The Girl's Guide to Law School®
Get In, Get Through, Stay You
Guest writer Zoila Sanchez is back this week to talk about how to handle things not going in the way you had imagined.
Sometimes your dreams do not happen within the timeline you have in mind or in the manner in which you had imagined. When it comes to pursuing a major career goal of becoming an accomplished attorney, the road will come with its challenges. Sometimes the challenges can feel like life-ending roadblocks leaving you questioning if this is the right path.
This week we welcome back guest writer Tiffany Lo to talk about how to stay on top of your connections from your summer jobs.
You had a fantastic summer working at your judicial externship, law firm, nonprofit organization, or government office. You shadowed attorneys, observed meetings, wrote memoranda, pleadings, contracts, merger documents, whitepapers, maybe even argued in court or presented at a client conference, and much more. You made connections with attorneys at different stages of their careers and heard many war stories from practicing lawyers every day. You learned a lot from your supervising attorneys and summer mentors. You made an excellent impression. At the end of the summer, you wrote a note or email thanking everyone you met for a wonderful experience, and then returned to your busy life as a law student, as attorneys do to their normal, law-student-less schedule.
In the back of your head, you think, will they remember me one year later if I return full-time? How can I keep these relationships strong? What do I need to do and how much do I need to do it? I certainly asked myself these questions during and at the end of my summer jobs.
Whether you end up returning to that workplace or not, knowing your fellow attorneys in the profession will be helpful in many ways. So, here are some ideas for staying in touch with the attorneys from your summer.
This week we welcome back guest writer and 2L Tiffany Lo to talk about keeping up with your law school connections.
Making and maintaining connections during law school are important. The legal profession is a small universe, and you may encounter your classmates as the opposing counsel, as a client, as a judge, as an academic, or as a public servant. Having a personal connection with people in the legal field can help you develop business, craft a litigation or negotiation strategy, and find new career opportunities.
Making connections might be easy, but maintaining them takes work. Here are my thoughts on how to do that: [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.
Today’s guest writer discusses how you can make the jump from law school to an in-house position without stopping at a law firm first!
If you’ve been following news coverage of the legal job market lately, you may be aware of a new development in legal hiring. In recent years, more and more companies have been willing to hire early-career attorneys to work in their in-house legal departments who are either new graduates or have just a few years’ experience. Gone are the days when landing an in-house position requires several years of prior law firm practice. So how can law students take advantage of this emerging trend and best prepare themselves to go in-house immediately or shortly after graduation? [Read more…]
Today we welcome back Shirlene Armstrong, 2L guest writer, to talk about her experience as a first generation college and law student and to offer some advice to other students in the same situation!
I’m a first generation college student, meaning I am the only one in my immediate family (and in my situation, most of my extended family as well) to have gone to college and get a degree. Thus, I’m also the only one in my family who is in law school and (pending passing of the bar) will be a lawyer. As a first gen in her 2L year, I have learned some of the challenges and benefits of being a first gen in law school and how to work it to my advantage. Here is some of my overall advice for first generation law students! [Read more…]
Today, we welcome back 2L contributor, Gabriella Martin, to talk about the value of having and being a mentor.
What is the point of mentor? Why is it a term that seems to be mentioned by every attorney you’ll meet, regardless of their field? Before coming to law school, I thought about this a lot. I have a pride streak a mile long and to me asking for a mentor or seeking help is a sign of weakness. Or so I thought.
Over the past year and half I have begun to collect mentors like some people collect stamps. Each mentor has their value, be it through the advice they offer, the ears they lend, or the support they give freely.
Although I’ve begun to be mentor myself (you’ll be amazed at the amount of advice you can pass on to someone who’s only a year below you), in order to know what makes mentoring so important, I sat down with two incredible women who I am honored to call my mentors. Maggie Castinado is a public defender in New Haven, CT and the immediate past president of the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association. Paty Jimenez is junior associate at a large firm here in Connecticut, Reid & Riege.
