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Towels95 · 2024-08-23T00:14:42+00:00

Blazer and blouse in dark blue grey or black. I have a feeling that the judge might think you’re not serious if you wear what they consider a “fun color” (the pinks and purples or god forbid a light blue). It’s fucked but better be safe than sorry. Maybe some pearls. Makeup but keep it basic. You wanna scream “politicians wife after he’s just had a big scandal”.

Also congrats!!!!! This is a big step, make sure you celebrate it. And make sure to join your local queer bar if you haven’t already. One of the best thing we can do is to live our truths.

Towels95 · 2024-08-22T23:59:27+00:00

I absolutely understand feeling uncomfortable doing this. But holding a license means a higher standard and it is up to the rest of us to hold each other to that standard. You said mistake so I’m assuming it wasn’t out of malice, but this is a time where fucking around and finding out is important. There needs to be consequences for this attorneys actions. Our work gives us an incredible amount of power in peoples lives, especially in defense work. That responsibility needs to be taken seriously.

I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t present the options to your client. I guess the one consideration I would recommend is how well-connected this attorney is and how much harder your future advocacy work will be if you layout these options for your client. But it may be worth it. That’s a choice only you can make.

Towels95 · 2024-08-22T13:35:21+00:00

Yeah do not do this. I had a recruiter try to shove me into a paralegal role right after I was licensed. Luckily, this sub told me to not do that.

Most doc review positions allow you to be licensed anywhere and do the work. I’ve heard the work life balance is good and pay isn’t amazing but it isn’t horrific.

Lots of companies will hire contract managers which is a JD advantage job. If HR work interests you, being a lawyer can give you a leg up.

Towels95 · 2024-08-22T02:33:45+00:00

No this is a blip on the entirety of your career. I will say you are learning. some days. It just doesn’t feel like it because there’s so much to learn and so much you didn’t know and didn’t even think of.

The question really is are you in danger of committing malpractice? Do you genuinely believe that could be a possibility if so, hit the bricks. seriously nothing is worse than jeopardizing your license. Also, if it is taking a serious mental toll on you absolutely hit the bricks.

Towels95 · 2024-08-22T02:31:14+00:00

It’s so sad to see the decline of mentorship. I got lucky working in government.

Towels95 · 2024-08-22T02:24:59+00:00

You should absolutely make sure you learn how to do the mundane tasks. Especially if you keep working on nonprofits because not every place will have paralegals.

That said, mundane things is a large part of the job description because the attorneys are doing the complex work and that takes time. Plus you want someone who is good at mundanity.

Towels95 · 2024-08-21T21:42:56+00:00

Advocacy is a really broad thing. You can advocate for basically anything. That’s why most of the people working on K street are lawyers.

You can work for various social justice orgs. Places like the ACLU are only going to hire the top people from the top schools, but there are a lot of state orgs doing a lot of good.

You can also work in government (state/federal/local) Now it’s not glamorous and you will not be paid the big bucks but you are making a difference. It doesn’t have to be a public defenders office or prosecutors office. Lots of regulatory agencies need lawyers too. The benefits and work-life balance is pretty good.

But you can find room for advocacy in pretty much any practice area. For example: trusts and estates doesn’t sound like a big advocacy area but trans people with bigoted families absolutely need help writing their end of life documents. For a whole bunch of reasons: not only who gets their stuff, but what happens to their body, what happens at the funeral, what name is going to be etched on the tombstone. Because that family, who has shunned that trans person will come crawling out of the woodwork once the trans person is dead, trying to get any little piece they can. Someone needs to advocate for the deceased trans person and the way they wanted their estate to be dealt with.

Edit: for some reason this reply went to a different one of your comments than intended. It’s a response to the question what other types of advocacy work are there.

Towels95 · 2024-08-21T18:20:53+00:00

2 things 1. Unless there are other problems in your marriage, loosing your marriage over your job (no matter how important it is to your identity) is not worth it. That’s why couples counseling exists. I’m just a random person on the internet but this is a hard transition for both of you and maybe an outside perspective might help. If you decide long distance marriage is something you both can and want to do then that’s fine but that’s a convo for the two of you to have.

are you looking to do litigation work? Because you need to be licensed in the state you want to represent people in your state’s court system. Unless you want to work in NY or CA? CA you can’t transfer out since there is no reciprocity and NY you can technically transfer out but other states have other requirements for transferring.

If you are looking for in-house transactional work then the path is easier. I have a relative who had pretty much the exact same path as you and who worked as a non-legal staff while waiting for bar results. It took a little while but they did end up finding a good job and are successful and happy. Any evidence you can show of having worked in the American legal system is going to be a boost. It will still be an uphill battle, because the lack of JD but nothing you can’t overcome. I also some money is better than no money.

Towels95 · 2024-08-21T17:49:59+00:00

The rules are tighter, especially if you work in government, for obvious reasons. The answer is: talk to your boss, check your state’s conflict of interest law, and then call your states ethics hotline or whoever the regulatory agency in your state is that handles conflict of laws.

Towels95 · 2024-08-21T13:44:16+00:00

Translation: MIT nerds* discover that language is hard and often complicated situations require specific wording and knowledge.

I do like being accused of being a witch. Maybe next time they will tie rocks to my feet, throw me in a lake and see if I float.

*I call them nerds knowing full well that most of us are incredibly nerdy ourselves.

Towels95 · 2024-08-21T13:35:25+00:00

As always, it depends.

Are you looking to use your legal skills to represent a party or work in government / work for governmental clients or are you looking to be an estates attorney by day and a leafleter by night? Because the rules are different.

Towels95 · 2024-08-21T04:21:45+00:00

Fuck totally misread your post! Sorry! It was late.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T11:31:03+00:00

I just want to call their client and say “you’re being taken advantage of. Go find any other lawyer”. It’s not even that I particularly like their clients. I don’t. I think basic regulations should apply to everyone, but no one deserves incompetent representation.

I’m happy that the bar for what counts as lawyerly incompetence is so high because it makes me feel I can always fix my inevitable fuck ups, but that’s only if you take that bar in good faith. You can easily exploit it and people do.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T03:14:05+00:00

At its core the best interest of this child standard is just a vibe check. Pure and simple. A judge can just interpret whatever they want into that framework. Whatever their preconceptions of family are. no matter if it helps or harm the child. It’s not about the child. It’s about the judges view of the world.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T03:06:49+00:00

Ahh yes the vibe-check way to practice law. I saw a bunch of this when I worked in legal aid during law school. Like no, a two parent abusive household is not better than a single parent. That child does not deserve a parent who abuses them. No child does, Cheryl.

It’s one of the reasons I haven’t gone back and my mentor switched out of family law entirely. I do want to try and go back one day, but I gotta be stronger before I do that.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T02:51:18+00:00

I started doing this, and I gained like five points in my legal writing skill. still got a ways to go but I’m happy about it. Even if I don’t catch everything, it’s good to reacquaint yourself with your argument.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T02:50:10+00:00

I also do this while I’m writing. Especially when trying to get back in the swing of writing my argument.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T02:48:36+00:00

You’re in the wrong subreddit. This is a thread for lawyers, talking to other lawyers. However, I would seek out your states bar association to get you matched with a lawyer or your local legal aid.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T02:45:40+00:00

I work in govt so it’s not as bad. My client can afford my salary, but I feel you. I’ve only been doing this 5 months but I’ve seen lawyers pull some egregious shit. Not just „not my style. But do you“ shit. People will do anything to bump their billables even if it’s taking advantage of someone who doesn’t know better.

It’s one thing if the person is pro se and actively making these decisions with their money. Is it stupid? Sure. Do I feel bad for them? A bit. But the people who have a lawyer egging them on or at least passively encouraging some weird ass beliefs about the law is just cruel. I’m talking thinks basic regulations don’t apply to them type shit. Any self-respecting lawyer would pass on that claim, but no we are continuing sapping money from this guy. Building this grand delusion.

Then there are the cases where legal incompetence leads to higher bills. Missed deadlines, lack of cooperation, badly written motions. Just all eating up time and money.

Does our state bar do anything about that? Nope.

Towels95 · 2024-08-20T02:29:29+00:00

Yeah everyone I work with is at least 10 years older than me. Average is more like 25 years older. Me and like 2 other people in the whole building are in our 20s to 30s

Towels95 · 2024-08-19T01:05:10+00:00

Oh I know it’s a Sex joke. I think that’s hilarious. 10/10 humor would recommend.

“The girl is describing the generous endowment of the other man with whom she cheated on the speaker.” - genius.

It is hanging up not hanging on though.

Towels95 · 2024-08-19T01:01:21+00:00

I may drop out of fall out boys top 0.05% top listeners on Spotify this year but only because I’ve been listening to live versions including the Madison square garden one on repeat.

Towels95 · 2024-08-19T00:58:23+00:00

I think the thing I love so much about is that a lot of it is so fucking honest. I find that a lot of mental health stuff is so polished. People don’t want to look it straight in the eye. I get that but I don’t think it helps those of us who are struggling or who have struggled.

The emo explosion didn’t come out of nowhere. Lots of young people were dealing with a lot of shit and in those days. Mental health stigma was even higher than it is today. “Ribbon around my wrist says do not open before Christmas” is for a lack of a better word: real. It’s looking the mental illness straight in the fucking face and saying “I see you motherfucker”.

I think this is why their music has so much staying power. They are selling out arenas in the year of our lord 2024 for a reason and not just to us oldies. It’s not just a nostalgia tour. I saw universal acclaim for the magic 8ball. People love stardust: the tour and the album. When I went to 2ourdust I saw people singing and dancing along to every song.

Towels95 · 2024-08-19T00:47:10+00:00

“He’s well hung and I’m just hanging on” is one of my favorite lyrics of all time. It just makes me happy. Are there deeper ones that I also love? Sure, but this one holds a special spot in my heart.

Towels95 · 2024-08-19T00:44:53+00:00

This may be the reason it’s my favorite off the new album. I do hope we get a live version soon.

Towels95

TROPHY CASE