Licenciada: A Latina’s Perspective on Entering the Legal Community
By Anonymous • October 16, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Two years ago, I had my first experience with what I call the Stupid White Male ("SWM"), a creature not limited to the legal community, but often prevalent in it. At the time, I was working as a legal secretary on a temporary basis, as my admission to law school had been deferred for a year. The SWM was a summer associate who had just finished his 1L year, and after I explained to him how to use the office copier, I mentioned my admission to the law school. His response was something to the effect of, "oh yeah, well…
Don’t Listen to Career Services!
By Anonymous • September 18, 2007 •Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
When I visited my Career Services office last year, the counselor asked me, "What are your priorities in this job search?" My answer was serious, yet it got a laugh: "To be home by dinner," I replied. The legal profession is a funny thing. I entered law school to learn how I could always challenge myself while helping those marginalized by what I see as an increasingly polarizing society that marginalizes people based on their skin color, gender, sexuality, and zip code. I discovered very early on that obtaining the tools to do so would be easy; putting those tools…
Skirts vs. Slacks: I’m not rooting for slacks. I’m rooting for the issue to just go away.
By Anonymous • September 16, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Skirt suits or pants suits--which are more professional? This was the topic of conversation around the dinner table of a group of female classmates one evening, where a surprising majority insisted that for women, a skirt suit was the most professional attire for a female lawyer. As self-proclaimed feminists, their reasoning was that women who don't wear skirt suits are uncomfortable with their femininity. And while I may not necessarily agree with their views, I do recognize the basic message the conversation was meant to encapsulate: that the very visibility of our gender unfailingly garners attention, regardless of whether we…
Re-Interviewing for Legal Jobs as a 3L
By Anonymous • August 02, 2007 •Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
The author is a 2007 graduate of Stanford Law School. If your plans on where to move after law school have changed since 2L interviewing season, or you just didn't like your 1 or 2L summer jobs, then you might find yourself re-interviewing as a 3L. I interviewed for both firm and public interest jobs the fall of my 3L year, and here are some things I learned (sometimes too late) along the way about firm jobs and about government and public-interest jobs. Firm Jobs If you got an offer from your previous summer job, make sure you mention it…
My Dream Firm
By Anonymous • June 24, 2007 •Firms and the Private Sector
Daydreams of the perfect firm--from a public interest lawyer who found existing firms too flawed to join.Being a woman entering the legal profession is something that I think about often, although as a young girl growing up, it is a topic I never imagined I would have to consider. Growing up in the 1980s, girls were empowered to try to both outsmart and outrun boys as we played on their sports teams and competed against them in academic competitions. We watched our mothers or our friends' mothers work. We were groomed to go to college before we settled down to…
Steps
By Anonymous • June 24, 2007 •Mentoring and Networking
Though the challenges facing women in the legal field today seem overwhelming, countless women have paved the way. I think of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and current Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. I think of Senator and presidential contender Hillary Clinton. I think of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.There are many challenges facing women in the legal field today. For example, a recent study has found that women lawyers in general receive on average 80% of the salary received by men who are equal to them in seniority. Like many other women in other fields, women in the…
Lawyering Phenomenally
By Anonymous • June 24, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Maya Angelou said, "A woman who is convinced that she deserves to accept only the best, challenges herself to give the best. Then she is living phenomenally." This is the way I approach my legal career."Funny business, a woman's career: the things you drop on the way up the ladder so you can move faster. You forget you'll need them again when you get back to being a woman. It's one career all females have in common, whether we like it or not: being a woman. Sooner or later we've got to work at it, no matter how many other…
Who wants to be superwoman?
By Anonymous • June 12, 2007 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
I knew from very early on that I wanted to attend law school. My grandmother told me to get the highest degree I could, make sure that men worked for me, and to always keep a separate bank account from my husband. To some this may seem like extreme advice for a grandmother to give, but I assure you my grandmother was not a woman one would consider "radical" at first glance and even after a second and third inspection. She was a church going woman, who loved her family. And in fact she did keep a separate bank account…
I LOVE being a girl, I LOVE being African-American, and I will LOVE being a lawyer
By Anonymous • June 12, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
As an African-American woman I feel as if I have a somewhat different perspective on being a woman entering the legal profession. I not only have to overcome gender stereotypes but racial stereotypes as well. As a young woman, watching my mother, a successful woman in the business world, I remember countless times when I overheard her telling my father about the sexist encounters she had with co-workers and clients. Late at night when I was up finishing my homework in my room I could hear her telling my father about the customer that was hesitant about her working on…