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The Trouble With Women Lawyer—- OR Is There Trouble?
By Susan Smith Blakely • May 15, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues
I have just returned from a reunion with 14 of my college girlfriends. We get together as often as possible --- traveling from both coasts and points in between --- to make sure that our friendships remain kindled and that we provide support to one another as our journeys through life ebb and flow. These times together never disappoint, and we always leave planning the next one. This is my way of reminding you that I am and always have been an advocate for women, dating back to college when we all needed each other's support dealing with our…
Millennial Women: Estate Planning is for You Too!
By Iffy Ibekwe • May 10, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues, Features, •Myths & Truths
Millennial Lawyers are Powerful. I can say that because I too am a millennial lawyer. We are highly educated (sometimes in the school of hard knocks), talented, committed, innovative and ready to take on any challenge head-on. Watch out! The world is changing for women and millennials are leading the way for future generations: Around 72% of millennial women are in the workforce. [i] Although a gender pay gap still exists but is narrowing. [ii] More than 28% of millennial women start a business because they see an opportunity. [iii] Millennial women are more likely to have bachelor degrees than their male…
Time Management Tips for Women Lawyers from Harmony Planners Creator Kellie Beach Sims, Esq.
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • May 10, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
A survey of 146 female lawyers revealed the “constant need to be the best” as the “single greatest obstacle to juggling career and family,” and that more than half of the female lawyers surveyed “reported difficulty delegating responsibility (compared with about 38 percent of the overall sample).” But the average woman lawyer probably doesn’t need a survey to validate these facts: many of us feel stressed getting it all done in our demanding careers while also being present and showing up in our family and personal lives. As women, we often want to “have it all” and may feel like…
The Happy Lawyer: A Year-Long Experiment
By Kate Miceli • May 05, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Mentoring and Networking, Other Issues
My last year of law school, I took a seminar class called “The Happy Lawyer”. The concept was simple; ten law students, one dean, and one professor read six books about happiness and discuss them over dinner throughout the school year. Full disclosure, I took this class because it was at the dean’s house (who doesn’t want to see their law school dean’s house?) and was taught by one of my favorite professors. The happiness and mindfulness aspect of the class was secondary at best. Over the course of the year, we read six books including; Happiness: A Very…
Speak Up! Doing It For Yourself is Doing It For Others: My Pre-Law Career as a New Nurse Manager
By Christine Chasse MSN, RN • May 04, 2019 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
I was excited for my first nurse manager position. Unit 51 was a 20-bed medicine unit with the lowest patient scores in the hospital. I was ready to make it my project. On my second day of work, my new boss, “Kitty” gave me the sister unit, Unit 52. I was now doing a job that for the previous sixty years took two people to do. This led to the first time I stood up to her. I reminded her that we agreed that I would only manage Unit 51, and at a pay cut from my previous position. She…
Something Blue: Have no shame in your networking game
By Molly Timko • April 29, 2019 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking
Back home in Niagara Falls, I learned that it was somewhat shameful to get a job or any other advancement opportunity due to “having connections.” Perhaps this is due to some deeply rooted “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” mentality mythology that seems to exist in my hometown. Nevertheless, I have since come to accept that this is simply not true. Networking is integral to achieving career success in virtually any field, and this is especially true in law school and the legal profession. Believe me, I understand that networking events can be awkward and downright painful, even for individuals from…
Screening for Culture: What to Know Before You Go (In-House)
By Jenny Patten • April 29, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues
As a continuation of my short series about in-house practice and culture, this month’s column focuses on how and why company culture is important in an in-house job search. While compensation structure, job duties, and commute may be good threshold evaluation criteria in assessing a potential opportunity, culture fit is an often-overlooked aspect of an in-house legal position that can make or break your success. I understand this may seem like a “first world” consideration. I graduated from law school at the beginning of the recession and remember the stress and anxiety of trying to land a job that allowed…
Come to the “SITIE” of Seattle!
By Rachel Sindorf • April 18, 2019 •Careers, Legal Academia, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, •Mentoring and Networking
Innovate Your Summer in the "SITIE" of Seattle! This is an open letter to all my Ms. JD law school colleagues. I would like to invite you to enroll in Seattle University School of Law’s Summer Institute for Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship (SITIE), in Seattle, Washington. As one of the student co-founders of the forthcoming Seattle Journal of Technology, Environmental & Innovation Law, and a past student of the Immersion Course, I am excited to help spread the word about a new academic collaboration between the law school and attorneys at many of Seattle’s most cutting-edge technology companies, including Microsoft, The Allen Institute for…
Know Before You Grow: Marijuana versus Hemp
By Stephanie Carr • March 30, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Other Career Issues
Growing a cannabis law practice requires a working knowledge of the legal and botanical differences between marijuana and hemp so practitioners can interpret current laws and anticipate future laws. The following is a simplified, step-by-step guide to understanding their relationship and key differences. This information will be the primer for future posts about legal opportunities in the cannabis field. Step One: All in the Family If you’re a bourbon aficionado or have the pleasure of calling yourself a Kentuckian, you know that all bourbon is whiskey but not all whiskey is bourbon. The same logic applies here: both marijuana and…