PT-LawMom

There is a disturbing study out today that details the disparate treatment of certain immigrants applying for asylum by immigration judges in various jurisdictions.

The study found that someone who has fled China in fear of persecution and asks for asylum in immigration court in Orlando, Fla., has an excellent — 76 percent — chance of success, while the same refugee would have a 7 percent chance in Atlanta. Similarly, a Haitian seeking refuge from political violence is almost twice as likely to succeed in New York as in Miami.

This is very disappointing, especially considering that many of these people are really facing life or death situations.

In other news, the steep rate increase the USCIS announced in January will be in effect beginning July 30.  The increase is as much as 66% in some cases and is a terrible blow to struggling immigrants seeking to live the American dream.

Yes, I’m a SanctiMommy. I just think that sometimes you have to draw the line on work blurring into personal. This story is yet another in a line of stories where women are bragging about their commitment to work by detailing the way they were working right through labor and back on their Blackberries or laptops the minute delivery was over. If you choose to work during labor and delivery, that’s your choice. But do you have to brag about it so that even more women are held to that standard? What about those who have high-powered jobs with coworkers who start to expect that level of commitment? What if they actually want to be present in and remember every detail of their child’s birthing process? I just think choice is important and the people who brag about working during labor are just as bad as those women who make you feel like a jerk if you choose an epidural over water birth and deep breathing or breastfeed for less than a year because work doesn’t provide a comfortable and clean place to pump.

My first class was great tonight. My teacher is a lot of fun and my classmates had interesting things to say.  I’m looking forward to seeing how things develop as we go forward.

Stealing a meme from Lawyer Mama.

A - Attached or Single?
Happily married

B - Best Friend?

I have a best friend who I met in my senior year of high school. We’re kind of odd best friends - we don’t talk every day or even all that regularly, but we’re kind of like soul mates. I love her and love to spend time with her but we don’t necessarily share the day-to-day stuff. She’s Pumpkinhead’s godmother. My family loves her (even the extended family!) Even Chapin loves her and he tends to be pretty picky.

As for other friends, I can be a pretty difficult person (apparently) to be friends with. I tend to have friends for a few years of happy times and then something happens and they drop me. Chapin thinks that’s good because who needs friends anyway.

C - Cake or Pie?
Pie!
D - Drink of Choice?

Tea. I just picked up some yummy loose tea from Teavana this weekend. YUM!
E - Essential Items?

Books, microwave, chocolate, music
F - Favorite Color?

Forest Green
G - Gummie Bears or Worms?
Worms. The bears are too tough!

H - Hometown?

Ha! Like I’d tell you.
I - Indulgence?

Massage
J - January or February?
Neither? Probably February - far enough from the holidays to have recovered. Plus you have Valentine’s Day.

K - Kids?
One precious little guy.

L - Life is incomplete without?

Good books and a nearby library to provide them!
M - Marriage Date?

June 30, 2000
N - Number of Siblings?

One, although I often think I’d be happier as an only child.
O - Oranges or Apples?

Oranges
P - Phobias/Fears?

Flying insects. Heights, especially when I’m not steady on my feet (i.e., rope bridges, ladders, etc.) I even had a panic attack on a ferris wheel last month!!! Insane!
Q - Favorite Quote?
Lawyer Mama stole mine! “Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Ghandi

I also like this one from Mary Chapin Carpenter - “Why walk when you can fly?” (i.e., live up to your potential)
R - Reason to smile?
My family. A great song blasting on my car radio with my hair flying in the breeze on a Friday afternoon.

S - Seasons?
I love Spring, especially all the pretty flowers.

T - Tags?

I tag Christa, Gunfighter, ML and Lag Liv.

For the three of you who know my real name, please just call me “my friend, PT-LawMom” so I can maintain my anonymity for as long as possible.
U - Unknown Fact About Me?

I’m a face germophobe. I can’t use the same pillowcase more than two nights in a row (one side per night). Can’t stand anything “unclean” touching my face. I hate turtlenecks and scarves for that same reason.
V - Vegetarian or oppressor of animals?
I like my cow still mooing.

W - Worst Habit?

Emotional eating.

X - X-rays or ultrasounds?
Ultrasounds - much happier.

Y - Your favorite food?

Chocolate.
Z - Zodiac?

Capricorn

This article in today’s Washington Post made me sick. Of course there’s no incentive to reduce the backlog. The longer they can stretch things out, the more money they receive from advance parole applications, renewal fees and, finally, when the applicant can’t wait any longer, those $1k premium processing fees. I watched a family member struggle for three years after 9-11 waiting for his citizenship to be finalized and am now sitting patiently by watching Chapin enter his sixth month since his citizenship was “approved”. We’re waiting (and waiting and waiting) for an oath date. Then to read this, it just makes me want to bang my head into a wall. Are all government officials really so callous and money-hungry? What about these people’s lives?!?

Should I really be this nervous?  I’ve read my assignments and except for one killer ancient case, most of it seems straightforward.  It is probably just the fear of the unknown.  How tough will my professors be?  How much smarter/more competitive will my classmates be?  I know the reality is that you really do have to do well if you want a good job, no matter what people say.  No pressure, though…

I think it’s time to stop reviewing my notes and start packing my bookbag — bound to be much more fun!!  I made myself a yummy sandwich for dinner tomorrow night and threw it and some fruit in the fridge.  Now to just remember to pack it in the morning!!  I also need to get all of Pumpkinhead’s stuff together so he’ll be set for school and then time with my parents while I’m in class.

Looks like my RSS feed re-published the last week of April this morning.  Odd!  I’m still looking for responses to my May 23 post about practice areas so if you’re interested in old posts, that’s the one you should check out.   :wink:

The Wall Street Journal Law Blog has an interview with Cameron Stracher, former BigLaw attorney who has stepped off the fast track to teach and write. He has just released a book called “Dinner with Dad: How I Found My Way Back to the Family Table.” Thanks to my one-click account with Amazon, a copy is on its way to me as we speak. I actually just finished one of his earlier books, “Double Billing: A Young Lawyer’s Tale Of Greed, Sex, Lies, And The Pursuit Of A Swivel Chair” while on vacation. Having worked as a legal secretary and seen the inner workings of law firms for so long, I could only nod and chuckle at that very insightful book. (Plus I have sooooo worked with an office manager like that at a former job!)

I was struck by two comments in Mr. Stracher’s WSJ interview. The first was his assertion that the law is more flexible than people imagine it to be. I’d like to think that’s true. Problem is that people get sucked into large law firms (scary places with little-to-no feedback and an enormous amount of passive/agressive Type A bullshit behavior) and, especially in the case of women, often get dropped from a team without a second glance and effectively pushed out.

I worked for an associate once who was at the top of his field in a very niche area of law. The client loved him and, therefore, so did the firm. Problem was that he considered law his job and something more earthy his passion. He left every night by six in order to explore that passion. The firm pushed for more, he pushed back, and finally he left for a non-firm position, thinking that it would be more flexible. That position ultimately fell through and he returned to the firm, once again in a power struggle. You know what? He got what he wanted. The associate is now Of Counsel at that firm and can generally work the hours he wants on the matters he wants. He goes home every night to his beautiful wife and young child and they spend weekends doing the things they truly love. He’s a great example of having it all.

Obviously one must go into a busy law firm environment generally knowing what’s in store. Which brings me to the second part of the interview I found interesting — Mr. Stracher’s perspective on joining a large law firm. I have spoken with countless current lawyers, former lawyers, judges, BigLaw associates, BigLaw partners, former Supreme Court clerks, etc., and all agree that you have to put in the time at a mid-to-large-sized firm if you want to ultimately get what you want out of a law career. That said, the challenge is keeping your goals in perspective as you tough it out for 3-4 years.

Speaking of goals, I am logging off now and returning to my casebook. The relevant sections of the WSJ interview are quoted below:

But at New York Law School you help train law students for the profession. How do you reconcile that with your sometimes dim view of the profession?

That’s definitely something I’m conflicted about and I do have students ask me, “Should I take this job at Sullivan & Cromwell?” And honestly most of the time I tell them that they should because I know that as unhappy as I know they’re going to be, they need that on their resume to go somewhere where they might be happier.

Lawyers are famous for not making it home for dinner. So were you writing your book for them?

I think that law is actually more flexible than a lot of people imagine it to be. Most firms do offer some type of flex arrangement, but most lawyers are afraid to take it. And I think that goes to our Type A personalities. But I think if we are really serious about wanting to spend more time with our families, we can cut back. And we’re fortunate to work in a profession where we can still earn a pretty good living even if we’re not working full time.

School starts on Tuesday night. I still have 12 pages left to read and so far I’m ignoring the call of my textbook. Not the best start…
Today I woke up at 7 a.m. and met my parents for breakfast with Pumpkinhead. Then we went to the garden supply store and picked up some flowers, shrubs and pavers to line our garden beds. We got one plant in the ground before it started to pour - bah humbug. So much for our plan to garden all day and then head to the pool in the late afternoon.

It’s dinnertime now and I have spent the past three hours curled up on the couch with Pumpkinhead reading books and watching DVR’d episodes of Max & Ruby. I’m going to head downstairs now to make Pumpkinhead some dinner, wash a few dishes, clean the kitchen, throw on some laundry… basically anything that will help me procrastinate. My plan is to get him fed, bathed and down and then turn to the book to finish my work tonight. That way I can review Monday afternoon to make sure I haven’t missed anything and again Tuesday at lunch before classes start that night. The good news is that my final book for my second class FINALLY arrived today so I’m all set.

With the current bill’s focus on workers and de-emphasis on family ties, many LEGAL immigrants are concerned about what this means for the fate of their families.  For all of the undocumented immigrants in this country, there are many others who have applied for the right paperwork, come here to work, and then applied again for family members to join them.  The process is expensive, inconvenient, and can take several years.  In January, President Bush signed legislation doubling the fees for all immigration applications.  Immigrants with pending applications are scared that all there efforts will be for naught if the worker-based reform bill passes.   If nothing else, it will cause a shakeup at USCIS and certainly delay processing times for most applications while workers and immigration attorneys get up to speed on the new laws.

Okay, lawyers.  I know you’re out there (or at least I hope the hits I’m getting aren’t just from random people searching for a completely different blog…).  Please tell me about your practice area and what you like about it.  Is it really the law firm that quashes any chance of work/life balance or does the nature of your practice play a large part?

I’m especially interested in hearing from immigration attorneys, labor & employment attorneys, family law attorneys and environmental law attorneys.  I thought trusts & estates sounded interesting until I realized that it involves waaayyyy too much math!  Similarly, you can’t do IP law if you can’t even remember how to divide a fraction.  ;)  I have experienced transactional areas in my work as a legal secretary (specifically communications law and corporate) and the only thing I can say is “Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz”.

I’d also like to hear from attorneys who have a job that deals more with lobbying/policy.  How did you move into that position?  Did you work several years at a firm and develop a niche area first?  Leverage your undergrad and pre-law work experience to find the right post-JD position?

Please comment below or e-mail me directly at ptlawmom@gmail.com.  Thank you!