Blog Article
6 Points We Learned About Becoming A Lawyer Amidst The Pandemic
By Anonymous • December 20, 2021 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
The medical community has been working hard to combat the spread of COVID-19. However, these efforts are not keeping up with the rate at which the virus is spreading. As a result, the legal field has been forced to adapt its practices to accommodate the new reality of a work-from-home pandemic. Here are six ways lawyers are rethinking their legal practices in light of this new threat. 1. Law firms have become more agile and flexible. Today's law firms like Amaro Law Firm must find ways to do more with less to stay competitive. They have to be leaner. They…
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Dear Future Lawyer: Advice for Minority Women Law Students From Author Neena R. Speer, Esq.
By Roberta O. Roberts, Esq. of Grace for the Grind™ • January 17, 2019 •Careers, Law School, Pre-Law, Issues, Mentoring and Networking, Features, Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
In 2018, the American Bar Association reported that less than 40% of lawyers in the United States are women, and that less than 20% of lawyers in the United States are people of color. As the statistics make clear, women of color are overwhelmingly outnumbered in the legal profession. Having experienced this isolation herself, lawyer, author, speaker, and nonprofit founder Neena R. Speer, Esq. seeks to help provide solace for this underrepresented population by sharing her experience with other women of color on their journeys to becoming lawyers. As a minority woman lawyer myself, I am happy to share this…
Blog Article
The Bar Exam: How Will That Look Like?
By Jacqueline Leung • February 03, 2017 •Writers in Residence, Features, Bar Exam
The past month has been a period of transition. As I continue adjusting to life as a mother of three children, I balance a (mostly) flexible schedule. My partner returned to work full time two weeks ago. While there have been occasional challenges, especially when dealing with the needs of an infant and toddler, it has been an amazing experience. In early January, I registered for the March MPRE. I registered for it before, but did not take the exam due to being sick with pneumonia. One of the joys of living where I do is I am often ill…
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New Clerk on the Block: How to Deal with Burnout in Your First Legal Job
By Marlow Svatek • November 09, 2016 •Writers in Residence
Last weekend I fulfilled one of my life goals: I ran a half marathon. My boyfriend and I had been training for the race for a couple of months, and we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We had both suffered physical pain during training, and we often found ourselves hobbling down the stairs the day after a long run. We also knew that we would likely encounter the mental obstacle that runners call “the wall”—that moment in a long run when negative thoughts flood your mind, finishing the race seems impossible, and the urge to quit becomes overwhelming.…
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A Letter to My 22-Year-Old, 1L Self (Or, What I Wish I Had Known Back Then)
By Kristine Cherek • September 04, 2016 •Writers in Residence, Law School, Pre-Law, Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics, Other Law School Issues
Dear 1L Kristine, Welcome to law school! That goal you have been talking about since you were nine years old - you finally made it. Congratulations! But do not revel in your accomplishment for too long, for there is a lot of hard work ahead of you. Law school is an intimidating place. You are going to be a little (or a lot) scared, especially in the first year. That’s okay. Everyone else is scared, too. They are just better at hiding it than you are. You are going to have doubts. You are going to think everyone is smarter…
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Soldier On: Boot Camp to Law School— Lead with Confidence
By Julie Cummings • August 05, 2016 •Ms. JD, Writers in Residence, Careers, Nonprofits and the Public Interest, Law School, Pre-Law, Other Law School Issues, Issues, •Other Issues
Inefficient, disorganized, unproductive. These adjectives describe many well-intended, yet poorly managed student organizations – also known as SORGs. With a new school year beginning, most students will either help lead a SORG, or at least attend SORG meetings during their time in law school. Sadly, student-led SORGs often lack disciplined management. This results in inefficient use of scarce resources, and it frustrates members. The problem lies in students not having a general grasp of how to run a small-scale organization. While other methods exist, today I present a simple framework to help…
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Being a Lawyer is Being in Sales: You need to start networking as a 1L
By Bernadette Beekman • April 01, 2016 •Law School, Choosing a Career and Landing a Job
“You need to start [networking] the day you start law school.” – Nazleen Jiwani, director of the career resources center at South Texas, in an article titled, "A Glut of Lawyers Dims Job Prospects For Many." Sound familiar? You’ve probably read some such article, with a similar title, about the legal job market at least once a month for the past 2-3 years if I had to guess. It’s the ol’ reliable in the legal press. Can’t think of anything else to write about? Talk about how crappy job prospects are for new law school graduates (pot meet kettle). Sometimes…
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3 Things My Peers And I Wish We Had Known Before Starting Law School
By Renwei Chung • November 12, 2015 •Law School
Ms. JD has graciously invited me to write for its law school audience. I couldn’t think of anything more topical to write about for a law school audience than the information my peers and I wish we had known before embarking on our law school journey. My social network unanimously chose these three things as the most critical to one’s legal career. I can’t stress enough how pivotal these factors can be for one’s law school experience. With that being said, everybody who comes to law school possesses a different mindset, background, and network. What works for one person may…
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The LSAT: A Word about Practice (it doesn’t necessarily make perfect)
By Peg Tittle, LSAT Tutor • October 29, 2015 •Law School, Pre-Law
Most LSAT test-takers are high achievers. And they believe in hard work. But that could be a mistake. It’s like the ‘no pain, no gain’ attitude that we now know is counterproductive. Franz Liszt once said “Think 10 times. Play once.” I wish I’d known that before I spent fourteen years becoming a somewhat accomplished pianist. It might have taken only ten years. The idea is this: whenever you do something, you’re training your mind or body to do it that way; so the possibility of training it to do it the wrong way is high if you focus on…
Blog Article
Striking a Balance: Genuinely “Networking”
By Kristina Bergess • July 04, 2015 •Writers in Residence
I have been at my internship for five weeks now – halfway done. Despite the steep learning curve, I am happy to say I have a solid understanding of the type of work accomplished at the U.S. Court of International Trade. However, that has not been my greatest accomplishment. Nor has producing a writing sample. It has been the relationships I have developed during my time here. It has been said many times that we must network throughout law school, making networking sound like the solution to every job hunt or mentor search. However, for me, networking had seemed like…Connect with us
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