Shake It Up
By Christine Connolly LeBlanc • August 05, 2015 •Writers in Residence
I challenge you to change it up. A new perspective will undoubtedly give you a breath of fresh air in your personal life and might also help you become a better attorney. Perhaps I am challenging you to make a change as I have just been forced to make a change. You see, I just moved across the world…again. This isn’t my first time moving. Being a “military brat” meant I moved most of my childhood. Then deciding to join the US Army JAG Corps meant I would keep moving. Marrying someone who also joined the JAG Corps ensured my…
Pack It Up
By Christine Connolly LeBlanc • June 05, 2015 •Writers in Residence
Pack it up, pack it in, our next move begins. We military families are the modern nomads. Some spout off how many moves in the past several years – a true contest among roaming rivals. We should wear badges of boxes – a true testament to our wandering ways. I honestly don’t know how many times I have moved. I could sit down and contemplate the question and come up with an accurate answer, but honestly I don’t have the time. I really, really need to be sorting through piles of stuff, culling the crap, and focusing on the precious…
Mommy, Esq.
By Christine Connolly LeBlanc • May 11, 2015 •Writers in Residence
Being a mom makes you a better lawyer. Somewhere between being spit up on by a newborn to having words spat at you by a teenager you realize your motherly aptitudes have enhanced and honed your lawyering skills. Mommy, Esquire traits and tactics to embrace and celebrate: Because I Told You So. Yup, your mother said it to you and now you find yourself saying it to your kids. So basic, so final, so absolute. No willy nilly, no gray. But really, often times in parenting there is no better answer than this…and then you realize often times in lawyering…
It’s So Real
By Christine Connolly LeBlanc • April 05, 2015 •Writers in Residence
“It is so real…” That is all he kept saying during our conversation. So real. He wasn’t talking about the wedding we were attending for a mutual friend, even though it was real. And a really nice wedding, I might add. So real. He wasn’t talking about the real and…dare I say…unique dance moves on display. So real. He was talking about my job. I guess it was so real. You see I had met another lawyer at the wedding and, of course, we started talking about our jobs. Isn’t that what all lawyers like to do? Talk? …
Weight of Words
By Christine Connolly LeBlanc • March 07, 2015 •Writers in Residence
Words are powerful. They are prolific. Words can pack a powerful punch. We know better than most that words can build something sparkling and wonderful. Make people believe. Bring them to your side. Inspire them to do great things, face great challenges, and move mountains. But words are also dangerous. They can destroy, harm, topple people and governments. We are guardians of this magic, masters of the words. Lawyers yearn, strive, and work diligently to become master word smiths. But do we to recognize the unique challenge of being a modern day word wrangler? Thinking back to basic trial advocacy,…
Masks of Venice
By Christine Connolly LeBlanc • February 04, 2015 •Writers in Residence
Mardi Gras! Fasching!! Carnevale!!! Yes, it is that time of year again. Time for revelry, parades, dances, and dressing in costume. If you have ever stood among the families catching beads in the Garden District of New Orleans, Louisiana; or been crushed in a throng of Germans watching Fasching floats; or watched the regally dressed people with masks walk by at Carnevale in Venice, Italy – you know the true meaning of Carnival! I recently visited Venice, Italy with my family. It wasn’t the first time I have visited and hope it won’t be my last. No matter how many…