • March 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Women and Law in the Media
Award-winning author and columnist, Thomas Friedman, declares that “[o]f course the world is not flat. But it isn’t round anymore, either.” I agree. Today’s technology fuses people to places, ideas, things, and other human beings. As Friedman explains, modern technology “empowers more and more individuals today to reach farther, faster, deeper, and cheaper than ever before” and that energy creates connectivity and collaboration across the globe. By example, the US is on the precipice of connecting faster than ever thanks to innovations in 5G technology. Everything from the speed with which we will watch videos on smartphones, interface with internet-of-things…
Controlling the Conversation About (Your) Disability
By Katherine Macfarlane • March 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Legal Academia, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I’ve been thinking about the ways we control women. How we dictate the terms by which their identity is defined, discussed, and policed. When it comes to my identity as a disabled woman, I want to write the script. Still. I've been forced to talk about my disability when all I wanted to do was chat about the weather. I have so many conversations that detour from a random comment about the rain to an intrusive question about my joints. Sometimes, I want to talk about my disability, but the person I’m talking to decides he or she does not, and…
Re-Defining Success (Or Maybe DEFINING it ... for the very first time)
By Amy Impellizzeri • March 28, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Women and Law in the Media
From the beginning of time (or at least the first day of college!) I had exactly one professional goal in life – to be a lawyer. And not just any lawyer – a successful one. I wasn’t sure exactly what success would look like, but I knew this – I’d know it when I saw it. By 2009, I had been a corporate litigator for more than 13 years – nearly a decade of which had been spent at Skadden Arps. I had negotiated multi-million dollar settlements, and tried my first case before I was 30. I had won over…
From Paralegal to Associate: How to Survive your First Year on the Job – Part I
By Nadia Ennaji • March 26, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
You have survived and graduated from Law School … You have survived and passed the Bar. Congratulation!! What amazing achievements. After the rush of excitement settles down, you realize that now, lays yet a new challenge ahead of you: your first job as an associate attorney. What can you do to survive your first year on the job? I have done some research, and adding to it my own personal experience, I am sharing what I found out. I have divided the article into two Parts. In part one I will discuss the first few weeks into a new job. …
The Mindful Mindset: Managing Anxiety the Mindful Way
By Pia Das • March 24, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
"Fear keeps us focused on the past or worried about the future. If we can acknowledge our fear, we can realize that right now we are okay. Right now, today, we are still alive, and our bodies are working marvelously. Our eyes can still see the beautiful sky. Our ears can still hear the voices of our loved ones." - Thich Nhat Hanh Mindfulness encourages us to pay attention intentionally to the present moment and non-judgmentally observe what is happening within and around us. It is not uncommon to be living on autopilot where our responses become an automatic reaction…
More Women, Less Problems? 5 Predictions On The Implications Of More Women in The Legal Profession
By Kerriann Stout • March 20, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
It is an exciting time to be a woman in the legal profession. I am definitely not suggesting that things are all “rainbows and butterflies” for female attorneys or that there isn’t still a lot of work to be done to close gender gaps. However, in 2016 women made up the majority of law students in the United States for the first time. In 2017, also for the first time, A-list included gender among equity partners as a ranking factor in determining which law firms are best. And, the wage gap - while still present, is narrowing. The tide is…
How to Boost Employee Morale and Create a Dedicated Workforce
By Dennis Hung • March 16, 2018 •Issues, Mentoring and Networking
Employee morale is crucial to your success as a business. The happier your employees are about coming in every day, the more effort they will make to perform their job duties. The better they feel about themselves, the better they will treat your customers. As an employer, you must be proactive in taking steps to boost their morale for your company and them. The following are three things that you can do to help. 1. Be Caring and Understanding One of the biggest complaints that employees make is that they do not feel like they matter to the higher-ups.…