Getting People to Say Your Name Correctly (Especially When You Are Not in a Position of Power)

On January 21, 2024

I’m grateful I live in Silicon Valley. I grew up in a small town with few minorities, and my Chinese middle name was met with curiosity or ridicule. I sometimes even said I didn’t have a middle name because when kids learned it was “Yuhua”, they asked me to say it over and over again, […]

Career Management, Career Tips, Women & Minorities

Get Strategic: Think Hard about Taking on Non-Promotable Tasks!

On June 12, 2022

As the world economy sputters (see recent NYT story Global Growth Will Be Choked Amid Inflation and War), get strategic about your career as companies aim to cut fat. Take stock of your responsibilities and make an impact recognized by management. I read with interest this Harvard Business Review article on non-promotable tasks, which lawyers […]

Career Management, Women & Minorities

Dealing with Rejection, Lawyers’ Edition

On March 6, 2022

Lawyers are often Type A go-getters. Getting through law school, passing the bar, and climbing the corporate ladder take effort and will, so when we get rejected, it’s tough. I enjoyed the book The Rejection That Changed My Life, which profiles leaders who were let down but turned it around. Some key points from the […]

Departure, Offer, Women & Minorities

How to Break News of an Offer You Received to Your Boss

On August 29, 2021

The WSJ article “You’ve Got Another Job Offer. Here’s What to Tell Your Boss” is on-point during the Great Resignation. When you tell your boss about an offer you received, you could get better title/money/perks from your current employer OR you could generate bad feelings/have no way to stay. Some things to think about: Yes, […]

Presentation, Women & Minorities

How to Speak up in Meetings & Get Heard

On July 4, 2021

Lawyers spend many hours in meetings, whether Zoom or (soon to be) in person. I like these tips from the Harvard Business Review on how to speak up in meetings. Knowing when to chime in and not speak over others is hard, so get a plan ready: Understand it’s difficult to speak up because you’re […]

Interview, Process, Women & Minorities

Want to Become an Exec? Check out These Post-COVID Recruiting Trends

On June 13, 2021

Today’s Wall Street Journal reported key changes in executive recruiting due to COVID. During COVID, executives stayed put, and companies wanted to maintain stability during uncertainty, which resulted in a 61% drop in CEO turnover. Now, however, experts expect CEO turnover to rise by up to 30%. Some trends in executive hiring due to COVID: Virtual interviewing […]

Career Management, Mentors, Women & Minorities

How to Respond to Bias

On May 31, 2021

Yes, diverse attorneys face bias whether at firms or in-house. I have heard hair-raising stories from minority attorneys about being mistaken for the help. The Recorder recently ran an interview with Olivia Luk Bedi, an Asian American woman partner, who tells this story: “I was at a contentious hearing in federal court about eight years […]

Interview, Presentation, Women & Minorities

Presenting Effectively as a Lawyer Even with Self-Doubt

On April 18, 2021

Clients tell me their chief complaint about lawyers is they are so bad at communicating. Why are they constantly hedging? Can’t they just break things down and explain the likelihood of events? Um, no. We lawyers are taught to examine all risk so we have a hard time prioritizing them and don’t want to be wrong. On […]

Women & Minorities

In Honor of MLK

On January 17, 2021

Tomorrow is Martin Luther King Day! I remember as a 1L my professor played a recording of MLK’s “I have a dream” speech, and I was struck by its power and hope: “With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will […]

GC, Inhouse, Women & Minorities

Alternate Paths to GC: A Case Study

On September 27, 2020

The classic path to GC is to start at an Am Law firm in corporate securities, then go in-house to a capital markets team (being sure to pick up SEC, M&A, employee benefits, IR support, and other adjacent practice groups). The person would climb the corporate ladder internally or join a smaller company as the […]

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