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A Guide to Coming Out in Law School
By Ms. JD Editor • August 09, 2021 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Law School, Other Law School Issues
Whether it’s your first time or your hundredth, the decision to come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community is a brave and beautiful decision. My name is Erika Simonson, and I am a lesbian cisgender woman. While I vividly remember the first time I came out to my parents, I came out to myself long before that day, and I’ve been coming out to the people in my life, new and old, every day since. Coming out is personal and it will look and feel different for everyone. The process even looks and feels different for the same…
Everything Nobody Ever Told Me: Why If You’re Hysterical, It’s Historical
By Paula M Jones • June 22, 2020 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I had been having problems with my email lately. I dreaded calling technical support, since my experience in the past involved sitting for a long time on hold and listening to someone reading from a script instead of thinking creatively about my problem. However, since I could not fix the problem myself and I felt I had no other options, I called my internet service provider’s technical support line. True to form, after thirty minutes on the phone we had barely moved past the point where I had repeated my name and account number to four different people. Then, after…-100x100.jpg)
Practice Pointers – Investing in Your Mental Health
By Natasha Alladina • May 31, 2020 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Other Issues
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and I couldn’t let these 31 days go by without addressing mental health and the practice of law. So here I am anxiously asking myself what I want to say at 8:41 pm on Sunday, May 31. (Full credit goes to my generalized anxiety disorder for this latest installment of “Natasha psyched herself out and procrastinated yet again even though she knows she shouldn’t.”) It would be the understatement of the year to say that lawyers suffer from a mental health and substance abuse epidemic. ALM’s most recent Mental Health and Substance Abuse Survey…
The Atomic (Female or male) Law Student
By Anonymous • May 04, 2020 •Law School, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
As I write this my palms are sweating, as I have never been so bold to put my opinions, let alone my writings in the forefronts. I am writing to discuss what I have penned, the "Atomic Female Law Student." *I realized as I wrote this I do know an Atomic Male who works really hard with his wife to be active in the home and family- so this isn't just for women. Atomic has a few definitions, relavent to this discussion is the one found in Oxford's Dictionary to mean: "of or forming a single irreducible unit or component…
How Coronavirus Can Impact Your Law School Admission
By Anonymous • April 13, 2020 •Law School, Internships and Clerkships, Other Law School Issues
Covid 19 - Most law schools have moved classes online, canceled campus and events, and limited libraries and other facilities, as have other educational institutions. Students who are concerned about the effects on their transcript as they enter a dangerous workplace should begin preparing for final papers and exams early and use video conference tools to carry out group study sessions and feel less isolated. Schools are likely to pursue new policies to facilitate the transition; some of them have allowed their students to attend classes through passes or failures. In the coming months, law schools may have to reconsider essential…
Ms. JD Virtual Toolkit: Bar Exam Preparation During a Pandemic (4/14)
By Ms. JD Editor • April 01, 2020 •Ms. JD, Law School, Other Law School Issues
Ms. JD Virtual Toolkit Webinar Series "Bar Exam Preparation During a Pandemic" with Keriann Stout, Owner of Vinco Prep, LLC Register today at https://bit.ly/msjdvirtualtoolkit4
Everything Nobody Ever Told Me: How To Deal with a Perfectionist
By Paula M Jones • March 26, 2020 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, •Other Issues
“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor.” – Anne Lamott Have you ever encountered the kind of people who expect the impossible from others? They view anything less than perfection as a failure. They hyper-focus on your mistakes and they never seem to notice all the things that you do right. You, my friend, have encountered a perfectionist. While at first blush this term may seem like a compliment, the reality is that it is not. Perfectionists should really be called “imperfectionists” because they don’t look for the perfection in others - they look for their imperfections. There is a…
Setting Yourself Up for Success on the Bar Exam from Day One
By Alexandra Echsner-Rasmussen • December 19, 2019 •Law School, Other Law School Issues
Studying for the bar exam is no small task. Countless hours are spent reading, answering practice questions, reviewing practice questions, and the study cycle continues. At the onset of your designated preparation period, it is always a good idea to consider the following items because, if overlooked, they could result in being detrimental to success and ultimately, bar passage. Environment. How is your study environment? Do you need absolute silence or do you prefer to have background noise? Do you value organization or do you work well with a bit of clutter? Whichever is best for you, be sure to…
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…