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Taking Care of Your Future Self During an 80-Hour Week
By Marisa Tashman • October 23, 2019 •Ms. JD, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues, Features, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Like many young ambitious women in the wake of Sheryl Sandberg’s “Lean In” movement, I often have to make choices between two options that are both necessary: “sleep or work out?” “meditate or call my mom?” Beginning my career as a litigator at a large law firm in Los Angeles, I’ve been forced to make these choices all too often, eventually transforming into a thought-cycle of not being balanced enough, which inevitably transforms into being hopelessly imbalanced. Layer on psychosomatic GI issues, migraines, and an unexpected back injury, I turned to a wellness “industry” filled with preachers on becoming perfectly…
Something Blue: Bringing Blue-Collar Roots to the Legal Profession – An Interview with Rexanah Wyse
By Molly Timko • September 29, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Law School
For this month's post, I am delighted to feature an interview with Rexanah P. Wyse, a first generation attorney and former prosecutor dedicated to changing the narrative for vulnerable populations. Rexanah currently works for the federal government where she serves on a policy team that is focused on youth homelessness, criminal justice, racial equity, human trafficking, and ending homelessness for families. Could you tell Ms. JD blog readers about your background and what prompted you to apply to law school? My lineage is directly tied to Sierra Leone in West Africa. A small developing nation with a powerful history of…
Now Accepting Applications: 2020 Writers in Residence Program
By Claire E. Parsons • September 12, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
Ms. JD is currently seeking applications for our 2020 Writers in Residence Program. The Writers in Residence program was started in 2010 and is a select group of practicing attorneys, alternative career individuals, pre-law students, current law students, and other professionals who contribute monthly articles for one year to the Ms. JD blog on a topic of their choosing. Some blog titles this year were: "The Mental Load: Learning to Say No", "Five Tips to Maximize Your Efficiency When In-House", "Why Can’t Law Firms Retain Their Female and Minority Lawyers? Because Conformity is Exhausting", "Purpose Over Paycheck" and many many…-100x100.png)
Join Ms. JD as our Social Media Coordinator!
By Katie Day • September 10, 2019 •Ms. JD, Careers, Law School, Pre-Law, Features
Do you have crazy social media skills? Is your smart phone always ready to Tweet, Pin, and Post? Do you have a passion for women helping women? If you answered yes to these questions, you might be just the person we are looking for! Ms. JD is seeking a part-time Social Media Coordinator to join us as an independent contractor to help build and manage our social media outreach strategies. As an independent contractor, the Social Media Coordinator will exercise her or his own independent judgment and discretion to support Ms. JD’s online presence. What will you be doing? As…
Navigating Interstate and International Marijuana Sales
By Stephanie Carr • September 04, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
My home state of Kentucky, proud to be known as the birthplace of bourbon, crafts 95 percent of the world’s supply of America's only native spirit. Kentucky products dominate the market because they’re formulated with the perfect mix of climate, conditions, and the pure limestone water necessary for creating a high-quality bourbon. Interstate and international exports of bourbon are multimillion-dollar industries that are surging in our state. With the evolution of marijuana legalization, attorneys looking to grow a cannabis practice could create opportunities for clients to similarly capitalize on interstate and international marijuana sales. Like Kentucky and bourbon, certain states…
How High: Calculating Marijuana Taxes
By Stephanie Carr • September 04, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
Notorious Prohibition-era gangster Al Capone reportedly bragged, “They can’t collect legal taxes from illegal money.” Capone learned the hard way that this isn’t true when he was sentenced to prison for tax evasion. Relatedly, marijuana remains illegal at the federal level but revenue from marijuana sales are taxable. Cannabis businesses that fail to understand and plan for these taxes are at high risk for an IRS audit, a massive tax bill, or even tax evasion charges for failure to report. Tax attorneys interested in cannabis law are needed to help these entities understand, plan and prepare for taxation. The following…
Five Tips to Maximize Your Efficiency When In-House
By Jenny Patten • September 01, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Other Issues
When someone asks what in-house practice is like, I often reply that it is like drinking from a firehose. The legal department is the starting and ending point for a lot of projects and issues, and tackling everything that hits your desk without a game plan can feel daunting. While everyone takes a different approach to managing their workload, I’ve outlined a few tips that I’ve initiated during my in-house practice that help me maximize efficiency while in the office. 1. Keep Organized. Staying on top of your various task lists, emails, meeting invites, updates and follow-ups can feel like…
Something Blue: Bringing Blue-Collar Roots to the Legal Profession – On Foie Gras & Food Faux Pas
By Molly Timko • August 30, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Other Issues
As I mentioned in my first blog post, I experienced heightened self-awareness about my blue-collar roots once I entered the legal profession. For this month’s blog post, I wanted to share some of my awkward workplace encounters involving food. I am fully aware that these awkward food encounters are trivial in comparison to larger socioeconomic issues such as structural inequality. However, I think it’s important for us first-generation lawyers to share our personal experiences, frustrations, and lessons learned. As a newly minted lawyer, I found that the majority of my coworkers appeared to possess sophisticated palates and expansive culinary vocabularies. Casual lunchtime conversations typically revolved around food (in addition to work…
Meet Ms. JD’s 2019 Fellows
By Ms. JD Editor • August 19, 2019 •Ms. JD, Law School
Ms. JD is proud to announce this year’s outstanding class of 2019 Fellows! This year’s fellows are from schools from coast to coast and present a broad spectrum of experience and legal interests. The 2019 Ms. JD Fellowship Winners are: Maia Bartee, University of North Texas at Dallas College of Law Aubre Dean, Syracuse University College of Law Idia Egonmwan, Howard University School of Law Cristina Gil, American University Washington College of Law Alana Glover, University of Baltimore School of Law Candace Goldman, Southern University Law Center Nina Neff, University of Wisconsin Law School Rima Sawhney, California Western School of Law …