ABA new edition guides women lawyers with essential mentoring to rise in the legal profession
The Litigation Section of the American Bar Association has published “Her Story: The Resilient Woman Lawyer’s Guide to Conquering Obstacles, Book 2,” edited by Teresa M. Beck, Alicia M. Menendez and Shayna M. Steinfeld. Like the first book, “Her Story: Lessons in Success from Lawyers Who Live It,” this new collection of insightful personal narratives is designed to provide women lawyers with powerful guidance in overcoming the obstacles they face in the legal profession. Her Story 2 is designed to not only support women lawyers in finding greater equity and fairness in their professional journey but to enable them to thrive.
The stories in Her Story 2 form a roadmap created by remarkable women lawyers who are generous and discerning in sharing the challenges they have faced and the successes that came over time in building meaningful and rewarding careers that are also fulfilling. They are also candid about their mistakes and difficult moments and how they learned from and recovered from them, and then used them to grow. There are questions at the end of each chapter to help you dive deeper, which can be shared with your book club or used as part of a networking event or personal growth circle.
The book is designed so that you can immerse yourself in a chapter or dive into an individual story. There is a richness of experience here. Her Story 2 will help you to:
• More effectively identify and overcome the hidden hazards to watch for in all law practice settings.
• Find clarity in identifying your true professional and personal priorities.
• Identify the gender bias obstacles that threaten to derail and exhaust career progress and how to navigate them.
• Recognize and overcome impostor syndrome.
• Build relationships of trust, collaboration and resilience to heal fear and anxiety.
• Find support, affirm connections and mentoring to better learn the business of law and use setbacks as opportunities for learning and new growth, and much more.
Teresa M. Beck is the managing shareholder of Arizona and Nevada for Klinedinst PC and co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee. She handles litigation in California, Arizona and Nevada. She is immediate past president of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Association and a board member of California ChangeLawyers.
Alicia M. Menendez is a senior counsel at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, a law firm with 18 offices in the United States and in London. She focuses her practice on complex product liability and commercial litigation, as well as international disputes and managing aspects of cases in mass litigation across multiple jurisdictions. Menendez actively participates in bar associations, having earned awards for her service.
Shayna M. Steinfeld is board certified by the American Board of Certification in both consumer and business bankruptcy law and is a shareholder of Steinfeld & Steinfeld, PC. She is a past president of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, a co-founder and past president of the Georgia International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation Network, a past chair of the Sole Practitioner/Small Firm Section of the Atlanta Bar and the Bankruptcy Sections of both the Atlanta Bar and the State Bar of Georgia.
The stories in Her Story 2 form a roadmap created by remarkable women lawyers who are generous and discerning in sharing the challenges they have faced and the successes that came over time in building meaningful and rewarding careers that are also fulfilling. They are also candid about their mistakes and difficult moments and how they learned from and recovered from them, and then used them to grow. There are questions at the end of each chapter to help you dive deeper, which can be shared with your book club or used as part of a networking event or personal growth circle.
The book is designed so that you can immerse yourself in a chapter or dive into an individual story. There is a richness of experience here. Her Story 2 will help you to:
• More effectively identify and overcome the hidden hazards to watch for in all law practice settings.
• Find clarity in identifying your true professional and personal priorities.
• Identify the gender bias obstacles that threaten to derail and exhaust career progress and how to navigate them.
• Recognize and overcome impostor syndrome.
• Build relationships of trust, collaboration and resilience to heal fear and anxiety.
• Find support, affirm connections and mentoring to better learn the business of law and use setbacks as opportunities for learning and new growth, and much more.
Teresa M. Beck is the managing shareholder of Arizona and Nevada for Klinedinst PC and co-chair of the firm’s Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Committee. She handles litigation in California, Arizona and Nevada. She is immediate past president of the National Conference of Women’s Bar Association and a board member of California ChangeLawyers.
Alicia M. Menendez is a senior counsel at Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP, a law firm with 18 offices in the United States and in London. She focuses her practice on complex product liability and commercial litigation, as well as international disputes and managing aspects of cases in mass litigation across multiple jurisdictions. Menendez actively participates in bar associations, having earned awards for her service.
Shayna M. Steinfeld is board certified by the American Board of Certification in both consumer and business bankruptcy law and is a shareholder of Steinfeld & Steinfeld, PC. She is a past president of the Atlanta Bar Association, the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers, a co-founder and past president of the Georgia International Women’s Insolvency and Restructuring Confederation Network, a past chair of the Sole Practitioner/Small Firm Section of the Atlanta Bar and the Bankruptcy Sections of both the Atlanta Bar and the State Bar of Georgia.
ABA book by leading trial expert helps lawyers to improve their trial skills
CHICAGO, March 11, 2024 — The American Bar Association has published “Lessons Learned from a Life on Trial: Landmark Cases from a Veteran Litigator and What They Can Teach Trial Lawyers,” by Dan Small, one of the nation’s great trial lawyers and teachers of trial skills and litigation practice. In “Lessons Learned,” Small draws on stories from landmark cases he has tried over the years to illuminate important learning and insight for trial lawyers. These lessons apply to both the trial itself and to preparation, communication and relationships outside the courtroom that help to shape the outcome. Sharing stories that entertain and draw you in, Small provides invaluable guidance to both new and experienced trial lawyers.
A partner in Holland & Knight’s Boston and Miami offices, Small is a former federal prosecutor. His extensive litigation practice focuses on witness preparation, government and internal investigations, white-collar criminal law and complex civil litigation. Small has written several books on litigation for the ABA, including “Preparing Witnesses” and “Going To Trial,” which are used in CLE programs he gives throughout the country. He is also a frequent television and radio commentator and newspaper columnist, as well as the host of Holland & Knight’s Powerful Witness Prep and Trial Lawyer’s Handbook Podcast Series.
A partner in Holland & Knight’s Boston and Miami offices, Small is a former federal prosecutor. His extensive litigation practice focuses on witness preparation, government and internal investigations, white-collar criminal law and complex civil litigation. Small has written several books on litigation for the ABA, including “Preparing Witnesses” and “Going To Trial,” which are used in CLE programs he gives throughout the country. He is also a frequent television and radio commentator and newspaper columnist, as well as the host of Holland & Knight’s Powerful Witness Prep and Trial Lawyer’s Handbook Podcast Series.
