Ms. J.D. Attends “Hidden Figures: Honoring Trailblazers in Tampa Bay,” by the FBA-Tampa
By Janee Prince • February 28, 2018 •Issues, Other Issues
Photo by Keith Lindquist After engaging in a bit of observational data analysis, also known as “creeping” on the Federal Bar Association –Tampa Chapter’s event last year, entitled “Staying in the Game: Getting to the Top,” and documenting my experience, I jumped at the opportunity to attend another fantastic, well-thought-out event with the FBA. Appropriately entitled “Hidden Figures,” this event honored Tampa Bay’s legal trailblazers. The individuals recognized have impacted, not just the Florida legal community, but the Nation as a whole. Merely being in the presence of such legal greatness provided palpable energy and a buzz within the Grand…
Ms. J.D. Interviews Lawyer-Turned-New York Times Staff Editor
By Janee Prince • August 22, 2017 •Careers
Ms. Jenee Desmond-Harris Apart from the fact that we share a name (spelling notwithstanding), thus solidifying her cool in my book. Ms. Desmond-Harris has enjoyed two thoroughly satisfying careers that, to the outside eye, may seem like completely separate spheres. Ms. Desmond-Harris is a Lawyer-Turned-Staff Editor for the New York Times. Her resume is the dream for both the law nerd and the conscious writer! From Howard-to-Harvard Law- to Stanford as a Journalism fellow, her educational pedigree is nothing short of top-notch. She spent almost four-years at one of the nation’s top firms K&L Gates, practicing law. So, one…
A Review of The FBA—Tampa Bay Chapter’s “Staying in the Game: Getting to the Top.”
By Janee Prince • April 10, 2017
When you walk to any corner of the University Club of Tampa, you're immediately struck by the beauty of a sun-kissed Hillsborough River. You're eye-level with a helicopter, and a bit further off you spot a sailboat. The beauty of Tampa isn't lost on me at that moment and being surrounded by a room full of 100 plus successful attorneys and judges; you get a sort of invigorated feeling. I'd like to tip my hat at this moment to all of those who put on such a great event. I'll start by saying that overall, I thought the program…
Interview with a Virtual Paralegal
By Janee Prince • April 08, 2017 •Careers
With the rise in use of technology in the practice of law, it follows that legal support services, like paralegal and legal assistant services will experience increased technology use as well. But have you ever thought that an entire section of your law practice could be run virtually? Probably not, which is why Ms. J.D. is excited to have had the opportunity to talk with Robin Bull to answer some question about what it means to be a virtual paralegal. Robin Bull is the former Program Director of Paralegal Studies for Vatterott College in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and is the…
MS. J.D. INTERVIEWS GROVER CLEVELAND AUTHOR OF SWIMMING LESSONS FOR BABY SHARKS
By Janee Prince • January 23, 2017 •Ms. JD, Conference, Ms. JD Book Reviews, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
Grover E. Cleveland is a Seattle lawyer, speaker and author of Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks: The Essential Guide to Thriving as a New Lawyer (which is now in its second edition). He is a former partner at Foster Pepper PLLC, one of the Northwest’s larger firms. His clients included the Seattle Seahawks and other entities owned by Microsoft co-founder, Paul Allen. Grover is a frequent presenter on new lawyer career success at law schools and firms nationwide. Grover is an avid Ms. J.D. supporter, and he offers readers the opportunity to submit questions on his Ms. J.D. Blog here…
Dear 1Ls: Sincerely, A Former Law Student
By Janee Prince • November 10, 2016 •Writers in Residence, Law School
When I think back to law school I remember: welcome week, struggling to read for my first week of classes, and getting my first “C” in YEARS. It is easy to get caught up in the rush and emotion of the first-year. You’re smart, you’ve always gotten good grades, and for the first time in your life, you’re constantly surrounded by 75 people who are just as smart as you, who think a lot like you, and in some ways, act a lot like you. As those weeks start to blur into months, and you get comfortable with being a…
The Westside Justice Center—Legal Aid & Community Outreach
By Janee Prince • September 02, 2016 •Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Community justice generally refers to various crime prevention techniques that explicitly include the community. The idea behind community justice initiatives lies in restorative community goals –creating a “grass roots” path to neighborhood inclusion by active involvement. Recently these initiatives have included community: crime prevention, courts, policing, prosecution, etc…. Access to the legal system, or the lack thereof, plays a large role in whether the community has faith in its lawmakers and the justice system as a whole. The Westside Justice Center (WJC) works to fill that void; providing Chicago citizens with legal services in immigration, family law, real estate, estates and trusts, etc. The…
Ms. J.D’S. REPORT CARD: 2016 ANNUAL CONFERENCE “SUPERWOMAN J.Ds”
By Janee Prince • May 25, 2016 •Ms. JD, Conference
The Ms. J.D. Annual Conference has become a spotlight event for the legal community. Each year Ms. J.D. holds its conference to highlight where the organization, and the legal community, holistically, has been, and where it plans to take it. Ms. J.D. has talked about putting our passions on display, (“Passion Forward,” 2014), honored women trailblazers (“She Leads,” 2012), and united as a network of, not just women lawyers, but lawyers in general (“Stronger Together,” 2015). This year’s conference was all about Superwomen, ("may we know them, may we be them, may we raise them"). You know that woman who…
Scratch A Lawyer Find A Novelist: Ms. J.D. Interviews Jonathan Watkins
By Janee Prince • January 11, 2016 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Features
In law school lawyers are told to write…write again, and write some more. Many lawyers have taken that advice to heart, and are now best selling novelists; Jonathan Watkins is no exception. This time Ms. J.D. is interviewing Mr. Watkins, about his book Motor City Shakedown, the first in a series of four mystery novels surrounding two hotshot criminal defense lawyers in Detroit. Jonathan Watkins is an attorney, himself, focusing on indigent defense in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree from Eastern Michigan University, and his Juris Doctorate from Thomas M. Cooley Law School. He lives with his…