Walk a Mile in My Heels, by Anonymous Woman Attorney
By Anonymous • April 09, 2013 •Careers, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Today is Equal Pay Day. That is the date the salaries of women catch up with the salaries their male counterparts earned in 2012. There is much public discussion about why it is that women do not succeed at the same levels as men and about the dissatisfaction many young women have with their careers. The reasons for these situations might just stem from the fundamentally different experience that women and men have on the job. With respect to the legal profession, it is difficult for many male attorneys to understand the work environment of most female attorneys. Imagine, though,…
The Laundry List: Lesson 2
By Anonymous • November 11, 2012 •Other Issues
Editor's Note: This post was submitted to Ms. JD anonymously. For more information about ACOA, AA or NA, or if you or someone you know needs help, visit the links. The Laundry List refers to principles of the ACOA fellowship.Lesson 2: We became approval seekers and lost our identity in the process.I would rather get shot than have one of my friends get a paper cut. This is not a statement for shock value, it is simply true. I will throw myself under the bus before I will let someone else be mildly inconvenienced. Would you like to inappropriately delegate review…
The Laundry List: Lesson 1
By Anonymous • October 21, 2012 •Other Career Issues
Editor's Note: This post was submitted to Ms. JD anonymously. For more information about ACOA, AA or NA, or if you or someone you know needs help, visit the links. The Laundry List refers to principles of the ACOA fellowship.Lesson 1: We became isolated and afraid of people and authority figures.The statistics on alcoholism and lawyers are staggering. No one has collected data on ACOAs, but the numbers must be substantial just based on the sheer number of lawyers whose parents were attorneys. But it is not as if we have a network or a special support system in the profession.…
The Laundry List
By Anonymous • October 10, 2012 •Other Issues
This post was submitted to Ms. JD anonymously. For more information about ACOA, AA or NA, or if you or someone you know needs help, visit the links. The Laundry List refers to principles of the ACOA fellowship. "I don't drink." Three little words have never elicited such awkward responses before I said the above (except perhaps for an unrequited I love you). The statement demands an explanation, like I'm gluten free or I gave up caffeine except the asker can easily surmise that if the answer is not simple (I'm allergic! I have IBS!) something much more sinister must…
The Law School Job Search Process aka “The Conveyor Belt”
By Anonymous • July 25, 2012 •Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
Editor's Note: This an anonymous post to address the author’s feelings about the law school job search process, particularly the differences in process between public and private jobs. The piece does not reflect the views of Ms. JD nor the editors, but is kept anonymous to reflect the author’s wish as she begins the process that is the topic of this post. If last year you would have told me and my close female friends at law school that right now we would be applying for jobs at private law firms—big, shiny, windows-gleaming, suits-wearing, corporate firms—we would have laughed. Me especially.…
If You Can’t Beet ‘Em, Join ‘Em: Professionalism and the Use of Sarcasm
By Anonymous • January 17, 2011 •Writers in Residence
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em: This column will focus on using humor to deal with sexism. After working for over 10 years in the in the public and private sector, I have found that men seem to have the unique ability to use humor when interacting with each other regardless of whether there is a hint of seriousness to the "joke" that is being made. Women face sexism in many different forms through many walks of life - while this is an issue that should be taken seriously, we are still faced with the task of balancing our…
Speaking Nanny
By Anonymous • February 09, 2010 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
A recent New York Times piece, headlined How to Speak Nanny, discusses the communication breakdown that often occurs between overworked mothers and their nannies. For as long as she has employed a nanny (almost 10 years now), Eileen Hershenov, a lawyer from Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., has had day jobs running the legal departments of large nonprofit groups. “I’m really used to having employees,” she said. “I’ve hired people, I’ve fired people. I’ve gone through on-the-job training and formal training on how to communicate with your reports.” But, she said, the corporate training “didn’t translate over” to talking with her nanny. “It’s…
Voice of Experience: Sarah Lamar
By Anonymous • January 04, 2010 •Firms and the Private Sector
The Glass Hammer's Voices of Experience Series recently featured Sarah Lamar, a partner at Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn, P.C. and President of ALFA International, a global legal networking organization. In the article, Lamar, mother to three young boys, reflects on juggling her career and motherhood: “The ‘choice’ that many women make...is not made in a vacuum. I believe there is still a presumption among some, at least in the law firm environment, that the only approach to success (i.e., equity partnership) is to work full-time/all the time. This traditional view makes it harder for women trying to find a…
Small Firm Life: Family Dynamics
By Anonymous • December 08, 2009 •Firms and the Private Sector
As part of the Writers in Residence program, every month I will be writing an article on small firm life and offering tips for success in a small firm environment. Although I work for a large firm nationwide, the office where I work in Miami is made up of six attorneys and twenty staff. Like it or not, our office operates like a dysfunctional family. This first article is an introduction to the dynamics of my firm family. I am not sure if this dynamic is a result of the Miami culture, the size of our office, or both, but…