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The End is Only the Beginning: “The Best Times of Our Lives”
By Keisha Stanford • March 28, 2010 •Writers in Residence
As I finished my next to last set of law school finals and prepared to meet friends for a post-finals celebration, I received a text message from a friend who is taking time off of law school to complete her [third] novel. “Remember, these are the best times of your life…it’s all downhill from here,” her text reads. I laughed. My friend has a very sarcastic sense of humor, and I knew that this was just her way of saying, “Congrats on being done.” Before heading out that evening, I updated my Facebook status, announcing that I just had…
Mommy Law: Pretend Play and Balancing Games
By Jennifer Ward • March 24, 2010 •Writers in Residence
My daughter had several dolls lined up on an oversized chair, and she was pretending to tuck them in. She arranged a blanket over the dolls, making adjustments and patting them on the head as she worked. She asked how they were feeling and reassured them that she would take good care of them. Then all of a sudden my daughter sat up very straight. She said in the sweetest of voices, “Wait just a minute, I’ll be right back.” She hurried over to a nearby wall as she explained, “Don’t worry. I just have to take care of one…
Esquisite Paths: Jenny Rivera
By Paula Edgar • March 23, 2010 •Writers in Residence
Jenny Rivera was one of my favorite professors in law school (she taught my property class) and I have considered her a role model since then. She is straight laced, well respected, inspiring and on top of her game. I truly enjoyed our conversation. During the interview, I found that we had a few things in common including the fact that we both enjoy watching law-related television and visiting the Museum of Natural History. Jenny spoke about the sacrifice her mother made when she moved their family from Puerto Rico to New York; she discussed overcoming a significant teaching challenge…
Breaking Chains to Build New Links: Networking Follow Up
By Katherine Larkin-Wong • March 23, 2010 •Writers in Residence
Note: If you are anything like me, you have never approached networking or self promotion in a systematic way. In fact, you may be terrified of it. Yet, our ability to network and self promote is essential for building a client base, building our own name, and building our careers. Each month I’m going to tackle one strategy for networking or self promotion in an effort to help all of us break the chains we’ve put around ourselves and begin building new links. If you have a topic you’d like covered, e-mail me at chainstolinks@gmail.com. Before getting into this month’s…
One-Elle: Female Law Students in Pop Culture
By Ursula Furi-Perry, Esq. • March 23, 2010 •Writers in Residence
I admit it: I have a love-and-hate relationship with Elle Woods and what she represents. Law students and recent law grads are shown in several places in popular culture, from movies like Legally Blonde to shows like The Deep End. Undoubtedly, each time, they are depicted as stereotypes: the ditzy sorority girl with oodles of mom and dad’s money; the cunning associate with man-eating prowess; the clunky, insecure new girl who seems to stumble on every work assignment; the activist caught up in her cause and little else. Female law students in pop culture can pretty much be grouped…
Small Firm Life - The Micromanaging Managing Partner
By Michelle Valerio • March 22, 2010 •Writers in Residence
One of the benefits of working in a small firm is that I have my own clients and cases. I enjoy being able to interact with the clients, making sure they are satisfied, and overseeing cases from start to finish. I have two major accounts that I work with and I am responsible for managing client expectations as well as the team that works on these accounts. This freedom also comes at a price – at least in my case.Before the Managing Partner decided to (or was forced by our corporate office) to expand our office, all of the clients…
Naming It, Claiming It: The Geography of Bliss
By Janet Wallace • March 20, 2010 •Writers in Residence
Note: On January 1, my husband and I made a resolution for the New Year: we would move to California's Central Coast before the end of 2010. This series will chronicle the career component of our journey as I attempt to make connections, build a network, and, hopefully (fingers crossed!), find a legal job in the next twelve months. I was sitting in a recent career services presentation at my law school--one geared toward 3Ls without jobs--and there was one piece of advice that the presenter kept repeating for emphasis: Don't limit yourself geographically. The wider your geographic scope, she pointed…
Swimming in Small Ponds: Relationships
By Andrea Welker • March 16, 2010 •Writers in Residence
“And where are you from?” It’s the inevitable question I’m asked whenever I meet a new client. Although I grew up in a small town in central Kentucky, I never developed much of an accent. My last name isn’t recognizable. I suppose I dress rather different too. Therefore, people are curious where I come from and how I ended up out here. Origins are important, the geographical and personal connections which define us. There are a particular set of experiences, beliefs and values that bind together a community, and that sense of culture is the reference point in not only…
Ask Miranda Pennoyer: of Fashion Felonies & the Cheerful Jedi
By Miranda Pennoyer • March 16, 2010 •Writers in Residence
It’s time once again for “Ask Miranda Pennoyer,” the column that has strives for equal justice under law, as long as it’s in our favor. This column has the distinction of being described by ABC Members with Bags Over Their Heads as “a collection of vowels and consonants, usually.”Our first question is one that’s on the mind of many 1Ls—or at least it would be, if they would ever stop using Facebook in class.Q. The law seems very concerned with mens rea. Why does nobody ever mention womens rea?A. Roughly translated, “mens rea” is Latin for men’s wear. It refers…