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Finals with a Newborn
By Brenda L. George • December 14, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
I took a final exam on Tuesday - the only regularly scheduled exam I was able to make. My baby was just 11 days old. This was honestly the hardest exam I have ever had to take (and not in terms of content). Usually when I take an exam, the time flies by, but this time it was the longest three hours of my life. Not only was I away from my baby for the longest amount of time since his birth, but I also was fighting sleep (in a freezing cold room!). I'm going to be honest, my desire to…
How to Become a Top Lawyer and Love Doing It
By Tsion Chudnovsky • December 13, 2017 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Internships and Clerkships, •Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, Features, Myths & Truths, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
If you do good work and can promote yourself, career doors will open for you. As a new female lawyer or soon to be lawyer, there are many things to learn as you develop who you are and what you will do in your career. One key facet that has helped me at Chudnovsky Law is to learn how to promote myself at work and build a book of business. As a lawyer you will need to learn how to market yourself and communicate your expertise to clients early in your career. If you can do that effectively, you will be an…
My Bar Exam Journey: From Pregnant to Pissed to Passing
By Shanti Brien • November 18, 2017 •Law School, Other Law School Issues, Features, Advice on Passing the Bar Exam
It felt good to have the Bar Exam on the calendar, even if it was four months away. Lilli was nine months old; she had slept through the night about three times. I looked forward to using my brain to master legal subjects I never learned in law school. And then I discovered I was pregnant again. So began the winter of endless, excruciating, pregnant drudgery. I pulled myself out of bed and spread Cheerios on the high chair so I could get dressed. I schlepped to the conference room on the second floor of a beige building next to…
15 Top Legal Defenses to Criminal Charges: Tips for New Lawyers
By Tsion Chudnovsky • November 11, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Other Issues, Features, •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
There are many ways to fight criminal charges and win. Here are some of the most successful legal defenses we use at Chudnovsky Law when defending our clients. The defenses are presented from the perspective of a crime charged under California law, but the same defenses apply in most states. 1) Mistaken Identity Incorrect witness identification is a major source for incorrect accusations. This can happen if a person’s description is similar to a criminal perpetrator or if a witness assumes someone committed a crime due to circumstances or they are trying to cover for a crime they committed. 2) Accident Most California…
I am still like you, just a little different
By Brenda L. George • November 07, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
There are times in every person's life that can leave them feeling so different than everyone around them that they don't quite fit in. This is perhaps the one thing that we all have in common - we have all experienced this isolation on some level. Law school has left me feeling that on numerous occasions, but most certainly during my 4L year and second pregnancy. I have been thinking a lot lately about how law school can make you feel isolated from your pre-law school circle of friends, and your family. And, unique to my own situation, pregnancy can…
He Touched My Life and then He Vanished-The Best Advice I Ever Received…
By Alexandra Dolce • October 23, 2017 •Law School, Other Law School Issues
“Know the issue to the core of its scintilla”, was advice given to me by, what I believe to be a homeless man, who made his way into my law school via the lower level entrance. My law school campus is an urban campus, and if you wanted to avoid the scrutiny of the main entrance, which is upstairs, you entered through the unmanned lower level. I was sitting alone at a table doing what I do best “contemplating life” and he sat down. If he told me his name, I don’t remember it. All I remember is a rather…
Microaggressions Experienced By Women in Law School
By Anonymous • October 17, 2017 •Law School, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Having just finished my first month of classes as a 1L at law school, I see now how classes, cold calls, and reading assignments can really wear people down and precipitate impostor syndrome. While we fight off self doubts, it is particularly disheartening to also have to defend ourselves from microaggressive commentary—little hints here and there that suggest people’s surprise that I am Harvard material. For example, sometimes when I said I was going to Harvard Law, my conversational partner of the moment would ask, “But did you get accepted?” In response, my internal monologue was usually something like: Ah,…
Failure Turned Inside Out: I Don’t Scare Easy
By Patricia Jjemba • October 05, 2017 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Pre-Law, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues, •Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking
Name: Joy Harper Professional Title: Vice President Capital Markets Tax Sector: Asset Management Law School: Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State Specialization: International Tax and Taxation of Financial Instruments and Products Trusted Advisor “Revenge is a dish best served cold.” Any Godfather fan knows that Don Vito Corleone was, frighteningly, a man of his word, but it was his trusted advisor who ensured that Corleone escaped legal reprimand for his chilling antics. Joy Harper became enamored with the advisor’s innate ability to problem solve as a means to effectively advocate for his boss Corleone. Mix that along with her…
Tips for building a Legal Career when you have Caring Responsibilities
By Naomi Smith • September 29, 2017 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Other Law School Issues, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
In many law school lecture halls, you will now find at least as many women as men. There are also more students starting higher education (or retraining for a career change) in later life than ever before. The logical consequence of this is, that more people than ever are having to balance home life commitments with the demands of studying. And few career paths are as demanding as law! While it isn't only women who have to deal with caring responsibilities, the reality is that we tend to be the ones performing balancing acts more often. And it's not just children…_(1)-100x100.jpg)