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Best Friends at the Bar: The New Balance for Today's Woman Lawyer

Susan S. Blakely

$45.95

  • ISBN: 9781454822493

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  • Description

    Best Friends at the Bar: The New Balance for Today’s Woman Lawyer candidly addresses the problems unique to women in the practice of law and provides practical, helpful advice and solutions. This companion to Best Friends at the Bar: What Women Need to Know about a Career in the Law is based on research, the author’s experience, and interviews with women attorneys who have successfully made the transition from one practice setting to another. These women, many with national reputations, tell their stories in their own compelling words. The lawyers profiled are Sally Blackmun, former Senior Associate General Counsel of Darden; Kathleen Tighe, Inspector General, US Department of Education; Bonnie Brier, General Counsel, New York University; Karen Kaplowitz, Law Firm Consultant, The New Ellis Group; Laura Oberbroekling, Solo Practitioner; Kathryn Spencer, former member of Women-owned Law Practice; Stephanie Kimbro, Virtual Law Firm Practice, Kimbro Legal Services; Victoria Pynchon, Alternative Dispute Resolution, She Negotiates at ForbesWoman ADR Services, Inc.; Deborah Burand, Professor, University of Michigan Law and former GC and VP, Legal Affairs, OPIC; Amy Yeung, Associate Counsel, ZeniMax Media Inc.; Honorable Marianne Short, Managing Partner, Dorsey & Whitney; and Markeisha Miner, Assistant Dean, Career Services and Outreach, University of Detroit Mercy School of Law.

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  • Details
    Page Count 256
    Published 07/19/2012
  • Additional Product Details

    Summary of Contents

    Ch. 1: You Really Need To Love What You Do

    Ch. 2: You Really Need to Get Serious

    Ch. 3: You Really Need To Be Who You Are

    Ch. 4: You Really Need To Put Yourself First---At Least Part of the Time

    Ch. 5: You Really Need to Gain Perspective

    Ch. 6: You Really Need TIME---And All the Help You Can Get!

    Ch. 7: You Really Need Your Friends

    Ch. 8: You Really Need to Keep Your Options Open

    Ch. 9: You Really Need to Take Credit for What You Do

    Ch. 10: You Really Need True Grit

    Ch. 11: You Really Need to Be the Best Lawyer You Can Be

    Ch. 12: You Really Need to Think about Career Transitions

    Where We Are and How We Got Here

    The Starting Point

    Typical Transitions

    The Law Firm Practice Model

    From Law Firm to In-House Corporate Practice

    Profile of Sally Blackmun

    Profile of Amy Yeung

    From Law Firm to Public Interest/Non-Profit Lawyer

    Profile of Bonnie Brier

    From Law Firm to Government Lawyer

    Profile of Kathleen Tighe

    From Law Firm to Solo Practice

    Profile of Laura Oberbroeckling

    From Traditional Law Firm to Non-Traditional Law Firm

    Women-Owned Law Firm

    Profile of Kathryn Smith Spencer

    Virtual Law Firm

    Profile of Stephanie Kimbro

    From Law Firm to Law Firm Consultant

    Profile of Karen Kaplowitz

    From Law Firm to Academia

    Profile of Deborah Burand

    Profile of Markeisha Miner

    From Law Firm to the Judiciary

    Profile of Honorable Marianne Short

    From Law Firm to Alternative Dispute Resolution

    Profile of Victoria Pynchon

    Epilogue: From A Queen of Reinvention

  • Author Information

    Susan Blakely

    Susan Blakely has been teaching and mentoring for most of her life. What Women Need to Know About a Career in the Law---Best Friends at the Bar is the first in a planned series of books to help young women lawyers develop careers that will allow them to continue in and prosper in their chosen profession. With the assistance of her own ''Best Friends at the Bar,'' Ms. Blakely presents the reader with critical and practical advice that will prove invaluable to young women undergraduates considering law school, young women law students and young women lawyers in their initial years of practice. Her book is the first of its kind and grew out of her concern for the discouraging retention rates for young women lawyers and the difficulties for these young women that are presented by the illusive work-life balance and related struggles. By reading her book and taking advantage of the collective wisdom and advice of over 50 women lawyers and judges, young women will be better equipped for the challenges of advancing in a male-dominated profession and reaching positions of leadership and management where they can positively affect policy and improve the condition of women in the practice.

    Ms. Blakely brings a lifetime of experience to this endeavor. As a teacher in the public schools after graduating from the University of Wisconsin and later as a teaching fellow while attending Georgetown University Law Center, she laid the foundation for a lifetime of mentoring. In her practice, which spanned 25 years and included both private law firm and public sector experience, Ms. Blakely saw the legal profession from many perspectives, from associate to counsel to partner and as a Chief of Staff in the public sector. In those roles, she has mentored many young lawyers and continues to enjoy that work through this book and her interaction with those in and aspiring to her profession.

    ''This book has been a labor of love for me, and I consider it to be my most important contribution to my profession. I hope that it will be widely read and that it will accomplish my objective of helping young women help themselves in reaching their professional goals. I also hope that it will encourage all young women lawyers to reach out to others in need and become someone else's Best Friend at the Bar.''

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