Employment Confusion

I’m all over the board on what to do about employment …

And it’s ph’ing me up.

I really like doing what I do … oddly enough, defending people accused of crimes fits my personality. Go figure.

But at the same time … my impact in the courtroom is going to be changed significantly. Knowing the law is only one component of representation. Presence, delivery, awareness … make up a great deal.

And in changing my gender presentation … my presence and delivery change significantly.

It’s hard for women to be zealous counsel without appearing bitchy.

The same argument … the same words … the same tone … the same cadence.

From a man it’s deemed aggressive …

From a woman … bitchy.

It’s just the way it is.

I’ve seen some female counsel figure out how to do it … but they are few and far between. And the most effective … are the ones that are prosecuting cases, not defending. Female attorneys seem to have gravitated to the role of representing victims.

Now that’s not saying female attorneys cannot be effective defense counsel. In fact, if I needed a defense attorney … on my short list of counsel I would consider … is a female attorney I went to law school with (we didn’t know each other then though). She’s damn good.

But … she’s figured out her style and how to work it.

I have yet to do that. And it’s not easy to do.

But say I decided to try … take the down time to revamp myself and career.

Well, that would involve a change in pay. Realistically, I’d probably net out what I could earn working for someone else … on a mundane 8 – 5 type job, with bennies and holidays paid. And a lot less stress.

But if I execute a soft re-boot of my practice, there is the possibility of greater rewards long-term.

Though I couldn’t do it here … in the same courts I practice now.

Oh sure, I know I “could” … but, personally, I know I “couldn’t” … at least not now.

Then of course, this could be the opportune time for me to just do something different … something else I’d like to do … teach … corporate work …

Maybe I should do that.

In many ways I’m starting over regardless.

Who knows what I’ll do.

Well … really, that’s not true.

I know exactly what I’m going to do.

Similar Posts

6 Comments

  1. I see you as having several optiiooons:

    1) Take time and study successful female defense lawyers in your general area. Follow some cases with them, and maybe even sit down with them and talk to them to understand how they operate. You cold even do it just out of your area, if you’re uncomfortable with it being people you’ve interacted with, or may interact with.

    2) Go back to school. Specifically take some courses AS Amy in the art of legal presentation for legal counselors. There must be some. Ask around or send out letters to law schools in your neck of the woods.

    3) Consider taking a job with a prosecuting attorney’s office. Take it as a learning experience. Get some training under your belt, then go back to the dark side, er, I mean the defense side. 😉

    4) Take a job with a corporation as a corporate attorney. It would give you income, yet you might be able to put yourself in some in-court situations to sharpen your law chops.

    Just a few ideas for my little one!

  2. Sometimes acting like “a bitch” feels good. Too good. Other times its the easiest way. If you don’t want to get tagged with being a bitch, you have to counter balance the occasional bitchiness with almost constant smiles, jokes, bright humor and excessive cheer. It’s hard work and can get a little old after a while, at least until it become reflexive habit. Have a bad day or a blue mood and you’re in a hole. I’ve no doubt you could master it, but it would be work.

  3. LOL What ?? Have you been talking with Shaft ? He’s always accusing me of ratings gimmicks ! 🙂

    Actually, I was in the midst of the post and I got the page that some clients had a search warrant executed on them and I wanted to get out to the scene … so I just sort of stopped after I got the call. I wanted to post the post, because I wasn’t sure how long I’d be …

    Though now I will pick it back up and continue my dysfunctional overanalysis of the issue … though I feel a tangent coming on … 🙂

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *