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Young Lawyer Perspective – A Day in My Life, Working From Home

May 12, 2020 by Leave a Comment

Young Lawyer Perspective - A Day in My Life, Working From HomeThis week we welcome back guest writer Shirlene Armstrong to talk about starting out as a new lawyer and working from home in the age of COVID-19.

If someone told me that I would spend my first year in practice working from home for numerous weeks (potentially months), I would think they were trying to pull my leg. However, this is the reality that we are living in. I have been working from home for several weeks now due to the current health crisis. Personally, I am fortunate that I am able to work from home and continue to advocate for my clients. However, this is a new world for me (and I am sure it is for you as well). In an interesting turn of events, my bar prep period kind of prepared me for this. During that time, I had to find a balance between studying and my personal life in order to maintain my sanity. However, how do you find a work-play balance when you are stuck in your home for both? Here is a look into my life working from home as a first year associate. [Read more…]

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How to Stay Resilient When a Professor Criticizes Your Efforts

December 24, 2019 by Leave a Comment

How to Stay Resilient When a Professor Criticizes Your EffortsThis week we welcome guest writer Alexandra Muskat to talk about handling criticism from a professor and bouncing back.

Early in my law school career, namely first year, first semester, about halfway through, we had a civil procedure midterm. Up until this point, I hated law school. I felt like everyday my schedule would shift, or swell. I felt overwhelmed by everything; I hated taking the train in and out of Boston, and my weekends were filled with a noxious amount of anxiety.

Then this midterm approached. I can still remember staring at the essay question and my blank page on Examsoft and thinking, “What the heck am I doing with my life?” [Read more…]

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Take Two: Learning From Our Mistakes and Regrouping For Another Round

October 1, 2019 by 2 Comments

Take Two: Learning From Our Mistakes and Regroup For Another RoundThis week we welcome back guest writer and recent law school grad Mark Livingston to discuss how to learn from your mistakes and move forward.

Fortunately, law school is only three years long. Unfortunately, law school is a long three years. Although you only have a finite amount of time to get things right while earning your JD, there is room during those three, long years to make mistakes; learn from those mistakes, regroup for the next exam, paper, or semester; and grow as a law student. When I began my law school journey as a non-traditional student, I was certain I knew how to study, what my learning style was, and that all of the things I learned from my previous career had provided me with all I needed to reign supreme in class. I was in for a painful surprise. My initial feedback was less than I had expected, but exactly what I deserved. I needed to regroup and adjust if I had any hope of avoiding failure. Here are a few tips that apply as well to life as they do to law school. [Read more…]

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Dealing with Imposter Syndrome

May 28, 2019 by 2 Comments

Dealing with Imposter SyndromeThis week we welcome back guest writer Kathryn Blair to discuss what Imposter Syndrome is and how you can deal with it if it’s something you’re facing.

“Imposter Syndrome” is a term that many of us have heard in recent years. And many of us that have heard of it, regardless of age, race, gender, or educational accomplishments, have had an instant “Aha!” moment. It is especially common among women and minorities, and it is prevalent in high-stress, high-achievement environments like law and academia. [Read more…]

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How to Know When a Job isn’t for You: Tales of Terrible Interviews

May 21, 2019 by Leave a Comment

How to Know When a Job isn’t for You: Tales of Terrible InterviewsThis week we welcome back guest writer Alexandra Muskat to talk about some bad interview stories and why you should remember you are also interviewing your future employer, as well as being interviewed.

I sometimes wonder why the veil of naivety was so strong with me when I was in law school. I assumed, like many outsiders, that I’d go to law school and come out with a job. It was that simple. It didn’t really dawn on me until I graduated that finding a job might be harder than I thought – especially since I had no idea what area of law I wanted to go into and (at the time) was feeling quite repulsed by a career as a lawyer in general.

Since passing the bar in April of 2018, I have gone on a number of terrible interviews. Looking back, I understand that all of them taught me a valuable lesson – especially the two I’ve laid out for you below.

[Read more…]

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Test Anxiety: What To Do When You Struggle With Multiple Choice Tests

April 9, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Test Anxiety - I Suck At Multiple-ChoiceThis week we welcome back 3L guest writer Shirlene Armstrong to talk about her struggles with multiple choice exams.

I have always considered myself to be an excellent student. I have always loved school and learning. I would get excited for the start of the new school year: the fresh pencils, the crisp notebooks, and the thrill of what new adventure would come my way. However, the thing that I always hated about school was multiple-choice exams. Simply put, I suck at multiple-choice questions. Unfortunately, multiple-choice questions are a part of every student’s life, especially law students. And since I am a 3L and in my last semester of law school (haha, stressed??), I am going to be dealing with the worst and most important multiple-choice exam of my life: the bar exam. [Read more…]

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Coping with the Death of My Law School

February 12, 2019 by Leave a Comment

Coping with the Death of My Law SchoolThis week we welcome guest writer Mark Livingston, current 3L, to talk about what it was like to find out his law school was closing.

In 1879, my law school opened its doors. In 2019, or possibly 2020, it will close its doors forever. Over the last nearly 139 years, many have learned the practice of law here; many have gone on to attain significant influence and important positions within the legal community, both nationally and globally. When I started my journey in 2016, there was no indication that the future of my law school was in jeopardy. When the announcement was made during my 2L year that the school was “not closing” but only looking for partners, or maybe a possible relocation to a less saturated market (we are just outside of Chicago) the feeling of panic began to settle in. This year, when a relocation out of state fell through, the hallowed halls seemed more like the decks of the Titanic post-iceberg. This post is about how I am coping with the realization that I will graduate from a law school that will soon no longer exist. [Read more…]

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Tackling the MPRE as a 3L

January 22, 2019 by Leave a Comment

The MPRE – 3L PerspectivePlease welcome back 3L guest writer Shirlene Armstrong to discuss what it’s like to take the MPRE as a 3L and how to prepare!

In case you did not know already, I am a 3L, and I am about to enter my last semester of law school (I’m not panicking, you’re panicking). Not only am I dreaming about post-grad life, I just took the MPRE last month. Unlike the bar exam, you do not have to wait until graduation to sit for this exam. To make life a little easier, many students take the MPRE in their 2L year or during the summer before their 3L year. For me, that just did not work with my schedule, and I had to plan accordingly. I am usually a futuristic and try to get everything situated so I don’t stress out over something simple. This time, my busy life got the best of me so I took the MPRE a little later than most of my fellow law students. This is the tale of my preparation and actually taking the MPRE. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Surviving Law School Tagged With: , , ,

Three Tips to Help Reduce Exam Panic

November 20, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Three Tips to Help Reduce Exam PanicThis week we welcome guest writer Alexandra Muskat, a recent law school graduate, to discuss some important ideas for reducing that inevitable worry around exam time.

It’s that time of year again where law students around the country begin to fill the library, crammed together at desks, crouched over books, flashcards, and computers trying to absorb the last three months of nuances, technicalities, and teacher preferences. And with this time comes plenty of panic.

If you’re like me, you may be in the corner, panicking, possibly crying, about having to study/sit for the exam. Either scenario is okay. Law school exams and the bar exam are scary. But the panic does not have to control your life. Here are some tips to keep exam panic under control I wish I had learned prior to my second run at the bar exam. I promise, if you implement just some of these tips, you will not only feel better during the exam, you will get more out of the time you spend studying. [Read more…]

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Transitioning to a Non-Traditional Legal Career

October 30, 2018 by Leave a Comment

Transitioning to a Non-traditional Legal Career

Please welcome guest writer Kathryn Blair, law school tutor and PhD student, to discuss the transition from a traditional law career to something different.

It has been about two years since I left a successful career as an attorney and turned back to academia for the start of what I hope will be my third and final career. This was a difficult transition for me. The joke about law school being an escalator — seamlessly delivering you to a career in Big Law — is funny because it is true. But jumping off that escalator was a big and hard decision, and, despite the support of family and friends, it still felt a bit lonely. But it shouldn’t feel that way. Many attorneys face and make these decisions, and the shared experiences of others can be helpful as you think about these questions. [Read more…]

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