-1200x250.jpg){kind=logo}
Back to the Future – SCWLA’s Annual Conference – October 23, 2015
By Marguerite Willis • September 01, 2015 •Careers, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Other Issues
Dear SCWLA members and friends, If your ship never leaves the harbor, are you really a sailor? While you are pondering this question, mark your calendars for SCWLA’s Annual Conference, October 23, 2015. This year, we are going “Back to the Future” and returning to the site of SCWLA’s first convention, the USC Law School in Columbia, for a day filled with informative and provocative programs. At a cost of only $195, SCWLA members will receive 6.25 hours of MCLE. Now, this is not “your mother’s” convention. We begin the day with sunrise yoga on the Statehouse grounds, followed by presentations on “Clients…
South Carolina Women Lawyers Association - June President’s Message
By Marguerite Willis • June 09, 2015 •Ms. JD, Conference, Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Other Career Issues, Issues, •Balancing Private and Professional Life, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
June 8, 2015 Re: Are We Having Fun, Yet? “Midlife,” they say, “is where fun goes to die.” Really? Well, not if I have anything to do with it. Dr. Marguerite here, with your “RX” for June: Have more fun! Sing, dance, drive a go-kart. Have two big laughs tonight and call me in the morning. It turns out that fun and games are good for you. When women get out and “play,” they cope better with stress, which sets up protective mechanisms that contribute to health and wellbeing. Apparently, when it comes to stress prevention, fun and play can create a suit of armor. I do not…
South Carolina Women Lawyers Association - May President’s Message
By Marguerite Willis • May 08, 2015 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Law School, Issues, Women and Law in the Media, Features, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
This May, we celebrate a law day, a wedding day and a mother’s day. What do these days have in common? Read on. May 1 is Law Day. Founded in 1958, Law Day is a national day to celebrate the rule of law and its contributions to the freedoms Americans enjoy. This Law Day, the American Bar Association is also celebrating the 800 year anniversary of the Magna Carta. Remember that document from history class? Well, of the original 63 clauses, only three remain as law. Most famously, however, the 39th clause gave “all free men” the right to justice…
South Carolina Women Lawyers Association - April President’s Message
By Marguerite Willis • April 13, 2015 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Legal Academia, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Politics and Government, Other Career Issues, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, •Internships and Clerkships, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Mentoring and Networking, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Women and Law in the Media, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law, •Myths & Truths, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
April 14, 2015 is Equal Pay Day. Here are the reasons why this day should matter to everyone reading this letter. The History. Prior to 1963, it was legal for employers in the United States to pay women less than men for the same job. In 1963, women were earning 59% of what men were paid. Congress enacted the Equal Pay Act to eliminate this inequality. The Present. It has been over 50 years after the passage of the Equal Pay Act and women still do not have pay equality. In 2013, among full-time, year-round workers, women were paid only…
South Carolina Women Lawyers Association - March President’s Message
By Marguerite Willis • March 09, 2015 •Ms. JD, Conference, Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, •Mentoring and Networking, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination, Features, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
#Iwilltry, #InternationalWomensDay Sunday, March 8 is International Women's Day. Founded in the early 1900s to rally against injustices to women, International Women's Day focuses today on celebrating recent advances of women around the globe. March 8, as fate would have it, is also my birthday. I was named after my grandmother, Marguerite. On my 16th birthday, my grandmother gave me a ring that belonged to her mother. It was a simple gold band engraved with three words: I will try. As she handed me this gift, my grandmother said, Words to live by. And so, I have tried. I will…
South Carolina Women Lawyers Association - February President’s Message
By Marguerite Willis • March 09, 2015 •Ms. JD, Conference, Careers, Features, First Women, Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Happy Valentine's Day Last week, I was in a craft store looking for Valentine's Day decorations. As I walked through the picture section, I saw a poster that read, "Let her sleep. When she wakes, she will move mountains." I stood quietly for a while, just thinking. Young or old, thick or thin, tall or short, all of us have accomplished amazing things in our lives. All of us, some despite great odds, have graduated from law school and passed bar exams. All of us have been blessed with strength, intelligence and ambition. But some of us, I might say…