Issues in intellectual property December 9, 2009

In an effort to prevent this space from turning into a bridal blog (Look at me!  Look at me!  I’m getting married!), I’ve given this post a completely un-sexy, totally wonky title that has nothing to do with weddings and sounds like it could be the name of a law school course.

And now that I’ve done that, here’s the wedding blather:

I am on the hunt for The Gown.  So far, I have gone to three places, two in the District and one in Bethesda.[FN1]  I have dragged both my sister and my poor friend Mrs. H to adjudicate, and they both have been wonderfully patient and helpful.  While I haven’t yet hit upon The Gown, I have at least eliminated  several options and I have some very strong contenders.

Problem is, when I go home and look online to see the gowns I’ve tried on, I invariably find websites offering to sew me custom-made knockoffs for incredibly cheap.  (Like, incredibly.  $280 for a custom-made, silk organza gown).  Many of these websites are run by tailors in China, and having had several of my other gowns and business suits made in China, I know I can trust the quality and the craftsmanship.  In fact, my father even offered to put me in touch with his “people” to ensure I would be doing business with a reputable, professional shop.  Even if something went incredibly wrong, if I ordered something now, I’d still have time to get it fixed before my wedding.  For a savings of up to 90% (NINETY!), this is something I could do.

And yet.  There is something yucky about enjoying the expertise of the wonderful ladies who have helped me and turning around to buy the product from somebody else.  I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to the bridal salon last weekend, and I ought to reward that shop in particular for its gentle touch (read: respect of my budget).  It certainly helps that the shop had prices I readily could accept, and perhaps I should be basing my decision on that basis as well.  Buying from a shop in Bethesda, rather than from a shop in Shanghai, is my vote for a more reasonable, less inflated model of the bridal business in the United States.  And that’s worth the money.

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FN1.  I loved the place in Bethesda.  Brides-to-be: check out Terri Lynn Bridal.  It’s a great little boutique where Terri herself will help you find gowns and where she’ll show you dresses that are actually within your price range,  not $500 above.  She’s got a great variety and a great touch, and even better: her prices are very reasonable, gowns AND alterations.  I wasn’t expecting much because I had wanted to see a particular gown, which they didn’t have, but it was so worth the trip.  Go go go.

The deets June 28, 2009

So, I have a new job!  At least, I have an offer pending a security check by the FBI.  But the point is, I don’t need to keep looking for other jobs.  How exciting!  Here’s a brief outline of what my job is and how it went down:

My job: working in international trade at the Department of the Treasury.  Using my law degree by reviewing regulations, facilitating corporate transactions, and offering advice.

How it went down: the old boys’ network.  Seriously.  I emailed a white, male, graduate of an Ivy League institution and I found my job.  This is ironic because I am neither white nor male.  Of course, I didn’t contact this particular alumnus (we’ll call him Mr. Awesome) simply because he was white, male, and Ivied.  Rather, I contacted him because he was one of many alumni signed up for a networking program through my university and I was looking for anyone who would help.  Of the many people I emailed, Mr. Awesome was the most helpful.[FN1]  He told me about a vacancy at his office and he put my resume in front of the hiring director.  I had to pass through two rounds of interviews, but having him flag my application out of the hundreds of others is what really got me in the door.

And for that, I will be forever grateful.

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FN1.  Incidentally, my law school network was not helpful at all.  It was very disappointing and almost upsetting.  I emailed the officers of the DC chapter of my law school alumni association (i.e., people who would expect to get networking emails), and all I got were very lukewarm responses.  They did tell me, though, about how I could help them by organizing more alumni events around town.  Nice.

Horses sweat June 10, 2009

…men perspire, ladies glow.

Unless you are the Snappy Dish.  The Snappy Dish does not glow or perspire – she sweats profusely.  Lately this has become a problem.  I run almost everyday, and in the DC humidity I’ve found that I’m often still sweating after my shower.  This makes make-up a rather frustrating endeavor.  I wash my face, apply sunscreen, and watch my cheeks get shiny all over again.  It’s my version of Sisyphean woe.  Especially when my skin decides to break out on the day of an important interview.

Thank God for Shiseido.

(Psst, this is when you recommend ways of dealing with the humidity.  Savvy make-up tricks, special cuts of fabric – bring it.)

Self-help May 18, 2009

This American Life recently rebroadcast a piece in which a woman describes how her Iranian father sought guidance from that most American of genres: the self-help book.  She’s horrified to admit it, but Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus changed her father’s life and saved her parents’ marriage.

Lately I’ve been engaging in some self-help of my own, and the subtle manner in which it has crept up on me is both unnerving and reassuring.  Unnerving because, oy, who wants to admit she’s been relying on self-help?  Comforting because, well, there’s a reason why they call it self-help: it’s helpful.  So despite my hipster embarrassment, I confess I have been listening to both J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Commencement Address at Harvard and Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture.

I know, I know.  It’s so saccharine I’m ashamed of myself.  But hey, I’ve always been of the mind that if you’re going to do something, you have to do it right.  And there’s little out there that is more motivational than reminders to cultivate your imagination and to bust through brick walls.

Plus, it’s cheaper than drugs.

Attitude May 17, 2009

Finding a job is really about attitude, I’m starting to think.  Mine is probably not the best, I’m also starting to think.  Deep down, I know I will get a job, but I’ve not really thought about it in any positive way.  For example, I don’t think, “when I get a job,”  but “if I get a job, which certainly will be forever from now, and this recession really s#$(, and f*$@ this f*@($&# s*$^.”

The difference reminds me of when I was an intern at a federal court and fretting about the quality of my work.  I was drafting an opinion for the judge and being excruciatingly thorough.  Once I expressed my anxiety to my fellow intern, “I really need to get this right.  ‘Cause what if I were appealed?  How terrible that would be.”

Said he, “But, dude, you could be affirmed.”

Relativity May 16, 2009

Last week I attended an alumni event for my college and fell in love with the place all over again.  The night started off with an older alum’s reminder to network, network, network, and to remember that we mustn’t feel shy about contacting other alumni about jobs.  Taking his advice to heart, I immediately found a gentleman who’d been practicing employment law for more than thirty years and sat him down.  During our somewhat lengthy conversation, another alumnus cut in and had the following questions:

Interloper:  I’m sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to know, for a mid-career transition, do you think it’s a good idea to go to law school?

Alumnus and myself (in unison): No.

Interloper:  Really?

Alumnus:  Really.

Interloper: But I’m working in newspapers.

Alumnus: Oh.  Well, then…maybe.

Something zany April 6, 2009

It’s been a little over a week since I started my contract gig, and I’ve enjoyed my return to the working world.  Every morning I log in, and every evening I log out.  It’s nice.

But it’s temporary, so still I crawl on my odyssey of employment.  There’s been some movement on my inquiry at the Commerce Department, and today I got word that the Office of Personnel Management did, in fact, receive that fat envelope I sent them five weeks ago.  Nearly two months into the Quest, however, I wonder if I should shake things up a bit.  The Department of Agriculture announced today an Attorney position at one of its food safety divisions, and I’ve already drafted my cover letter.   I wonder, though, if I should add just a little bit more about how much I love food, how much I care about its origins…and how much I revel in the splendor of a good chili dog.

Levers March 28, 2009

1L year, one of the more neurotic members of my class came over to my table in the library to blow off some steam.  We didn’t know it at the time, but he eventually would make law review and then secure a federal clerkship.  Had I known that he would meet with such wonderful success, I probably wouldn’t have offered him my advice for staying calm during finals.  I probably would have pestered him for advice instead.

But I didn’t know, so I indulged him his neuroses as he lamented always feeling like he was trying to come from behind.  He wished that he felt more secure in his work, and that he could just study rather than fret & study.[FN1]  Having been knocked down a few times in my life, I tried to direct his attention away from his all-consuming anxiety.[FN2]  I reminded him that there was more to the job hunt than just grades (ha!), and that we all had different levers we could pull to find ourselves the jobs we wanted.    Some people had stellar grades, other people had stellar experience.  It was just up to him to remember that if one of his levers didn’t work, then he’d have to learn to pull another.  In my ripe old age of twenty-six, I thought I had answered one of life’s most persistent questions.

And then I didn’t get the grades I wanted, so I thought my advice a huge pile of horse dung.  I saw nothing but failure and rejection, “other levers” be damned.  My perspective was so skewed that I didn’t even notice that I did, eventually, pull a non-GPA lever to get my job at Papa Law: my international experience.  Papa Law was trying to grow its Asia practice and they just about fainted when I walked in the door.  In retrospect it all seems so silly, now that they’ve scaled back tremendously and sent me back home.  But at the time I thought, “Lookit that.  I was right about those levers.”

And lately it seems I’ve been right again.  Thousands, literally thousands, of Associates have been ushered out the BigLaw doors.  Most of them have considerably more experience than I, since I’d been at work only a month.  What I have instead, however, are foreign language skills and the self-possession to know that work is work, and that no effort is ever wasted in the pursuit of knowledge and learning.  Pull those other levers.

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FN1.  For those of you who already have guessed this young man’s identity, you and I both know the absurdity of his wish.  Bless his heart, but he really has no other state than “fret & ____.”

FN2.  I admit it; I didn’t know him that well at the time.

Identity March 28, 2009

Earlier this year, I had a clear identity as a BigLaw Associate.  Then I was thrust into another, but just as distinct, identity as a Casualty of the Recession.  Now I am working as a contract attorney, so I’ve landed somewhere in between.  A little bit Associate and a little bit Casualty, my everyday existence is a mottled kind of normal.

To wit, I have my own office again.  Seriously.  I’m getting paid by the hour and I don’t have any benefits, but I have my own office and a name plate on my door.  I find this dangerous.  Yeah, they went to the trouble of setting me up, but it’s really no problem to slap a name plate on the wall.  I know this because they spelled my name wrong on the door and then fixed it within a day.  So even though I have a cushy little set-up, it’s really nothing more than window dressing.  I am a contract attorney, I am not an Associate, and I cannot forget to keep on doing other applications.  I cannot delude myself into thinking that I am at work again; I have to keep hustling.

Chatty Cathy March 25, 2009

There’s nothing like the prospect of employment to inspire some blogging.  Tomorrow I begin a short-term stint as a contract attorney for a law firm downtown, and even though I will be earning far less than what I was earning six weeks ago, at least I will be earning.  The firm expects the gig to go on for quite a while (think: months), so if that happens then I’m in good shape.  I’m especially lucky that I landed this job before the end of the month because I won’t have any gaps on my resume.  February 2009 in San Diego rolls right into March 2009 in Washington.  Nice.

What makes it even more surprising is that contract work is especially slow at the moment.  Apparently the only way to get a contract job in DC is to speak, read, and write Chinese.  Lucky for me, I do.  Or, at least, I do well enough to get by on a Chinese language doc review.  It’s been a while since I flexed my foreign language, so I’m nervous that the work will be very rough going at first.  As I progress, however, oh boy.  Think of how elegantly I’ll be able to say, “I’ll sue your ass!” in Mandarin.