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Thank You For Attending LaddHer Up
By Janee • October 22, 2018 •Ms. JD, Conference, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking
Thank You for Attending LaddHer Up With Ms. J.D. On October 18-19, 2018, Ms. JD brought over 30 women general counsel and 50 early career associates together at the Silverado Resort & Spa in Napa, California for its inaugural LaddHer Up retreat! LaddHer Up’s unique program provided great general counsel networking opportunities, interesting expert workshops, small group recreational activities and 2:1 career meet-ups where each general counsel informally provided career advice to associates. Avery Blank gave great advice on negotiating your career effectively during her "PowHer Up to Negotiate Your Career" discussion. There are many misconceptions about the…
What All Young Lawyers Want: Effective and Caring Mentors
By Susan Smith Blakely • October 11, 2018 •Issues, Mentoring and Networking
I just finished reading a memoir by one of my favorite writers, Dani Shapiro. Her book, Hourglass, is an exploration of relationships and how people interact and treat each other over the span of time. She is a wonderful writer, and I highly recommend her books to you. Hourglass explores what individuals need on the road to satisfaction, and it includes the following quote, "Be who you needed when you were younger." In my own writing and in many of my remarks to young lawyers and law firm leaders, I often say, "You cannot be who you cannot see." It makes the case…
Gearing Up for LaddHer Up: Michelle Banks Gives the Inside Scoop on Ms. JD’s Upcoming Retreat
By Diana Stern • September 15, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
“Women helping women has a positive impact. Powerful women helping women starting out in their law careers will be game-changing." Michelle Banks is one of the inaugural LaddHer Up Host Committee Co-Chairs who brought this empowering, unique retreat to life. As you may have seen around the web, the LaddHer Up retreat for general counsel and early career women associates is a distinctive professional development program hosted by Ms. JD on Thursday, October 18 and Friday, October 19, 2018. Keep reading to find out Michelle’s tips for associates attending LaddHer Up, what’s in it for law firms, the difference between mentoring…
A Career Planning Primer
By Diana LaMorie • September 05, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking
Estate planning. Retirement planning. Trip planning. Family planning. Business planning. Anything worth doing is worth planning. Rarely is anything accomplished overnight. In fact, I don't think there's such a thing as overnight success. Behind the hit song, hit movie, or ascension to CEO (or fill-in-the-blank top of your chosen field), came a lot of hard work, sacrifice and dedication. Success in your profession doesn't happen on its own either. A little bit of deliberation can help get you where you want to go in a more organized fashion and help keep your eye on the prize when you're feeling disoriented…
Five Small Ways You Can Combat the Motherhood Penalty
By Amanda Norris Ames • August 20, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
The ABA recently released research from its inquiry into why women leave the law. The study revealed issues all too familiar to many practicing female attorneys--discrimination, salary dissatisfaction, caregiving responsibilities that are incompatible with the pace of practice. And while the ABA’s efforts are ongoing, I was surprised to see a lack of focus on what numerous other studies have dubbed the “motherhood penalty”--or the earnings (and corresponding promotion) gap between mothers and non-parents in the workplace. Research shows a significant decline in a woman's earnings after the birth of her first child, with that disparity continuing throughout her career.…
Joint Journeys to Making an Impact on Women in the Law: Mentorship & Colleagues Inspiring Each Other
By Molly Brummond • August 20, 2018 •Issues, Mentoring and Networking
By Molly Brummond, Assistant Dean for External Relations and Strategic Initiatives, And Elsbeth Magilton, Executive Director of the Space, Cyber, and Telecommunications Law Program University of Nebraska, College of Law Mentorship takes many forms, not the least of which is collaboration. This article, co-written from individual perspectives by two female attorneys in higher education leadership, boils down to the importance of finding role models who inspire us, mentors who support us, and friends who are capable of saying, “muscle up, buttercup.” Elsbeth Magilton A few years back my mentor and colleague, Molly Brummond, and I attended a “Women’s Conference”…
Plant Seeds to Make It Rain: 5 Things New Lawyers Can Do to Begin Developing Business
By Claire Parsons • July 26, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
When I was a new attorney, I knew that I needed to develop business in order to advance in my firm. I had a lot of anxiety about that at the beginning because there was no well-marked path that I could take to make it work. This is not surprising since even established rainmakers will tell you that new business development is hard work,and studies keep coming out suggesting that female attorneys struggle even more than their male counterparts with it. It was a happy accident for me that my dad went back to private practice…
Networking Tips from Bobbi-Sue Doyle-Hazard, Asst. Gen. Counsel - On the Field: Women in Sports Law
By Tatum Wheeler • June 05, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Women and Law in the Media
Last month, we were introduced to Bobbi-Sue Doyle-Hazard, Assistant General Counsel to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Bobbi-Sue graduated in 2007, the crux of the US recession. After waitressing and building her legal skills through CLEs, Bobbi-Sue took on a few clients as a sole practitioner. A very early adopter of Twitter (she even has her first name as her handle! @bobbisue), Bobbi-Sue used Twitter to comment on her life, eventually being profiled in the Boston Business Journal. As a result of the story, a local businessman hired her as in-house counsel at New England Cryogenic Center. Through Twitter, Bobbi-Sue was…
To be a Woman and to be Workplace Ready
By Ava Lee • April 18, 2018 •Ms. JD, Conference, Ms. JD Book Reviews, 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, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media, •Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Myths & Truths, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
For a man, the common mantra is “seize the day.” For a woman, the common mantra is “act accordingly.” The ideal woman projects grace and cooperation. She is to complement situations, not challenge them. She is to follow rules, not make them. Easy to smile and easy to laugh, she is to sidestep her wants and needs for the greater good. One must be assertive, firm, and steadfast to reach personal and professional objectives, however these traits are downplayed at the for fear of being rejected or unlikeable. I remember my first day as a law clerk. It was standard protocol to listen and take notes during meetings. No one wanted to…