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A Women Lawyer’s Check List “Part 1”
By Kimberly Rice • March 04, 2014 •Issues, Mentoring and Networking
For all the chatter, studies, and disheartening stats we read on where Women in the Law rank in the legal services sector, I say “pooie”. Yes, the numbers stink; yes, there are real barriers, discrimination, disappointing treatment from law firm leadership, but hey, we are women “with a capitol W” as the phrase goes. Though I am not nor ever have been a practicing attorney, I have also carefully and strategically navigated the career slalom amongst men in the sense that I am usually the only woman in the board room; have been perceived as a “trouble-maker” at times when…
Loud and heard: Louisiana women and activists speak out for women’s reproductive rights
By Christine Ricardo • February 19, 2014 •Issues, Other Issues
My friend Bethany called late one evening a few weeks ago. She had just come from a meeting of the New Orleans Abortion Fund (NOAF) and was fired up. NOAF and its allies had recently discovered that the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) had surreptitiously issued “emergency” regulations that were so stringent that they would effectively shut down all five remaining abortion clinics in the state. The rules had been enacted in November without public comment or any input from clinics or the medical community. Not only were activists and providers outraged at the undemocratic way in which…
Mentors Matter: Who Can You Trust?
By Kristin Holland • February 05, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
Happy February! In this month of Valentines and love, I wish for you the gift of a trusted guide and counselor. Last month I wrote about mentors being all around you. But this month I want to focus on another issue, how can you find a mentor you trust? If you are looking for a mentor, how do you know who will actually take the time and give you advice without judging you or, even worse, sabotaging you. How do you find someone who has wisdom and benevolence? Women are loyal, trusting and more naïve about confiding in co-workers than…
Networking: Tools for the Path Less Taken
By Anonymous • January 20, 2014 •Issues, Mentoring and Networking
By B. DeOrnellas I am in the midst of imagining my future profession. As I am in my last semester of law school, the time has come for me to explore my options for post-graduation. During my time in law school, I have experienced an overwhelming pressure to take a traditional post-grad path. Generally, there have been three potential paths: (1) If you want to do the public interest track, apply to fellowships to support your work at a non-profit. (2) Participate in your campus law firm recruiting program and pick a firm for post-grad. (3) Get a clerkship with…
Through the Looking Glass—Observations from Five Years Out: Guidance
By Kendra Beckwith • January 05, 2014 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
With freshly printed law degree in hand, I thought a mentor would be the source of all things good in my career—someone who would provide me both counsel and opportunity. I was mistaken. We women attorneys are routinely told that guidance is the key to our success in the legal profession. We’re told to seek out mentors, or better yet, sponsors, since mentors and sponsors are not one and the same. Sylvia Ann Hewlett, author of Forget a Mentor, Find a Sponsor, describes a mentor as a “sounding board or shoulder to cry on” who offers advice, support, and guidance…
Mentors Matter: Mentors in Disguise
By Kristin Holland • December 20, 2013 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
In researching this column, I looked up the origin of the word mentor and found that the very first mentor was a woman, the Goddess Athena to be exact. Athena, disguised as a man named Mentor, appeared to Odysseus and advised Telemachus on how to deal with adversity and personal challenges in the Odyssey. A goddess invented mentoring, so it's only right that women should embrace it and be empowered by it. If you think you don’t have the time, or you don’t know who to ask, or you don’t even know if you want to engage in learning from…
Call For Papers: International Journal of Humanities and Social Science
By Ms. JD Editor • October 27, 2013 •Issues
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IJHSS) is an open access, peer-reviewed and refereed international journal published by Center for Promoting Ideas, USA. The main objective of IJHSS is to provide an intellectual platform for the international scholars. IJHSS aims to promote interdisciplinary studies in humanities and social science and become the leading journal in humanities and social science in the world. The journal publishes research papers in the fields of humanities and social science such as anthropology, business studies, communication studies, corporate governance, criminology, cross-cultural studies, demography, development studies, economics, education, ethics, geography, history, industrial relations, information science, international relations, law, linguistics, library science, media studies, methodology, philosophy, political science, population studies, psychology, public administration, sociology, social welfare, linguistics,…
IILP Review: The State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession
By Ms. JD • September 17, 2013 •Issues
The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession has issued a Call for Papers for next year's IILP Review on the State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession! It is the most comprehensive compilation of data and information about diversity and inclusion as it pertains to lawyers and the legal profession. Click here for the Call for Papers. And, if you are interested in attending one of this year's IILP Symposia on the State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession, where attendees will receive a hard copy of the latest IILP Review, you can register online at www.TheIILP.com…
Singleism in the Workplace
By Golda Calonge • July 17, 2013 •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
Awareness of singleism- prejudice and/or discrimination directed at unmarried people- is increasingly rising. As the general public further develops their understanding of this form of injustice, literature on singleism sheds light on how unmarried women in the legal profession are affected by prejudices in favor of their married counterparts. Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, and Ayana Byrd’s article in this month’s Marie Claire, The Single Girl’s Second Shift, both address the pernicious effects of how single professional women suffer from work/life imbalance. The single and childless women who were interviewed maintain that, because they are not married nor parents, they…