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What does Freedom of Speech really mean?
People have been throwing around the 1st Amendment and Freedom of Speech so much lately. It’s become the go to response whenever someone gets in trouble for saying something they should not have said. Take Roseann. While there has been a lot of praise for her show getting cancelled there has also been a lot of “freedom of speech!” comments out there. Like all attorneys, I took a constitutional law class in law school. Even though I got an A (I think I got an A) I am not in any way shape or form an expert on the constitution. But I know enough to know that Freedom Speech is…
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My FormaCloud Interview
I was recently interviewed. I talk about my childhood, my dislike for lawyers, and what the justice system needs. Take a look.
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New Lawyer Tips from “What I Wish I Knew My First 5 Years of Practice” panel
I recently spoke on a panel entitled “What I Wish I Knew My First 5 Years of Practice”. In preparing material for the panel I developed a list of tips for new lawyers. Here you go, you are welcome. New Lawyer Tips Free time? Go to court; sit in on different types of hearings/trials relating to your practice area. If you’re bold enough speak with a few of the attorneys you watched. Make an outline of how you see each new case you get progressing. Fill in with anything unexpected. Helps to manage expectations and time. Talk through cases with other attorneys. Find a few…
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Practice Areas: More than you thought you knew
I’ll admit, I knew nothing about lawyers and their practice areas when I decided to go to law school (why did I become a lawyer you ask, that’s another post). All I knew was criminal and corporate. Once I got into law school I learned about public interest law. That became the practice area of interest for me. Going through law school helped me become aware of the different types of law. I became interested in bankruptcy and mediation as time went on. Going to school in Texas made me aware of Oil and Gas law. Again something I never thought about but makes perfect sense for that geographical location.…
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It’s Not The Gym, It’s A Courtroom
This is a pet peeve of mine and it is time I address it. I remember the first time I witnessed the atrocity. It was about 4 years ago. I was in court waiting for my case to be called when another case was called. I witnessed one of the parties walking up to podium. One man dressed in a suit and a woman dressed in New Balance shoes, a black North Face jacket, and black sweat pants (not even yoga pants but old school sweat with the cuff around the ankles!). Now I assumed that the man was the attorney, no, not because he was a man but because…
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Why I Carry 2 Cellphones
It is said that the only people who carry 2 cellphones are criminals and spies. I carry 2 cellphones and I am neither of the above. I am simply a lawyer. I decided to carry 2 cellphones for really only 2 reasons. The first being I didn’t want to give up my phone number. My personal cell has a 678 area code, for those of you that don’t know that is Atlanta, I was not ready to trade in my Atlanta area code for a Seattle one. I’m a Southern girl and I needed to keep that identity. More importantly it seemed strange for me to have my Seattle based…
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Is Your Unprofessionalism Hurting Your Networking?
Networking can be imperative for solos, small firms, and new attorneys. While solos and small firms don’t have huge advertising budgets, networking is a great way for them to get their name out and let people know what they do. For new attorneys it is a great way to meet contacts and for them to get an impression of who you are. I have witnessed some attorneys do some unprofessional things while networking. Here are 4 tips on how not to be unprofessional while networking. Keep Your Shoes On. That may sound like a no brainer but at the networking event I just attended one woman decided to go shoeless.…
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Your Business Wardrobe: Keeping it Classy While Still Being Sassy
When I was going through law school I was always told that women were to dress conservatively. Black or navy suits only with white or light pink shirts; pearls and post earrings. Hair should be straight or in a bun, nothing too flashy and absolutely no colored nail polish or makeup. I followed those rules for a bit and then I decided I could sass up my wardrobe. I started small, a purple blouse, a grey suit, and some dangling earrings. And guess what? Nothing happened. My career wasn’t over. I was never told that I looked any less professional. I actually started getting compliments from court security, clerks, and…
