The lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession is well-documented. Over three decades of practice, I’ve concluded that—while policies, D&I initiatives, affinity groups, and corporate directives are all important—the
I’ve lately talked to multiple talented young lawyers ejected (or soon to be) from their jobs at major firms and in-house alike. If you’re worried about losing yours, or already did, you’re
In the past year, a few of the many law firm associates, junior partners and in-house lawyers I mentor have encouraged me to use a blog to dig deeper than the character
I rarely talk about my story. Somehow, my UC Berkeley classmate Merle Vaughn pulled it out of me. Check it out, just one in series on her AMAZING podcast, Beyond Stereotypes.
I’m writing some articles for the pages of Above the Law on effective strategies that can be used to further diversify the legal profession. You can get to them from my blog here.
The lack of racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession is well-documented. Over three decades of practice, I’ve concluded that—while policies, D&I initiatives, affinity groups, and corporate directives are all important—the only way we will meaningfully make change is to do it ourselves. In practical terms, this means that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of
I’ve lately talked to multiple talented young lawyers ejected (or soon to be) from their jobs at major firms and in-house alike. If you’re worried about losing yours, or already did, you’re likely embarrassed and uncertain what to do. Here’s some things you can do RIGHT NOW: Up your LinkedIn presence. Make sure your profile
No matter the budget constraints, championing diversity is worth it. Many law departments are revisiting efforts to diversify their outside counsel ranks through getting more lawyers of color on their cases. A plethora of benchmarking tools, carrot-and-stick models, and consultants abound. Many such activities require significant budgets or structural changes that can be hard for
A few of my recent posts on LinkedIn
My friend Won Hur and I were talking about how outside counsel are often justifiably lambasted for client-service fails. Then we got to talking about how some in-house counsel are mediocre in making the best use of outside counsel. They make it harder for their lawyers to efficiently represent them,
With everything going on in the world, its a privilege to share good news for legal community and its future. My friend Alan Bowie recently elected President for the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association in Connecticut. This is good news for the BBA and the Connecticut bar, but it is
Lawyer layoffs are everywhere. Can you insure yourself from them so great job offers and opportunities always come your way? Think gardening. You love berries, fresh spinach, juicy peaches. Do you throw seeds in the dirt a few times a year? Or till the ground and tend your garden? Tossing
ITS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN! Two of my favorite LinkedIn reads, Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz and Olga V. Mack, posted today about failure, and how much we can learn from it. And I’ve seen a few law student/young lawyer comments about how exhausting it can be to read here
It’s 8:25 pm in Downtown L.A. on Friday, May 29. For the first time in months, there are no cheers at 8pm sharp for front line workers. Instead, police helicopters swarm overhead, sirens and horns and voices blare. People are in the street and on the freeway, some of them
…there’s an urge to hide. But it’s a global pandemic so everyone understands—great lawyers are losing their jobs. Craft a narrative of Why (eg, the firm/company cut 10% of my group and I was new) and be ready for the natural follow-ups. More importantly, build up confidence delivering the message.
My friend Won Hur and I were talking about how outside counsel are often justifiably lambasted for client-service fails. Then we got to talking about how some in-house counsel are mediocre in making the best use of outside counsel. They make it harder for their lawyers to efficiently represent them,
With everything going on in the world, its a privilege to share good news for legal community and its future. My friend Alan Bowie recently elected President for the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association in Connecticut. This is good news for the BBA and the Connecticut bar, but it is
Lawyer layoffs are everywhere. Can you insure yourself from them so great job offers and opportunities always come your way? Think gardening. You love berries, fresh spinach, juicy peaches. Do you throw seeds in the dirt a few times a year? Or till the ground and tend your garden? Tossing
ITS THE BEST WAY TO LEARN! Two of my favorite LinkedIn reads, Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz and Olga V. Mack, posted today about failure, and how much we can learn from it. And I’ve seen a few law student/young lawyer comments about how exhausting it can be to read here
It’s 8:25 pm in Downtown L.A. on Friday, May 29. For the first time in months, there are no cheers at 8pm sharp for front line workers. Instead, police helicopters swarm overhead, sirens and horns and voices blare. People are in the street and on the freeway, some of them
…there’s an urge to hide. But it’s a global pandemic so everyone understands—great lawyers are losing their jobs. Craft a narrative of Why (eg, the firm/company cut 10% of my group and I was new) and be ready for the natural follow-ups. More importantly, build up confidence delivering the message.
A very special thank you to Nishan Ardon and his team of digital marketing geniuses at Elavanz for developing and building this blog from my half-baked ideas. The design, layout, images, and feel are all Nishan’s doing. And it was Nishan who urged me to take my LinkedIn posts a large step forward with this blog. So, truly, it would never have happened without his support, creativity, and effort.
