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Considering an Alternative Legal Career? Tips From a Professional Development Expert

January 31, 2012 By 2 Comments

ListToday’s interview is with Serena Claire Josephs, the firm-wide attorney professional development specialist at an Am Law 100 firm. She’s lectured on alternative careers for lawyers, and is herself pursuing an alternative career, making her well-qualified to discuss the matter.

If you’re thinking maybe this law thing isn’t for you, read on!

Alison: Some people say, “Don’t go to law school unless you know you want to be a lawyer.” Others argue, “A law degree is flexible and opens lots of doors.” You spend time with lawyers helping them advance their careers. Which statement do you think is more accurate, and why?

Serena: Go to law school only if you want to be a lawyer. The reason for this is because law school is a big investment of time and money and focuses on teaching you the skills to become a lawyer.

That said, if, during law school, you realize that you don’t want to practice as a lawyer, then there are other options.

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Why Diversity Matters

January 26, 2012 By 3 Comments

DiversityDiversity? Who cares? Sure it would be “nice to have” but we’ve got a bottom line to think about! Partners gotta eat, you know. Who has money for a diversity initiative? Haven’t we talked enough about women? I’m so tired of it all. Is this really that big a deal?

Why Diversity Matters

Yes, it is. But not necessarily for the reasons you think.

Even if you personally couldn’t care less about the existential benefits of equality, you should still care about having diverse people around in your law practice. Why?

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Announcing a New Series: The Confidence Game

January 25, 2012 By 6 Comments

Number one!I’ve been thinking about a lot of loosely-related things lately, which are gradually coalescing into one question:

Why aren’t women getting ahead?

And what can be done about it? (Okay, technically that’s two questions, but bear with me.)

What’s the Problem?

Is the problem that women don’t ask? Or are they asking, but still not being rewarded? Are men just more willing to engage in ridiculous self-aggrandizing behavior to get ahead?

Or maybe this isn’t a “problem” at all, but a series of choices, freely made because of different personal preferences? (Is the personal still political, or is that totally passé?)

In a world where women have made up nearly half of law school classes for a generation, but are still a small minority of law firm partners, judges, law school deans, etc., these are questions worth asking.

And, even if it annoys some people, I’m going to ask them.

So, let’s get started!

I’d love to have guest posts on the topic, so let me know if there’s something you’d like to bring to the discussion.

— – —

Why do you think women in the law aren’t getting ahead? Talk to me!

Want updates on this series? Sign up for our weekly newsletter today!

Or check out the first post: Why Diversity Matters.

Image by raichinger via stock.xchng.

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Want to Chuck Your Legal Career and Become an Entrepreneur? A Report From the Field

January 22, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Jeanne PiIf you’ve ever considered taking your law career and throwing it away for the chance to do what you really want to do, you’re going to love today’s interview with Jeanne Pi of AppsBlogger!

Jeanne’s a former lawyer, and a serial entrepreneur, who shares what she’s learned along the way. Her latest project offers a glimpse into how “one person (me) with no programming skills can launch a successful mobile app business.” Check it out!

And now, without further ado…

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How to Set (Useful) Goals

January 19, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Gold starLet’s talk about goals. I’m actually not the biggest fan of “setting goals” because I know from experience it’s easy to go overboard (ask me some time about the obsessively detailed spreadsheet I kept while preparing for a really-no-big-deal sprint triathlon).

But, properly used, goals have a nice ability to focus the mind and help ensure you’re spending your time the way you want to be spending it.

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Want to Make a Good Impression at Your Law Firm Job? Check Out This Interview with Greenhorn Legal!

January 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Desiree MooreI’m very excited about today’s interview with Desiree Moore, President and founder of Greenhorn Legal. They’re filling a huge gap in law school education, namely getting students ready to actually, you know, practice law!

Today Desiree’s talking about how to make the transition from school to practice, first as a summer associate and later as a full-time employee. If you follow her advice, I have no doubt you’ll be way ahead of the curve!

Let’s get started.

Alison: I’ve got a summer associate position in a large, big-city law firm, and I’m already starting to get nervous about it. I don’t have a lot of work experience, and I’m not used to being in really formal social situations. Do you have any advice for how I can fit in, and make sure I get an offer at the end of the summer?

Desiree: This is a great question. In recent years, summer associate positions are increasingly difficult to come by. If you have been offered a position in a law firm for the summer, you should be proud. Still, it is important to remember that this is not where your efforts end. Rather, this is just the beginning.

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7 Reasons You Should Do Pro Bono Work (Even If It’s Sometimes Really Annoying)

January 16, 2012 By 4 Comments

LawyerI want to get this out of the way right in the beginning — if your idea of pro bono work is that you parachute in like a white knight for a few hours to “fight for justice” and fix the life of an eternally grateful client, please stop. It’s not like that, and you’ll just be disappointed.

Your client might hate you (or, at a minimum, blame you for only getting them 80% of what they wanted), justice might turn out to be a lot messier than you expected, and — I can pretty much guarantee this is the case — it’s all going to take a lot more time and effort than you anticipated.

That being said, it’s still one of the best things you can do. For the world, and for yourself.

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Book Review: The Law School Decision Game

January 13, 2012 By Leave a Comment

The Law School Decision GameProspective law students could do a lot worse than to pick up a copy of Ann Levine’s new book, The Law School Decision Game. (Full disclosure: I didn’t pay for this book – Ann sent me a free review copy.)

It’s a useful and welcome antidote to the gloom-and-doom “Law school is a total scam and no one should ever go” attitude that is prevalent these days.

That being said, I am a little concerned that the book’s TOO optimistic! Ann found some pretty happy lawyers to talk with (and I’m not convinced they’re entirely representative!).

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Want Better Law School Grades? Take an Iterative Approach to Learning

January 12, 2012 By 2 Comments

LabyrinthIt’s a fresh semester, a new year, and you’ve resolved to get better law school grades. Great! How are you going to do that?

If you’re like most people, you resolve to “work harder.”

For a few days, or maybe even a couple of weeks, you spend extra time in the library, making sure you’re well-prepared for class and don’t fall behind on the reading. Inevitably, however, things get in the way and you start slipping. Maybe your favorite TV show is on, or a big ball game, and your study time gradually drifts back to about what it was before.

There’s nothing really wrong with this approach, except for the fact that it’s unlikely to improve your outcome. What will improve your results is a new approach — iteration.

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Help! My First Semester Law School Grades are Really Bad.

January 9, 2012 By 6 Comments

The HustleOkay, you’re getting your first semester law school grades back and they’re — shall we say — not exactly what you’d hoped for. What now?

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