The Girl's Guide to Law School®
Get In, Get Through, Stay You
This week we welcome back guest writer Alexandra Muskat to discuss how to use your time during the summer to start out on the right foot in the fall as a law student.
In undergrad, we generally spend our summers working and relaxing, but when you get to law school, you learn that your summer should be used more wisely. I don’t know if “wisely” is really a good way to put it – what I mean is, summers should be used to reset for the following year.
This week we welcome Natalie Holzaepfel, bar and law school tutor, to talk about how you can find an alternative legal career path in the area of social entrepreneurship.
During law school, we’re primed to walk the traditional path into a role as an attorney, whether that’s at a law firm, in government, or at a non-profit. But there are many other options worth exploring, whether you’re still in law school or already in practice. Right now, an increasing number of attorneys are using their law degrees in the growing field of social entrepreneurship. [Read more…]
This 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.
This week we welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to talk about how to make sure you’re not overdoing it on screen time as a law student.
Immersed in an era of recurrent tech developments, it’s no secret that we’ve transitioned from a point where screen time was optional to a point where it’s a mandatory portion of any school curriculum and workplace agenda. I recall my time in college where my laptop spent most of its time in my dorm room mainly to be used for additional research or the final draft of a class project. I rarely saw a need to bring it to class because all of my notes were handwritten, and as much as I enjoyed the independence it gave me from being tied to the library desktop computer, its clunky and slow pace was oftentimes more of a nuisance than anything. Needless to say, too much screen time wasn’t much of an issue. Fast forward just a year later to law school, with a new laptop and smartphone in hand, I arguably spent more time on my screen than interacting with actual people. Complex course lectures pushed me into typing my class notes and my case briefing, memo writing and brief writing assignments resulted in my spending endless hours on Lexis Nexis and Westlaw. My increase in screen time had not just become more of a reality, it was now a requirement bordering on the wall of obsession. [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan who discusses how to dress for a job interview and what questions to ask yourself before making certain fashion choices.
Could a designer purse cost you a job offer? Well, according to an attorney who posed this question at a diversity conference I attended, it sure could. Do I think that this opinion should impact how you prepare for an interview? Well possibly, but keep reading to find out.
We typically all want to look our best before going into an interview, so it only seems logical to pull out your absolute best suit and accessories that serve to complement the image of perfection and professionalism you want to convey. Right? So what’s the issue if your absolute best includes a pair of Christian Louboutin’s, a Dolce & Gabbana blazer or a Hermes purse? Well according to the attorney I saw at the conference, this image could rub some people the wrong way. She stated that she was once conducting an interview for a legal intern position and the candidate came in with a designer handbag. She said that this accessory choice made her wonder why the candidate would even need a job in the first place. She said that this handbag communicated that the candidate was likely well off and therefore not particularly in need of additional income and as a result she did not offer the candidate the job. [Read more…]
This week we welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to offer her thoughts on wearing natural hair in the workplace (and during job interviews).
I received my first relaxer at eight years old. I was fortunately blessed with thick curly hair, but to my mom’s misfortune, my rambunctious, stubborn hair was extremely difficult to maintain. Therefore, she did what essentially every black mom was doing in the nineties, and she got me my first relaxer. I for one was immensely overjoyed. Although I grew up in Jamaica where the majority of my peers looked just like me and shared similar coiled hair textures, our beauty standards were very much influenced by what we saw on TV, white women with straight hair. Therefore, at the age of eight I was elated to finally share what I believed was a similarity to Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen and Sabrina the Teenage Witch. [Read more…]
Please welcome back guest writer Christen Morgan to discuss some important skills to work on when preparing for job interviews (including some you may not have thought about).
How do you prepare for a job interview? Do you set aside a block of time to review every nook and cranny of your prospective employer’s website, or do you run through the set of situational questions you’ve pieced together from numerous Google searches on career preparation? Although these are both very highly recommended preparation techniques that will certainly prepare your mind for the toughest questions thrown your way, have you considered polishing up on your social skills during this preparation? [Read more…]
This 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…]
Please welcome back guest writer Kala Mueller, Director of Public Interest Programs at the University of Nebraska College of Law, to discuss how to make the best use of your winter break during law school.
Now that you’ve (hopefully) emerged from your post-exam stupor, let’s talk about what to do with yourself during the glorious respite known as winter break. I’ve provided some guidance below and, personally, would strive to strike a balance between fun/relaxation and productivity. However, a different and equally good approach is to think about what you need from your time off to feel as good as possible going into the next semester, and then do it. [Read more…]
Please welcome back Mark Livingston, guest writer and 3L, to talk about some strategies for making the most of your job search during winter break.
As we approach the pain of finals and the euphoria of the end of the semester, it’s time to think about the big picture. Of course, you have earned some R & R (rest & relaxation) after a challenging semester, but don’t miss the opportunity to make some invaluable connections and start positioning yourself for work during and after law school. It’s time to push away from that sticky-figgy pudding and start networking over the winter break.
