Ms. JD Fellows Present...Acing Law School | Page 45

Citations from

Work Life Balance

1 Please note that all interviews were conducted anonymously, unless otherwise cited.

2 For those interested in creating longer-term change, the resources listed in the links to the Ms. JD Library and Yale Law School’s forum on Work/Life Balance should prove helpful. Additional suggestions on initiatives to provide support and create change include: (1) Build partnerships between law school students and law firm clients to ask for more flexible working arrangements at law firms; and (2) Create or join online forums or other support networks where people can discuss work/life balance issues.

3 For the sake of convenience I use the terms work/life benefits, work/family benefits, work/life balance, work/family balance, and family leave policies interchangeably in this article.

4 I Interview with Anna Wang, Executive Director, John and Terry Levin Center for Public Service and Public Interest Law, Stanford Law School, in Palo Alto, Cal. (Jan. 31, 2014).

5 This article does not specifically discuss benefits offered for in-house counsel because such positions are still not a common entry-level position for most young attorneys. However, an attorney interviewed anonymously mentioned that these positions provide comparatively generous work/life benefits.

6 Navigating and exercising these benefits, however, can be a challenge. Some firms, and particular offices within the same firm, may have a more family-friendly culture. For example, attorneys at one prominent firm advised having children whenever a couple is ready, noting it is increasingly acceptable for associates to have children and for male attorneys to take paternal leave. (One attorney had a child two months after joining the firm. Another had a child as a second-year associate. One attorney had a child as a second-year associate and then another child after making partner.) An attorney commented that clients often understand absences due to parental leave since many clients are women with children.

At the same time, another attorney observed it was easier to take maternity leave as an associate than as a partner, since the associate is not the lead person on cases. Litigators specifically mentioned it can be difficult to travel as a new parent but that technology has improved the ability of attorneys to stay connected with young children. In addition, attorneys noted numerous childcare options, such as full-time live-in nannies, and one attorney advised picking one children’s event a month to attend as a way to balance work and family.

7 For example, employees pay $15 a day for back-up child care services at Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP. Women’s Initiative, MUNGER TOLLES & OLSON LLP, http://www.mto.com/diversity-inclusion/diversity-womens-initiative (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

8 Compensation and Benefits, SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP, http://www.stblaw.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=24&itemID=256 (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

9 Work-Life Balance, SIMPSON THACHER & BARTLETT LLP, http://www.stblaw.com/sitecontent.cfm?contentID=24&itemID=266 (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

10 Child Care, MUNGER TOLLES & OLSON LLP, http://www.mto.com/careers/child-care (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

11 Women’s Initiative, MUNGER TOLLES & OLSON LLP, supra note 7.

12 Id.

13 Careers - Attorneys, COHEN MILSTEIN, http://www.cohenmilstein.com/careers.php?CareerID=2 (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

14 Working at Sanford Heisler, SANFORD HEISLER, LLP, http://www.sanfordheisler.com/careers.html (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

15 An attorney advised keeping an open mind and evaluating what is or is not working. For example, one attorney worked part-time but switched back to full-time after three months. The attorney’s workload was the same, and, in fact, the attorney was working more hours as a part-time attorney than when she was a full-time attorney, but she was paid less. (The nonprofit retroactively paid her full salary.) A second attorney also reported switching from working 80% to full-time after a few months because it was hard to gauge what it meant to work 80%. Other attorneys use solutions such as job-sharing. For example, two attorneys at one organization manage the same cases and docket, but come in during different days of the week.

16 Employment at the NAACP, NAACP, http://www.naacp.org/pages/employment (last visited Jan. 20, 2014). See also Current Opportunities, BAY AREA LEGAL AID, http://baylegal.org/employment-opportunities/job-openings (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

17 Job Announcement, U.S. Dep’t of Labor, No. DOL-SES-SOL-14-02 (Jan. 8, 2014), available at https://jobs.mgsapps.monster.com/dol/vacancy/preview!benefits.hms?orgId=1&jnum=118329.

18 Looking Toward Your Future at DOL . . . The Quality Work Place, U.S. DEPARTMENT LAB., http://www.dol.gov/oasam/doljobs/quality_work_place.htm (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

19 Compensation and Benefits, ST. CAL. DEPARTMENT JUST. OFF. ATT’Y GEN., https://oag.ca.gov/careers/benefits (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

20 The Family-School Partnership Act allows eligible parents, grandparents, and guardians to take time off to attend school activities, such as parent-student conferences. See Parents and Community, CAL. TCHRS. ASS’N, http://www.cta.org/Parents-and-Community/Family-Involvement/Family-School-Partnership-Act.aspx (last visited Jan. 20, 2014).

21 Note that some firms may not provide exact information on hours, as hours can vary from year to year. As one person observed, high hours may also signal the health of a firm.

Citations from

Women of Color in Law School

1 Tori DeAngelis, Unmasking ‘Racial Micro Aggressions,’ Monitor on Psychology, February 2009, available at: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2009/02/microaggression.aspx (last visited on Feb. 12. 2014) (Defining the term microaggressions as referring to the subtle, implicit, everyday ways in which hierarchies based on privilege and power are expressed against people with marginalized identities).

2 Jane Jankie, The Unexpected Challenges of Law School: Being a Minority in Law School, Jul. 19, 2012, available at: http://ms-jd.org/unexpected-challenges-law-school-being-minority-law-school (Ms. Jankie describes her experience as a woman of color from a low-income background in law school).

3 University of California, Los Angeles School of Law, Section on Law Fellows Outreach Program, available at: http://www.law.ucla.edu/current-students/get-involved/outreach%20program/Pages/default.aspx (last visited on Feb. 12. 2014). The mission of the Law Fellows Program is “to encourage and prepare high-potential undergraduate and graduated students for a career in law, increase the diversity of the law school pool, and demystify the law school experience.”

4 This is just one of the many pre-law programs that exist for women of color to take advantage of. Others include:

● American Indian Law Center, Inc. Pre-Law Summer Institute;

● Council on Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO);

● LatinoJustice PRLDEF Lawbound Summer Academy;

● Northwestern University Pre-Law Summer Institute;

● TRIALS: NYU School of Law & Harvard Law School Training and Recruitment Initiative for Admission to Leading Law Schools Summer Program;

● University of California, Davis King Hall School of Law Outreach Program & Pre-Law Boot Camp; and

● University of California, Irvine School of Law Pre-Law Outreach Program.

5 For People of Color, Inc., Home Page, available at: www.forpeopleofcolor.org (last visited Feb. 12, 2014).

6 Every law school is unique; the names for these affinity groups may be different at your law school. Or, if there is no affinity group at your school, consider starting an affinity group.

7 Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Scholarship Resource Guide 2012-2013, available at: http://www.maldef.org/assets/pdf/2012-2013_MALDEF_Scholarship_List.pdf (last visited Feb. 12, 2014).

8 University of California at Berkeley, School of Law, Section on Scholarships for Minority Students, available at: http://www.law.berkeley.edu/550.htm (last visited on Feb. 12, 2014) (this is a list of diversity scholarships; it is not comprehensive, so you should be on the lookout for additional opportunities that may become available).

9 These bar associations include the Hispanic National Bar Association (http://www.hnbf.org), the South Asian Bar Association (http://www.sabanorthamerica.com), the National Bar Association (http://www.nationalbar.org), the Asian Pacific American Bar Association (http://www.napaba.org), and Native American Bar Association (http://www.nativeamericanbar.org/).

Citations from

Networking Like a Pro

1 Sara Holtz, Developing Your Client Focused Marketing Messages, CLIENT FOCUS, http://www.clientfocus.net/ClientFocus-Developing-Your-Client-Focused-Marketing-Messages-%2812710%29.pdf (last visited Jan. 22, 2014).

2 Sara Holtz, What’s Your Answer to “What’s New?”, CLIENT FOCUS, http://www.clientfocus.net/content/articles-and-resources~Whats-Your-Answer-to-Whats-New&id=37 (last visited Jan. 24, 2014).

3 ANDREA NIERENBERG, NONSTOP NETWORKING: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE, LUCK, AND CAREER 163 (1st ed. 2002).

4 Emily White, Networking for Women Lawyers, CBA Practice Link, http://www.cba.org/cba/practicelink/tips/womennetwork.aspx (last visited Jan. 31, 2014).

5 ANDREA NIERENBERG, NONSTOP NETWORKING: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE, LUCK, AND CAREER 163 (1st ed. 2002).

6 ANDREA NIERENBERG, NONSTOP NETWORKING: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE, LUCK, AND CAREER 163 (1st ed. 2002).

7 Last Post of the Year – The Biggest Lessons for Introverted Law Students, MS. JD (Dec. 20, 2013, 3:23 PM), http://ms-jd.org/last-post-year%E2%80%94-biggest-lessons-introverted-law-students.

8 SUSAN CAIN, QUIET: THE POWER OF INTROVERTS IN A WORLD THAT CAN’T STOP TALKING (1st ed. 2012).

9 ANDREA NIERENBERG, NONSTOP NETWORKING: HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR LIFE, LUCK, AND CAREER 164 (1st ed. 2002).

Citations from Beyond the Offer

1 Christen Civiletto, Esq. and Professor Kristen David Adams, The Practice of Law School: Getting In and Making the Most of Your Legal Education, 430-31 (2003) (highlighting that the a local district attorney or public defender’s office may provide some of the best hands-on training and practical exposure to evidentiary issues, as well as oral arguments on procedural and substantive issues).

2 See Grover E. Cleveland, The Essential Guide to Thriving as a New Lawyer: Swimming Lessons for Baby Sharks 43 (2010) (asserting that new lawyers can build their reputation by demonstrating superior legal research skills, but can similarly quickly taint it with poor and inefficient work).

3 Civiletto and Adams, supra note 1 at 433.

4 Janet Smith, Beyond L.A. Law: Breaking the Traditional “Lawyer” Mold 41-43 (1998).

5 Kimm Alayne Walton, J.D., What Law School Doesn’t Teach You…But You Really Need to Know 137 (2000).

6 Id. (explaining the importance of seeking references that can confirm your superior legal skill, which is what future employers are most concerned with).

7 Joanna Barsha and Susie Cranston, How Remarkable Women Lead (2009).

8 See Chapter 2 for more details on networking; see also Gary A. Munneke and Ellen Wayne, The Legal Career Guide 153-58 (5th ed. 2011) (explaining that organized networking requires creating, maintaining, and expanding your list of contacts before you can utilize this network for your job search).

9 Walton, supra note 5 at 273-74.

10 “Nuyorican” is a commonly used phrase describing Puerto Ricans located in New York, which was first coined in 1964. See also NUYORICAN, WIKIPEDIA, (last visited Jan. 18, 2014), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuyorican.

11 See Kimm Alayne Walton, J.D., Guerrilla Tactics for Getting the Legal Job of Your Dreams 681-84 (2008) (discussing great ways to find jobs through your network of contacts via email and activities); see also Erika Finn and Jessica Olmon, The Insider’s Guide to Getting a Big Firm Job 83-86 (2009) (stating that one of the best ways to find jobs is through direct contact with individual attorneys and networking at professional and/or recruiting events).

12 Sonia Sotomayor, My Beloved World 301 (2013).

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