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The Barred Life: A Series of Indefinite Length - Part III
By Jannet Matthew • August 27, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues
Moving Forward While Looking Back **This post is looooong overdue but in my effort to staying committed to improving my writing and self-expression, here it is... I recently met with a legal recruiter to help me navigate the legal job market. I was feeling pretty overwhelmed after unsuccessfully trying for a couple of months. I tell her a bit about myself and what I’m looking for and the conversation proceeds a little something like this… Recruiter: Great! So, what legal software are you familiar with? ...me looking dumbfounded... Me: Do Lexis and Westlaw count? Recruiter: Yeah that’s perfect but… have…
Women in the Legal Field & the #MeToo Conversation
By Jennifer Hemmer • August 14, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Other Issues, Features, Myths & Truths
Regardless of a woman’s age, race, location, career or economic status, most have either experienced sexual harassment first-hand or know of someone who has. With the numerous allegations made in the past year against Harvey Weinstein and dozens of other powerful figures in Hollywood, the media and politics, and the explosion of the #MeToo movement, the prevalence of sexual harassment in American society has never been more exposed than it is right now. There has not been a formal study conducted on sexual harassment specifically in the legal field, until now. Lauren Stiller Rikleen, founder and President of the Rikleen Institute for…
Reaching Girls Early, Creating Stronger Women Lawyers
By Elise Elam • August 10, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence
When I was a girl, I was told countless times that I should become a lawyer because I just loved to argue. This unsolicited career advice turned out to be well-placed. But I had no clue what lawyers actually did. Eventually, I was lucky enough to shadow a newer associate to get a small taste of the day-to-day of a litigator. I decided to go to law school which, fortunately, was a great choice for me. Fast forward several years. I was asked to speak at my high school's career day. About 30 high school students - both boys and girls - listened…
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…
11 Tech Tips for Your Legal Tech Work
By Jeanne Ortiz • July 22, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Features
The Legal Services National Technology Assistance Project (LSNTAP) and Pro Bono Net hosted the 2018 edition of 50 Tech Tips for Your Toolbelt this past June. You can find the recording here and a list of all the tech tips here. These are the tips I shared for the webinar and a few bonus ones: Color Zilla - A browser extension for identifying the colors of your site or any other colors that you want to use for other programs. TimeAndDate.com - You can find here all of the calculators you need for time and distance. The date calculator is useful for deadlines and…
Stacy Papadopoulos, Gen. Counsel, American Gaming Association - On the Field: Women in Sports Law
By Tatum Wheeler • July 02, 2018 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media
I’m pleased to welcome Stacy Papadopoulos, General Counsel and Senior Vice President of Industry Services at the American Gaming Association (AGA). Stacy, a double Hoya, has been at the American Gaming Association since 2014. Prior to the AGA, Stacy worked as a partner at the Potomac Law Group, building her career working both in-house at Freddie Mac’s Corporate Governance Department and the firms of Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP and King & Spalding. Welcome, Stacy! Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with Ms. JD! I’d like to begin by asking about your background. When…
How Can the Military’s Rules on Professionalism Help You?
By Tristany Leikem • June 15, 2018 •Ms. JD, Careers, Law School, Issues, Features
You probably know that members of the military follow certain rules, regulations, customs, and traditions, from the requirement to wear a uniform to rules on how we interact with others. You may not know, however, that you can use military rules to boost your professionalism and personal brand in your own job. As an officer in the U.S. Navy’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps, I am evaluated not only on the quality of my work product, but also less tangible characteristics like leadership and military bearing. Military bearing includes the way I walk, talk, wear my uniform, and interact with others.…
Sponsor Spotlight: Legal Kid and The Little Lawyers
By Kerriann Stout • June 13, 2018 •Ms. JD, Features
This Friday, June 15, 2018, Ms. JD is hosting its “Ready to Rise” one-day academy in law and leadership for middle school girls (grades 6-8). This academy is designed to introduce young girls to the legal profession and allow them see themselves as future members of it. Ms. JD wouldn’t be able to hold important events like this without the help of our wonderful and generous sponsors. Today, we are so excited to showcase one of our #WeSupport sponsors: Legal Kid. In the summer of 2016, Legal Kid, Inc. began as a conversation among a group of strong and skillful…
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…