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Pushed & Pulled: The Kavanaugh Effect
By Katherine Macfarlane • September 30, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Legal Academia, Politics and Government, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
It was not an easy week, last week. I don’t have it in me to tell you how my disability affected my work, because though it certainly did, as it always does, I was pulled in multiple directions by something else. I was both teacher and witness, professor and person. It was not an easy week to be all of those things. It was not easy to decide what to do on the day of the hearings. Should I cancel class, encouraging my students to watch history unfold, a history that speaks to their future as members of the legal…
You Graduated From Law School… Now What?
By Dennis Hung • August 31, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues
One mistake you don't want to make when graduating from law school is to assume that having a major law degree will have clients knocking on your door or local firms immediately hiring you. In fact, the field of law is actually one of the most competitive in the US and law school graduates have their work cut out for them. In today's competitive climate, you have to have flexibility when it comes to geography, a fine attention to details when it comes to compiling a resume, and most importantly, a willingness to take the kind of work that's available.…
10 Ways to Help Immigrant Children Separated from Parents
By Tsion Chudnovsky • August 23, 2018 •Careers, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Law School, Internships and Clerkships, Issues, Women and Law in the Media, •Other Issues
With immigration tragedies playing out across America, many lawyers and students are searching for constructive actions they can take. Here our immigration lawyers review some of the best ways to help refugees and immigrant children separated from their families. While it is unclear exactly how many immigrant children have been separated from their parents, the US government has so far been unable to comply with federal court orders to reunite the children they have separated from their parents. The heart wrenching images and stories have ignited an immigration firestorm and prompted the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, based in Geneva to declare the…
Careers You Can Pursue With A Law Degree
By Dennis Hung • July 05, 2018 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues
Achieving a law degree is no small feat. The schooling is difficult and requires you to study hard and work harder. The benefit, however, is that a law degree allows you to pursue nearly any career path you want. Here are a few of the most common careers you can choose from. 1. Law Firms Perhaps the most obvious choice is a law firm. Working as an attorney has its benefits. Not only does it pay great, but you're actually able to utilize the education you received in school. There's a number of different fields within the firm from which…
Friend or Foe? Technology in Our Everyday Lives: Drones
By Keisha M. McClellan • June 28, 2018 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Politics and Government, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Other Issues
In his Time Magazine report “Drones Are Here to Stay. Get Used to It,” Alex Fitzpatrick observes that “with any technology, there are certain inflection points when it goes from being something perpetually in the near future to being a part of everyday life.” And this inflection point of drones becoming an everyday part of life is certainly in our foreseeable future. From use in news gathering, sports and entertainment, humanitarian efforts, corporate partnerships, law enforcement, and by general hobbyists, drones present a range of complexities that garner both praise and criticism. For the legal profession, this technology demands an…
Lawyering in a Crisis: What Five Puerto Rican Women Did in the Aftermath of a Major Hurricane
By Jeanne Ortiz • June 14, 2018 •Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Issues, Other Issues, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, •Myths & Truths
Imagine living with no power for 10 months as a result of two major hurricanes and having to prepare for a third one. Or imagine being grateful for having your power back after 6 months but still having a blue tarp for a roof. That was the reality for thousands of Puerto Ricans this week when Beryl, the first hurricane of the season, formed in the Atlantic. I think we can all attest to the gut-wrenching feeling of anticipation the day we were expecting Hurricane María last year. Gazing out the window with my sister at 5:00 am still feels like yesterday,…
Food For Thought: Great Politicians Have Certain Skills
By Dennis Hung • May 01, 2018 •Careers, Politics and Government
Discussions of leadership tend to center around the corporate world and the ways that managers can hone their leadership skills to drive efficiency and profits. Strangely though, leadership is rarely talked about through the lens of politics anymore. When the topic does come up, there's a good chance that it is being raised by political pundits who bemoan the scarcity of skilled political leaders in the modern age. However, it used to be a hotter topic. For generations, nations around the world elevated excellent leaders to the highest echelons of government. Their contributions were significant. Imagine what shape the United…
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…-100x100.jpg)
Join the Conversation: When Will Law Firms Drop the “Primary Caregiver” Distinction?
By Tammy Zhu • November 26, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Politics and Government, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life
In April 2015, Johnson & Johnson announced that to better support “the modern-day family,” all new parents – regardless of primary caregiver status – would get eight weeks of paid parental leave. Birth mothers would receive an additional nine weeks of paid disability leave. A few months later, Netflix and Microsoft also rolled out parental leave programs that did not distinguish between “primary” and “secondary” caregivers. Netflix parents would get unlimited paid leave in the first year of their child’s birth or adoption. Microsoft parents would get twelve weeks of paid parental leave, in addition to eight weeks of paid…