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In family law, women lawyers “bring more to the table” than men can
By Anonymous • June 11, 2007 •Other Career Issues
For so long, positions of authority were held by men who believed women were to be subservient to them. One would like to think that was at a time when women were not given the opportunity to excel in the world, especially the legal world. Times have changed, slowly, but changed none the less. Throughout the US, in all law school institutions, the ratio of male to female students has increasingly evened out, with some universities admitting more females then males. Not only are females entering the legal field, but we are excelling.A woman can bring more to the table…
Demanding a more livable profession: why women who want it all aren’t the problem
By lawblogger • June 05, 2007 •Other Career Issues
Many of you likely saw the post by Peter Lattman on Law Blog last month on the MIT Workplace Center report: Women Lawyers and Obstacles to Leadership. As basically yet another study documenting women lawyers’ exit from the workforce, the study itself was less interesting to me than the comments after Lattman’s post. Among them, “Backwards” writes, “Something is backwards when it’s a ‘crisis’ for women to leave law firms in deference to their roles as mothers. I ask you: which job is more important, being a lawyer or being a mother?” Does this comment imply that working mothers are…
Courtrooms or Playpens: Choices of the Modern Female Attorney
By jthibault • April 23, 2007 •Other Career Issues
I am proudly graduating from law school in just a few weeks. Like many of us graduates, while I’m excited to conquer the legal world, I’m also fearful of the many choices that I’ll face now that I’ve a law degree. As a woman, I’m particularly concerned about the decision to have a family. It’s frustrating to face the reality that when we become mothers, our status at work will change. We will be forced to choose between staying at home or going part-time at work, meanwhile passing up promotions or a partnership track, or staying at work and not…
Networking No-Nos?
By Kalo Kagathia • April 15, 2007 •Other Career Issues
I recently saw this article (The Case of the Pushy Lady by Liz Ryan) headlining my yahoo homepage and must admit that I was a bit disappointed when I read it. I suppose it isn't anyone's fault but my own - the headline said something about "Networking No-Nos", it was silly of me to expect the how-to guide that I continue to seek when it comes to the skill of networking... The article pointed out some of the things I have grappled with in other posts here on Ms. JD - the problem of being too pushy in our networking…
Mommie knows best?
By kirkebaby • April 04, 2007 •Other Career Issues
When we found out we were pregnant approximately one month after we were married and about four months before my husband was set to start his MBA in a different city than my job was located, I knew life would never be the same. I thought I always knew what I wanted: a career and a family. A perfect balance. I was going to be Martha Stewart by nights and weekends, and bad-ass corporate lawyer by day. I even chose to go in-house right out of law school, knowing my personal and family time was going to be a priority…
Mentoring & Judging
By Peg Johnston • April 02, 2007 •Other Career Issues
I got started thinking about mentoring during one of the panels at the Ms. JD conference this weekend. I can't help but wonder why I've always seemed to have a hard time finding a mentor and holding onto her. Whenever I've been somebody's mentor it didn't pan out as I'd imagined either. In fact, the most successful mentor/mentee relationships that I've ever had have been with men. However, I recognize that finding a woman mentor is extremely important and that, someday, being a productive mentor to another woman will also crucial. The panelists at the particular session that I am…
Laina: A Legal Secretary’s View of Women in Law
By Jordana Lewis • March 15, 2007 •Other Career Issues
Only the truly fussy would dare complain about my office. Not the law firm, not the partners, not the other summers, but the office itself. My 15th floor window overlooks miles of Southern California sprawl (and one particularly tempting turquoise swimming pool), the leather chair swivels, the ergonometric keyboard supports my wrists, the speakers pump my iTunes, and the air conditioning is perfectly calibrated to combat the afternoon sunshine. But I have no privacy. If I sit at my computer with the door open, and if my assistant Laina sits at her computer in her cubicle, her line of site…
Role Models and Moms Judging Moms
By Peg Johnston • March 07, 2007 •Other Career Issues
There is a post and string of comments on www.wsj.com/juggle about working moms and whether or not they are role models for their children. While the post is insightful it really throws the question open to the readers. The comments are the nitty gritty of that discussion. Here is my take. Moms choose to work for a variety of reasons. For some it is necessity in the sense that they need the money. For others it is more personal, more sensitive and may have to do with their need to connect with their adult colleagues, their relatively short amount of…
To ring or not to ring?
By Yes, Virginia • February 27, 2007 •Other Career Issues
I know that my school's career services office has its own line on this question (do what you feel comfortable with), but the ring dilemma seems to come up every interview season. The WSJ blog The Juggle has posted on this here, and it seems there are many opinions out there. Basically, there is no real bright line rule, which indicates the question will linger on. (I also recommend checking out the post's comments, which include many from lawyers and former lawyers.) Has anyone here had negative (or positive) ring experiences in interviews? Or does it really not matter (as…