First Steps for First Gens: Finding Your Way to Law School (Even When the Path is Foggy)
By the time I left the arts education organization I founded in the early 2010s, I had spent the better part of a decade incorporating a business, writing and negotiating service contracts, and working with creative intellectual property. I enjoyed the nitty-gritty, down-to-details aspect of the law-related work I was doing, and I imagined I’d like to explore the other side of it—as an attorney. … Continue reading First Steps for First Gens: Finding Your Way to Law School (Even When the Path is Foggy)
Black Lives Matter.
Once again, we have seen another Black life brutally taken by police violence. Once again, we demand justice, beginning with systemic change to stop the centuries of institutionalized, legal oppression of Black communities. And once again, we are forced to remind the world that Black Lives Matter. We four women of color— three Black women and a Brown woman— started FirstGenJD to uplift marginalized voices … Continue reading Black Lives Matter.
I Just Got My Grades… Now What?
After the heart-stopping terror of the email that grades have been posted comes the leaden-stomach anxiety of wondering what those grades mean and where to go from there. What do these grades mean for me? Am I supposed to review my exams? What if I don’t like my grades? As many questions swirl around after taking an exam as had to be answered in the … Continue reading I Just Got My Grades… Now What?
“Sleep is a Distant Memory, and There’s Nothing But Caffeine in My Veins”: Self Care for Law Students
My 1L Orientation was filled with stories of students who spent their first year munching Snickers bars for dinner and gulping Red Bulls between all-nighters. It was all heavily doused with advice we absolutely should not follow their example, of course— that we have to eat and sleep and be functional humans and all— but the message I really heard was that there is an … Continue reading “Sleep is a Distant Memory, and There’s Nothing But Caffeine in My Veins”: Self Care for Law Students
Etiquette 101: Divisive Social Rules that Cause Anxiety, But Don’t Have To
My mother instilled manners into me as a child. I was the little black girl who balanced books on her head for posture. I drank tea with my pinkie out, and sometimes I would eat pizza with a fork and knife. On top of that, my mother always made me wear these adorable frilly ruffle dresses with white stockings. She wanted me to look the … Continue reading Etiquette 101: Divisive Social Rules that Cause Anxiety, But Don’t Have To
When You Need an Adult But You Are an Adult
I started law school a few months before I turned 28. I was independent. I was my own pillar, trying to hold up my world single-handedly. I always thought I was an “adult” but, truthfully, I wasn’t. In law school I was challenged in ways I never imagined. I didn’t know who or what my support group was. I want to go back to simpler … Continue reading When You Need an Adult But You Are an Adult
We Can’t Do It Alone: Finding Mentors and Sponsors
It is a truth universally acknowledged that for every question to which we find an answer, there’s another one waiting to confuse us yet again. There will always be unanswered questions. As a law student, perhaps we have more questions than most. Indeed, as a student you are supposed to ask for help. There is zero expectation for anyone to traverse the legal field alone. … Continue reading We Can’t Do It Alone: Finding Mentors and Sponsors
Finding an Area of the Law You’ll Love
The legal profession is filled with ample practice areas to select from. Choosing a particular practice area earlier in your legal career, rather than later, can reduce unnecessary stress in the job hunting process and maintaining a position thereafter. Many online sources offer beneficial tools and guidelines for picking an area of practice early on; this article summarizes some of those methods and provides an … Continue reading Finding an Area of the Law You’ll Love
10 Things to Remember When Choosing a BigLaw Firm
This is the final article in a four-part series on BigLaw jobs. Find the first installment describing BigLaw here, the second installment here on parsing through BigLaw firms, and the third installment on the BigLaw application process here. The final step in the process once you’ve gotten your offers (congrats, BTW!) is to choose your firm. Fortunately– or perhaps, unfortunately–there’s no real science to it … Continue reading 10 Things to Remember When Choosing a BigLaw Firm
When “OCI” Stands for “Oh, Crap, Interviews?!?”: Applying to BigLaw
This is the third in a four-part series on BigLaw jobs. Find the first installment describing BigLaw here and the second installment here on parsing through BigLaw firms to generate an application list. Okay, so now you know which firms interest you, how do you make them interested in you? What does the application process look like for BigLaw? And what’s the deal with this … Continue reading When “OCI” Stands for “Oh, Crap, Interviews?!?”: Applying to BigLaw
First Gen JD 