Alternative Careers for Lawyers: Featuring Jessica Silverstein
By Noha Sidhom • August 08, 2010 •Other Career Issues
What drew you to law school?I always knew I was going to attend law school. In high school I traveled to Poland and Israel. When I returned home I saw an article in my local paper about a lawyer who practiced Holocaust restitution. That was the first time I realized that people could create a career for themselves that made them happy and enabled them to combine professional goals and personal dreams. I had decided to practice Holocaust restitution and simply did what I needed to do to fulfill that goal.What possible avenues did you consider before choosing law school?None.Often…
Does Law School Kill Your Entrepreneurial Spirit?
By Noha Sidhom • April 13, 2010 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
I am absolutely struck by this NPR piece interviewing founder of LawScope and one of my favorite interviewees, Elena Kaspi. The piece is about the recession's impact on lawyers, and it has come at a perfect time in my career. I have recently volunteered to do something a bit riskier (more on that later) and it has made me realize just how risk averse my colleagues are. I highly encourage you to read this and think about your risk v. reward analysis. Kaspi says attorneys have been trained to be risk averse and I think she is right. I truly…
SuperwomenJDs and What you Can Learn From Them: Featuring Elena Kaspi-Founder of LawScope Coaching
By Noha Sidhom • March 29, 2010 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Elena Kaspi is an Executive Career Coach who specializes in providing Business, Career and Leadership Coaching Programs and Workshops to lawyers and AmLaw 100 law firms throughout the United States and abroad. Elena has dedicated the last ten years of her professional life to coaching, mentoring and advising attorneys regarding leadership skills and their career development. Ms. Kaspi's full bio appears at the end of this post. 1. How has being a woman affected your career or legal education?As a first generation Italian-American I grew up in a family of very strong, fiercely opinionated, resilient, hardworking, articulate, and funny women…
SuperwomenJDs and What you Can Learn From Them: Featuring Erika Pedersen of Chicago
By Noha Sidhom • March 17, 2010 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Erika Pedersen has extensive litigation experience in a full range of employment discrimination matters, including Title VII, the Equal Pay Act, Section 1981, the ADA, the ADEA, the FMLA, and various state laws and local ordinances. Ms. Pedersen's full bio appears at the end of this interview.1. How has being a woman affected your career or legal education?I really don’t think it’s had much effect one way or another, although my experience may be a little unusual. When I started at DePaul University College of Law, I was actually in the first class to have more female students then male…
Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them: Featuring Tanya Jachimiak of Illinois
By Noha Sidhom • March 01, 2010 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Tanya L. Jachimiak received her Juris Doctor in 1998 from DePaul University College of Law. She practiced employment law, including class action litigation, for over ten years. Tanya left the private sector for the public, currently holding the position of Associate Director of the Office for Access and Equity, University of Illinois at Chicago. 1. How has being a woman affected your career or legal education? Because it is such a male dominated field, I often find myself trying harder and doing more to outperform my male counterparts. On many occasions, male firm partners have excluded me from outings with…
Rjon Robins- Who Helps Start and Save Law Practices- Shares Some Much Needed Advice in Today’s Economy
By Noha Sidhom • January 19, 2010 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Today attorney Rjon Robins is Founder of three popular websites: HowToManageASmallLawFirm.com, HowToMarketASmallLawFirm.com, and HowToStartALawPractice.com. He became an expert in these areas after helping thousands of lawyers with virtually every conceivable practice management & marketing challenge imaginable when he was a Law Practice Management Advisor with The Florida Bar's world-famous Law Office Management Assistance Service (LOMAS). But before all of that, Rjon tells us despite graduating from lawschool, passing the Bar Exam with a very impressive score on his first try and then interning for a federal bankruptcy judge, when he first started his own law firm he fell flat on…
Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them: Featuring Andrea Evans of Washington, DC
By Noha Sidhom • January 04, 2010 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Bio for this week's Superwoman JD Andrea Evans: Andrea Hence Evans, Esq. launched the intellectual property law practice, The Law Firm of Andrea Hence Evans, LLC. Attorney Evans' career path is unique since she worked at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for 5 years as both a patent examiner and a trademark examining attorney after graduating from law school. Ed. note: a more comprehensive bio for Andrea Evans is available at the end of this post. 1. How has being a woman affected your career or legal education? Intellectual property (IP) law is male dominated. This is…
Superwomen JDs Interviews the Law School Industry Czar
By Noha Sidhom • October 19, 2009 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Since 1990 Ron Fox has: provided individual guidance to lawyers in transition seeking positions consistent with their personal values and their professional goals through Career Planning for Lawyers; posted on his Lawyer Satisfaction Blog ; consulted to over 25 law schools, including Cornell, Boston College, Notre Dame and Northwestern; presented workshops for the Massachusetts Bar Association, the Association of the Bar of the City of New York and the New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Lawyers in Transition; created and facilitated the ABA Public Service Division's "Town Meeting" for the six Washington D.C. law schools; authored Lawful Pursuit Careers…
Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them: Featuring Kate Anderson of Los Angeles, CA
By Noha Sidhom • October 12, 2009 •Superwomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them
Bio for this week's superwoman JD: Kate Anderson is an associate in the litigation department of the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. Shortly after her arrival at the Firm, Ms. Anderson was part of a team of lawyers involved in preparing and trying a legal malpractice case. The verdict was a complete victory for the client. In addition to her trial experience, Ms. Anderson’s practice includes general business litigation. Prior to joining MTO, Ms. Anderson served as Counsel to the democratic staff of the Committee on Government Reform of the United States House of Representatives. Her…