New Tactics in the Mommy Wars
By K Hernan • November 17, 2010 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
I've been fascinated on a sociological and professional level with the issue of the so-called "Mommy Wars" for a long while. I've written about the guilt of the working moms that are fighting the Mommy Wars here. The questions of the "Opt Out Revolution" have been well documented. However, the recent post on this site by jlwallace is the inspiration for this post. I'd like to talk about the current tactic by working mothers to try to make stay at home moms feel guilty about wasted education or setting bad examples for their daughters -- a phenomenon that bothers me more than…
Bar Exam Tips
By K Hernan • June 16, 2009 •Other Law School Issues
This is the time of year when people, some annonymous, some not, start posting their advice for studying for the July bar exam on various web sites such as Ms. JD. I still read a number of these websites -- the same ones that I read when I was in law school. It is my recent reading of some of that advice that has prompted this post. I will try to address a few common threads that I see handed out as internet advice, each of which I have affectionately called "myths" below. Obviously, this is also just one person's…
Is the Profession in a Crisis? And, Can Better Work/Life Balance Ride in on the Coattails of Reform?
By K Hernan • January 14, 2009 •Firms and the Private Sector
There is an interesting article titled, Will a bad economy force more changes in the profession? by Diane Curtis on the front page of the California Bar Journal dated January 2009. It opens with: While some people hope the flagging economy will get law firms to rethink how they bill clients, others are warning that associates had better churn up the billable hours or face the prospect of losing their jobs. The article explore many pressures that law firms are feeling today: Clients that don't want to pay associates at partner-level billing rates. (The article says that large law firm…
Book Review: Play Like a Man Win Like a Woman: Gail Evans
By K Hernan • October 17, 2008 •Other Issues
I recently heard Gail Evans talk and she was great. Her talk was inspiring and also very practical and prompted me to finally read her book, Play Like a Man Win Like a Woman. (It is currently only $10.17 on Amazon!). At the end of the book, Ms. Evans writes, "This book is about learning to make noise, and also, learning to make choices. Think of my advice as clothes you are tyring on. Does the rule fit? Do you look good in it? Is it you?" I highly recommend this book to Ms. JD's readers. It is short and…
A Book Review on a Great Find: “View from the Top: Q&A with Legal Women Leaders”
By K Hernan • August 25, 2008 •Other Career Issues
I was in the firm's library the other day looking for a securities law practice guide when my eyes were drawn to the following title: View from the Top: Q&A with Legal Women Leaders. It is a book in the Vault Career Library and just happened to be on the shelf across the aisle from the corporate securities collection. What a lucky find! This book was published in 2007, so it is current and relevant. It consists of interviews with over 100 women at the top of the legal profession, leaders at law firms and as general counsel at companies…
Another Book You Can Skip—Full Disclosure: the new lawyer’s must-read career guide
By K Hernan • July 16, 2008 •Other Career Issues
Sorry to report that I have wasted my money on another lawyer career guide that wasn't worth it. This book full disclosure: the new lawyer's must-read career guide is just not good. One the cover it says "An indispensible mentoring guide for young lawyers and those about to enter the practice of law". That statement couldn't be more wrong. First, the book is very dispensible. In fact, the information offered by this book is dispensed by every would-be career counselor and advice-giver out there; it is information you can generally glean from life's experiences if you are even a little…
Ms. JD Summer Book Series: The Young Lawyer’s Jungle Book
By K Hernan • June 16, 2008 •Ms. JD, Ms. JD Book Reviews
Ed. Note: KHernan881, a regular contributor to Ms. JD, has agreed to sub-in for the regular Ms. JD Summer Book Series writer this week with the following review of The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book. Ms. JD's regular series should be back next week.The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book: A Survival Guide, 2nd Edition by Thane Josef Messinger is the subject of this week's book review -- a little off track of what we've been reading so far this summer but hopefully, you'll find it useful nevertheless!There are a bunch of advice books for new lawyers out there. This one came highly…
Why I decided to go on my first real diet while studying for the Bar.
By K Hernan • June 10, 2008 •Bar Exam
All advice I received for bar study strategy said that you eliminate all obligations, responsibilities, and distractions from your life before BarBri starts. Bar study, I was told, will demand every brain cell and every free minute of your life. On the first day of BarBri a rep from the company even told us that we shouldn’t take time to grocery shop or get hair cuts and that we should basically outsource every aspect of our lives to our personal support system of friends and family.I took this advice to heart. I prepped my spouse for months and months before…
Should you supplement CA BarBri with PMBR
By K Hernan • April 29, 2008 •Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
So, the first thing I want to point out is that this is not a paid advertisement and I don't have a relationship of any sort with Kaplan PMBR.Congratulations to all graduates. I think most around the country will graduate some time over the next three weeks or so (sorry, Chicago!). If you are like I was, you may be looking to the not-so-distant future and wondering if you have the right plan to tackle studying for the bar exam. Hopefully, this advice isn't too late, but if you haven't signed up for a course that will supplement BarBri's MBE…