By Chere B. Estrin The Guide Written After 30 Years of Watching People Sabotage Their Dream Jobs (And Learning How to Fix It.) Let me tell you a secret about paralegal job hunting - and lean in here - most people are doing it wrong.Not disastrously wrong, not “please don’t ever tell anyone you know me” wrong, but wrong enough that they torpedo opportunities they could have nailed...
By Chere B. Estrin I still remember one of my first big trials. It was 11:30 p.m. the night before opening statements. The “war room” looked like it had been hit by a legal tornado: exhibit boxes everywhere, sticky notes stuck to the coffee pot, and a stack of witness binders that seemed to multiply overnight. Somewhere, an attorney was pacing, muttering about a missing exhibit. And then,...
I received an email recently from a colleague I hadn’t spoken to in years. She opened with: “It’s nice to see you’re still around.” Still around? Holy moly. What was she saying, “You’re not dead yet”? “You haven’t retired to Boca Raton”? “You’re still relevant (shockingly)”? That one little sentence carried the kind of sting that so many women of a certain age know...
Let’s face it. Updating your resume ranks right up there with root canals, jury duty, and explaining TikTok to your mother. You know it has to be done, but the second you open that dusty Word file, you suddenly find yourself scrubbing grout or alphabetizing the spice rack. Anything, literally anything, is better than staring at bullet points that make you sound like you spent the last decade...
Do you want to stay competitive? By Chere Estrin Let’s be honest: if your state doesn't require CLE, most people won’t touch it with a ten-foot pole. But that’s like saying you won’t go to the dentist until your tooth falls out. CLE (Continuing Legal Education) isn’t just about credits—it’s about staying sharp, staying marketable, and staying employed. And for those...
What’s really keeping legal professionals in jobs they hate. And how to break free. By Chere Estrin Let me guess. You wake up, drag yourself out of bed, gulp down that cup of burned office coffee, and dread logging into yet another pointless Zoom meeting run by someone whose idea of leadership is reading PowerPoint slides aloud, badly. But you show up anyway. Every. Single. Day. Why? Because...
My wonderful husband! How to Vacation Without Falling into the Guilt Trap By Chere B. Estrin It was that time again: vacation time. God, what a drag. It meant I had to leave work and go have fun. I don’t have time to have fun. Who scheduled this? Still, my wonderful husband had been dealing with some health issues lately, and stress was clinging to us like a client who found your cell...
By Chere Estrin Not too much shakes me up anymore. OK, someone constantly talking over me is extremely annoying. Why? I feel like I am being run over by a steamroller of ego, wrapped in entitlement, and dusted with a light coating of "I know better than you." And I lose control—of meetings, interviews, or whatnot. I had a colleague who constantly did that until I realized that, lo and behold,...
By Chere B. Estrin I was lightly skipping (OK, doom-scrolling) through some industry articles the other day, looking for a couple of solid stats for my blog: The Estrin Report. You know, the usual “safe and boring” data I like to sprinkle in to show that, yes, I do my homework: Paralegal field projected to grow 1% 82% of paralegals are female Top-paying cities are still the usual suspects:...
By Chere Estrin The other day, I got an email from someone I used to work with years ago. Sweet woman. We hadn’t spoken in a long time. Her message started with, “I’m so glad to know you’re still around.” Still around? Are you kidding me? I wanted to respond with, “Thanks, I didn’t realize I was one step from a commemorative plaque.” If you’ve heard this too, welcome to...
