nursinglawbandit

Do You Wear A Suit Everyday to Work?

As a nurse attorney or nurse consultant do you wear a suit to work everyday? Do you wear a suit when you meet with clients? See the following post by Tom Kane at his Legal Marketing Blog, http://www.legalmarketingblog.com/.

I don't tend to wear formal suits. If I am appearing with a client before a licensing board or participating in an investigative meeting with a licensure board, then I dress the part; Even then, I rarely wear a formal suit.

When I meet with clients, I don't wear a formal suit. I am appropriately dressed, more formal than business casual, but I don't wear a formal suit.

What's your opinion? Should attorneys and other professionals wear suits everyday to dress the part?

Will the Profession of Law and Nursing Exist in the Future?

This is a quote from the following online article, Legal Profession is on the Brink of Fundamental Change by Richard Susskind http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article2522748.ece.

"Against this backdrop, I should be honest about one issue from the outset. I do not believe lawyers are self-evidently entitled to profit from the law. As I have said before, the law is not there to provide a livelihood for lawyers any more than ill-health exists to offer a living for doctors. Successful legal business may be a bi-product of law in society, but it is not the purpose of law. And, just as numerous other industries and sectors are having to adapt to broader change, so too should lawyers."

In your opinion, does this quote apply to the practice of professional nursing? 

Professional Practice vs. A Job and a Paycheck

I renewed my membership in the Indiana State Bar Association this year and I am already reaping a reward. The ISBA offers The Complete Lawyer, an online magazine for its membership. Several state and local bar associations also offer The Complete Lawyer as a benefit of membership. See http://www.thecompletelawyer.com/volume3/issue5/index.php.

This issue discusses and questions what steps law schools can take to better prepare students for the practice of law. I think the same can be asked of nursing schools and colleges; what can nursing schools and colleges do to better prepare students for professional nursing practice?

Please note that I say "professional nursing practice." In your opinion what is professional nursing practice? Do you think we as a profession are socializing nurses in the professional practice of nursing?  

Decrease in Female Law School Applicants

Fewer women are applying to law schools according to an article that appeared in the ABA Journal-Law News Now. See http://www.abajournal.com/news/fewer_women_in_law_school/

I would recommend law school to anyone. However there are things to consider:

1. Applying to law school and being admitted, i.e. having a decent LSAT score, undergraduate GPA, etc.

2. The ranking of a law school is important especially in your earlier years and depending on where you intend to practice.

3. Your class ranking and grades are important in law school for the best job opportunities after graduation.

4. You have to make it pass the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd years of law school and actually graduate.

5. You have to apply to sit for the State Bar Exam and your Character and Fitness must pass muster. You must disclose all criminal convictions, criminal charges, and civil and administrative actions where you have been a party. You must also disclose traffic convictions. You must disclose a chemical dependency or mental health issues. You may have to disclose consumer credit issues and if you have any past due credit card balances.

6. If you are permitted to sit for the Bar Exam, you must pass the Exam (in some states its a two or two and half day exam) and a professional responsibility exam.

7. Most law school graduates have a considerable amount of undergraduate and law school debt and repayment begins after you graduate. If you request a forebearance at least pay something on the interest. Its next to impossible to discharge student loan debt in bankruptcy.

8. You need to practice and obtain legal experience. You have to find a legal position that pays you a decent wage and that you hopefully that you enjoy. There are lots of attorneys out there who don't like what they do for a living and this is a miserable bunch and you may discover (like I did) that you are included in this bunch.

9. The practice of law is demanding and you are expected to "work" the clock and bill the hours demanded. You may easily have a 50-80 hour work week consistently. I can remember crying in my office one day when my son called me at work at 8pm and asked me when was I coming home. Working weekends is typically standard. It never bothered me to work weekends because as a nurse, I was accustomed to working weekends anyway.

10. As a women and primary caregiver of your family it will be tough. Don't let anyone tell you it won't be tough. I look back on being a single parent and attending nursing and law school and I know there was more that I should have been doing with my son. I had tremendous family support from my maternal and paternal grandparents, my great grandmother, and other relatives. It was still tough.

I am not surprised that more women are deciding not to attend law school. I love practicing law and would not have done anything differently (except attend nursing and law school outside of the Cincinnati area). Women have options and for some attending law school isn't a desirable option anymore.