Coffee Break: Cagney Pump

96 Comments

1. I just started watching Scandal on Netflix- why did I wait so long to watch it?! It’s amazing, and I’m obsessed with Olivia Pope’s wardrobe. She seems to wear a lot of long gloves, which looks amazing on screen, but I suspect wouldn’t translate well to real life

   1. I am committed to getting a winter white wrap coat this year. Just saying.

   2. her wine dreaming wardrobe is my dream wardrobe for all life situations

   3. I think I might have to get Netflix so I can watch Scandal from the beginning and old episodes of Gilmore Girls (plus the new eps whenever they arrive). I already have cable, Hulu (for Mindy, and I really like their new original series Casual), and Amazon Prime (mostly for the shipping, but still). I feel like it’s ridiculous to add Netflix into the mix as well but I really want to watch Scandal…

      1. Can’t you watch Scandal from the beginning on Hulu? I did

         1. I only see the current season (Season 5) there….I haven’t watched it at all so I want to start from Season 1 Episode 1.

            1. Check it out of your public library for free.

            2. If you binge watch it’s cheaper to get Netflix for a month than to buy a DVD player if you don’t have one.

            3. Ooh yeah, I should see if the library has it. I don’t have a dedicated DVD player but an Xbox will play DVDs and so will my laptop.

            4. I have season 1 on DVD on hold at the library! Thanks, Anon at 2:58, my wallet thanks you!

            5. Yeah! Good for you.

2. Looking for some organizing and moving-prep tips–we just bought a house after years of renting and are on track to move in early December. We’ll only be moving a few blocks, but I’d love suggestions on small ways to prepare for the move and/or ensure that the process is organized. Assume that acquiring boxes and filing a COA form is already taken care of–I’m looking for your ninja-level tips!

   1. – Go through your belongings for donations/throwaways ruthlessly NOW – nothing worse than packing at the last minute, knowing you’re packing things you don’t need and want to get rid of, but lacking time to do anything other than throw them into boxes.

      – Will you have a period of time where you overlap between your apt. and the new place? If so, consider:

      – refraining from packing super fragile items, and putting them somewhere out of the way on moving day (kitchen cabinets are great for this), and then, after the dust has settled in the new home, carefully load and drive them to the new place yourself.
      – prior to your move, setting up one bathroom with shower curtain, TP, toiletries, etc, and stocking the fridge with water/sodas/other beverages. If you won’t have any overlap, I’d pack an overnight bag with these items as well as a set of sheets/blankets so you’re not ripping boxes apart to find your bedding after a long day.
      – having cleaners come in prior to the move to do a “deep clean” – scrubdown of cabinet interiors, blinds, baseboards, etc – that’s really hard to do well once all of your stuff is in there. Yes, you’ll need to vacuum and mop after the movers are gone, but at least you won’t feel like you’re putting away your dishes in someone else’s dust.

      – I printed a few sheets of labels at work with room labels and sequential #s (5 of each # per room), erring on the side of too many, so that I didn’t have to keep track of a Sharpie and labeling boxes – instead, I just slapped a label on each side of the box, and ultimately wrote down each new room’s box total. Made for easy confirmation that nothing was forgotten/left on the truck.

      – Make your cable/internet/etc. appointments now for your preferred time on moving day, if having such things is important immediately. I worked from home on the day after my move, so having working wifi was essential. Note this will require someone to be at the new place to let the tech in, and then hovering nearby the tech if he/she has any questions, but I was able to multitask directing furniture near the front door while talking to the tech.

      – Make sure you know the expectations to get your security deposit back. If you’re expected to leave the place clean, consider hiring cleaners to come in after you’ve emptied the rental.

   2. You don’t need to move the spices/dry goods from your kitchen, or the OTC meds/toiletries from your bathroom. They are all expired anyway. Start fresh at the new place!

   3. I don’t know if you’ve already looked at this but Kat posted a Type-A guide to moving which is amazing. I’ll post a link in the reply so I don’t get caught in moderation.

      1. https://corporette.com/2011/05/04/the-type-a-guide-to-moving/

   4. Lock up/prepack and put in your car/take to your friend’s or parent’s house/safe deposit box anything valuable/irreplaceable. I’ve had two friends who’ve had irreplaceable photos/home videos stolen. I think the thieves were after the equipment stored with the photos. The thieves were probably well-vetted moving company employees but it could have been a passer-by with all the confusion of move day . That was truly sad. Also had one friend who had heirloom jewelry taken – also too sad.

      So, in advance of the move, decide what to take and box up ahead of time. If you use your car, be careful and store it there only on the day of the move to eliminate having your car stolen – as my brother did with his possessions inside while he was in the hotel during the trip.

   5. I try to take a week’s worth of work clothes to the dry cleaners the week before the move so that the first week in new place it’s all on a hanger and ready to wear. Makes getting ready for work when you don’t know quite where everything is so much easier. You could also do this by just planning a week’s of clothes ahead and pressing, whatever.

      If you can, try to take off a day or two off on either end of your move to pack/unpack. It’s worth it.

      If you have furniture you’re not taking, look into donating it or post a “free to take” add on Craig’s List. Last time we moved I donated furniture to a local charity org., and they came to pick it up and were able to also take a bunch of clothing/books/housewares donations which they normally don’t pick up but will do if they come for furniture. Next time we move I will find some piece to donate to them just for the convenience of having all the rest picked up.

   6. When moving and putting 1/2 of my stuff in storage and the other half staying with me, I had a few techniques:

      1) All boxes were sequentially labeled and color coded. Mine were color coded by storage vs. coming, but you could color code by room. The different color made it easier to spot the number from the crossed out list of things written on the boxes, and made it clearer to movers what went where. I just had post-it notes and a sharpie, but labels could also work.
      2) The contents of each box were stored in an Evernote file. This made it SEARCHABLE, which saved me on numerous occasions. And it made it easier to reference from far away, when shopping to remember what I had packed, etc.
      3) I also had an excel spreadsheet so I could do counts by color and total item counts easily, which made day of moving easier to compare with what the movers did.

   7. Don’t assume that this move will somehow be easier than a longer distance move. Both I and my parents bought into that delusional thinking and tried to do stupid things like moving a carload of stuff every few days or hiring movers just for the “big” stuff. Treat it like a regular move and do it all at once. Don’t try to do it in little bits – it just drags it out and makes it all the more miserable!

      Happy moving!

3. Eh, these look dated to me. Better to go with the 3″ heel and no platform.

   I’ve recently gone in-house, and have a new-to-me problem: finding motivation when you don’t yet have enough work to fill your day (which, even at capacity, is less work than Firm level!). When I only have one agreement to mark up and 16 hours to fill, it’s easy to spend too much time browsing aimlessly online, etc. I know in 6 months, when I’m ramped up, I’ll look back and tell myself to stop whining, but it’s hard to get myself into “go mode” without a long to-do list that won’t get done unless I get started NOW. Advice?

   1. Write an article? Take an online course? Do NaNoWriMo?

   2. I would spend time learning a skill or practice area that is ancillary to yours. So if you’re corporate, focus on commercial contracts or privacy/data security. Something like that. If you really delve into PLI, PLC, law firm blog posts and news alerts, you can learn a surprising amount in a short time.

      Also, I would take time to notice in-house practices and see if any of them could be streamlined or just research them so you better understand them. Or reach out to your business unit counterparts and go to lunch or coffee to build rapport.

      Is their any compliance stuff you could do? Annual calendaring or the like? It’s nice to have all those deadlines down so they are easy to spot in advance….

   3. What about pro bono work?

4. I’m beginning to prepare for an interview with the Department of Justice honors program next week. I wondered if anyone from the Hive has gone through this or similar government interviews and might have wisdom to shar.

   And any advice about interviews in general would also be welcome; I’ve done lots of interviews with law firms, but I’ve been out of the game during my three years of clerking. I worry about striking the balance between sounding genuine and sounding saccharine, especially for things like civil rights and consumer protection: I really do want to help people! …and also to learn how to litigate like a boss and hit the ground running. I’m concerned that pontificating about public service will make me sound like a less serious candidate somehow. Any help would be so appreciated.

   1. …share, not shar, obv.

   2. You don’t need to talk about helping people or public service — you want to focus on everything you learned in your clerkship and how you will be able to hit the ground running to litigate cases. Talk about the courtroom, trials, motions, how you can’t wait to be lead counsel, how you’re willing to travel and work hard. I suspect the clerkship is what got you the interview, so work with that.

   3. not at Justice, but at another agency with an honors program. we definitely want people who have a commitment to public service – but it helps if you can articulate the ways in which you hope to honor that commitment, like work you’ve previously done in school or in clerking that have helped shape your perception of the value of public service and what you bring to the table.

      1. +1. I’ve interviewed people for biglaw and public service jobs, and for public service jobs you need to be able to articulate a commitment to public service. If you say you’re coming in for trial experience so you can go do something else, you will not be a successful candidate.

         Don’t pontificate, but be able to express some passion for public service;

         Understand that unlike law firm interviews as a law student, this isn’t simply about personality — be able to talk about projects you’ve done, things you’ve learned, and how you’ve showed your commitment to you work (example — people who summered at a government office and bragged about working on a big case but never followed-up to know how it was resolved do not impress me); and

         Expect hypotheticals. Most likely, they won’t have a clear right or wrong answer — they’re testing how you think and your ethics.

   4. understand and know the agency’s mission statement–be able to talk about it and how it aligns with you personally

   5. Skip the cliche lines about having always wanted to help people, etc. What the interviewer will want to know is that you are committed to public service and will not be using the program to jump to a law firm.

   6. Yay! These are great pump’s! I am goeing to show the manageing partner b/c they are CLOSED toe’s! As for the OP, when I was in law school, I tried out for the Justice Department, but I did NOT get an offer. I do NOT know why, b/c I even had a writeing sampel when others did NOT have one. Dad think’s that it was b/c I was to pretty for the job. I told dad that most of the women looked like men w/long hair, so I do not think they liked me.

      I was VERY busy today prepareing 3 brief’s which I submitted electronically to the Court. I had to do it all myself b/c Lynn never came in. I think she is MAD b/c Mason can’t come in any more. She said she was not feeleing well today, but I think she was fine.

      The manageing partner want’s me to study to mabye branch off into another legal area. He want’s to see if there is any busness doieing Corporate Investigation’s. He think’s that I am a great investigeator, so I can do internal investigeation’s for corporation’s, b/c they can NOT do it themselve’s IN HOUSE. The manageing partner think’s inhouse peeople love giving us work so that they can go home at 5:00 every day while we stay late (BTW–I am STILL at work!) FOOEY!

5. So I’m looking at refinancing my law school loans. I know nothing about this. I’ve been diligently throwing out those flyers that come in the mail for 4 years out of delusions of getting a gov job and loan forgiveness. I have 4 loans, and one of the smaller ones is at 8.5%. Should I pay this one off first before trying to refinance? Will it get me a better interest rate? Also, I may get a raise for Jan 1. Would that lower my possible interest rate? I have no idea what factors they look at and I’d like to know what to ask before I get on the phone! Thanks!

   1. I would refinance as quickly as possible–especially the one at 8.5%! Some loans can’t be consolidated with other loans and the interest rate on the refi may depend on the original interest rate of the loan, though.

      Unless you are on an IBR plan, your income does not factor into your interest rate. It would be better to check your credit report and make sure there are no errors affecting your credit score.

      The best place to start would be to get some online quotes from the various lenders. People here have had good experiences with Sofi. Maybe someone can post a referral link?

      1. Income doesn’t matter, that is very helpful to know. I may be able to pay the 8.5% one off completely at the end of the year, so I was waiting to see if that pans out just in case they average the rates of all 4 loans or weight them or something. Though maybe that doesn’t make sense at all and I just made that up.

   2. i honestly can’t speak to the benefits of paying one off vs. refi’ing – you have too many personal variables. But I did a refi through SoFi and it’s like a dream. I’m literally saving about 33%, or $120, per month. They’ll give me and you a little bonus ($50?) and they may send you a pie – yes, a pie – if you sign up, so lemme know if you’re interested and we can communicate via email.

      1. we just did this and we got pie!! I didn’t understand it, but once i finally did, i was insanely happy. And FWIW, we re financed about 30k of MBA loans that were at 6.5% with 7 years left down to 3.25% and a 5 year loan. Our monthly payment is slightly higher ($25?) but in truth, we paid an extra $50-100/month on top of the montly payment under the old loan and will continue on the new loans…

         short answer: refi immediately if your balance is high. For a $3k loan you plan to pay off in 2 months, probably not worth the paperwork.

6. I bought my woodworking father a custom branding iron from Rockler. It has a nice design + his initials so he can personalize his projects.

   1. Oooh this is a great idea for my boyfriend as well, might steal it!

   2. The woodworking angle reminds me of my father. He likes to collect antique tools, like chisels and such. (He used to make bent wood furniture using no power tools whatsoever.)

   3. I don’t know what this related to, but thanks for the gift idea! Perfect for someone on my list.

7. Can anyone recommend a good drugstore deep conditioner? My hair is slightly wavy, dry at the ends and gets a little knotty. Thanks in advance!

   1. the 3 minute miracle by Aussie. Also, I LOVE the kirkland brand sulfate free conditioner.

      1. Second both of these, they are my favorite inexpensive ones.

   2. I love the EverPure deep conditioners.

   3. Neutrogena Triple Moisture is my favorite. There’s a regular conditioner and a mask.

      1. +1 – this was the first heavy conditioner I used (the one that came in a jar, rather than a bottle) and it was magical how much of a difference it made. I use the bumble & bumble super-rich conditioner now.

8. There was a really interesting article about women and being competitive this weekend in the NYT. Did anyone else read it?

   1. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/01/opinion/sunday/why-women-compete-with-each-other.html

   2. Yes, I did! I was skeptical at first because I hate that when women are competitive it’s a bad thing, whereas when men are competitive we encourage it. But a lot of it really rang true to me… It ended up helping me recognize/attempt to release some of the jealously I’ve bottled up inside.

9. I’m looking for ponte knit pants to wear this winter in my business casual office. I really like the Eileen Fisher pair I bout a few years ago but don’t want to spend $200 this time around. It looks like Vince Camuto, J. Jill, NYDJ, Lands End, and Express have a number of styles in the $50-$70 dollar range.

   Does anyone have experience with these brands and can recommend or not recommend a brand?

   Thanks!

   1. Also interested, TIA!

   2. I like my Betabrand pants.

   3. I haven’t tried Land’s End ponte knit pants, but I have some ponte knit dresses that are workhorses, wash up great, and even the black doesn’t fade.

   4. I have a pair from Lands End. They are fine – nothing super special about them one way or another. I don’t wear them all that often, because they are fairly fitted and I don’t have many long shirts. But they’ve held up well enough for me. Since I tend to wear them with long shirts, if I were to buy another pair I would probably look for ones without belt loops and zipper (more pull on legging-like, but still pants), since the loops and zipper make it look less smooth.

      I wouldn’t pay full price for anything at Land’s End, because every time you turn around they are having a 20% off or more sale. Sign up for emails with a throw-away email address because they email me 4-5 times a week with promos.

   5. I have ponte (or similar) trousers from Lands End that have held up brilliantly in my darwinian laundry system. I’m planning on getting a slim cut pair.

      Ditto never pay full price at LE.

      1. LOVE Lands End ponte pants. And love you description of Darwinian laundry-I have no time for labels, so my clothes need to be tough-and Lands End has held up for me.

   6. I just ordered the ponte knit pants from Athleta. Read the reviews because they indicate that sizing may be a little off, but they sound like what you’re talking about.

   7. I tried on the JJill ones the other day, and will be ordering them once they get marked down. The black and tan ones were a nice thick ponte and draped well. The Herringbone, while an attractive pattern, was a looser fabric and looked and felt like it would stretch like crazy. The waist band on all were a little funky, not stitched down all the way across the back, so I don’t know if that would cause it to roll.

      I work in a business casual, government office, and they would be appropriate for my workplace, but I feel like they skewed to the casual side.

      The ones I tried on were the full leg, not the straight, and they definitely had dark brown and beechwood in the store, although they are only showing black online.

10. PSA. For those who love Warby Parker, there’s a promo on Gilt City right now. They also just opened up a second DC location.

    1. Thank you!

    2. I stopped by the Georgetown store last night. Super pleased! The people were nice and helpful, the manager helped with an issue with my existing frames, and it was clean. Only complaint is it’s a little bright and hard to take photos of yourself wearing the frames, so bring a friend if you want a second opinion.

11. These shoes are hideous and totally inappropriate for a law firm, at least.

    1. These would be totally fine for my Biglaw firm. They are plain, black shoes. Nobody would bat an eyelid.

    2. I don’t think they’re particularly attractive shoes, but they’re so plain and otherwise subdued that the heel height doesn’t render them inappropriate for my firm. If they were the same height and covered in silver glitter it would be a different story…

    3. I wouldn’t say *totally* inappropriate – but these are the type of heels that I saw on the marketing/HR interns at my Biglaw firm, not on the associates. They’re not so bad that you need to talk to the person about being work-inappropriate – they just look young/immature to me with the combination of the round toe, platform, and inexpensive leather, as well as a little dated.

       1. This is a great description. They’re not “inappropriate” but they also don’t scream “experienced” and “polished”

       2. Ugh, this drives me nuts. Yes, those trashy marketing and HR interns who help make sure, you know, the firm has enough staff, help bring in work, make sure benefits are administered… I saw a lawyer-friend recently, and she commented how she carries a jacket because she wants people to know “she’s an attorney and not staff”. Like jackets somehow make people more or less special. I’ve been wearing suits since my first job…

          1. I’m not saying some lawyers don’t look down on staff, but she said an HR/marketing *intern* — in this case drawing a distinction between a very young, inexperienced employee (likely a college student or recent graduate) and a full-time employee who is at least three years out of college.

             1. I have friends in law school who have never seen the inside of a professional office. So, sure, 3 years out of law school, but zero office job time.

          2. Really? It’s controversial that staff usually dress less formally and conservatively than lawyers? Or that a female lawyer wants to be recognized as such at her workplace?

             1. It’s just a jerk thing to imply. Presumably everybody is a professional in most office settings, JD or not, and all women should be treated with the professional respect they deserve.

12. Can anyone recommend pumps with a broader heel? (More like a stacked heel, but I’m not seeing many like that these days.) I’m in academia and the endless brick pathways of my new workplace are destroying my Cole Haan pumps with little pointy heels. If I’m not super, super careful the heels go between the cracks in the brick, so that the little cap on the end of the heel comes off, or the whole leather-wrapped part of the heel gets ripped up. I want to wear pumps but I don’t want to pick my way at half my normal walking speed!

    1. Modcloth has a good selection of wedges, block heels, and shoes with wider heels. Some are probably a bit too twee for what you’re looking for, but they also carry a number of basics that seem like they’d fit the bill for you.

       I also have a pair of Rockport wedges that I adore and wear anytime I have to do a lot of walking in heels – link to follow.

       1. Okay, they don’t make the ones I have anymore, but these are similar: http://www.rockport.com/total-motion-low-wedge/tm45mwplainpump.html?dwvar_tm45mwplainpump_color=tm45mwplainpump_black

    2. I find the UK brands are doing that this year. a chunkier heel. Whistles, Hobbs etc…..

    3. Is there a Fluevog shop near you? They tend to have sturdy heels, and the funky styles would probably work well in academia.

    4. Lands End actually has a couple cute pairs

    5. Look at Clarks. My absolute all time favorite pair of heels is from there and they have a bunch of stacked or more solid heels.

    6. I’m an academic too, and I live in Cole Haan Tali wedges. I have 4-5 pairs. Super comfortable (even for teaching 3-hour classes), don’t look frumpy, don’t show wear. The ones sold exclusively at Nordstrom are especially nice-looking.

    7. Wow, thanks for all the ideas! I wouldn’t have thought of these brands. I’m especially surprised that Clarks seems to have some in 3″+ that look really comfortable.

13. What do you use to dry out shoes? The internet is suggesting newspapers, cat litter, and tea bags. I’m open to homemade or purchased products.

    The pumps in question are particularly prone to staying moist after wearing, even after 2-3 days of non-use in well-ventilated area. Material is leather outer, synthetic inner.

    1. Newspapers and cat litter, sure – anything that’s a desiccant, really. You could probably use rice, or baking soda (for the added de-odorfication factor) in a meshy/cotton bag too.

       Tea bags are a new suggestion for me.

    2. Newspaper will dry them out overnight. In high school it was a nightly ritual when it got cold/extra moisture on grass to stuff cleats with newspaper every night … dry as could be the next morning!

       1. ETA: I imagine newspaper might also stain the shoe if it’s light colored.. so just be careful!

          1. They are lightly colored, so good point there!

             Did you loosely crumple it or tightly pack it in?

             1. I think you can go either way. I’ve used newspaper to help dispel smoke-smell from a purse I received as well – if I remember right I think I just loosely balled a few pieces in it.

14. Help me shop! What’s your favorite flat shoe for winter (to be worn with pants and socks)? Basically I’m looking for the winter equivalent of ballet flats. I’m thinking oxfords but the ones I’m finding look very masculine. Budget is under $100.

    1. I’ve been looking for a winter equivalent to ballet flats for years and finally this year settled on some flat ankle boots. I don’t love them, but they do the job of being comfortable, covering my foot, and working with my shorter inseam pants/jeans. I’ve checked out oxfords too but agree with you that many (most?) look very masculine and wouldn’t work with the outfits I was envisioning.

       1. I have the Tahari Latrice oxford (often on sale at Macy’s, I got mine when they were marked down to $67). They’re comfortable, snazzy-looking, and I think the rather pointed toe and narrower look make them sleek and save them from being too masculine. I have a minor bunion and generally need a shoe on the wider side of medium width, and while they look more narrow, they’re very comfortable on my feet. I get lots of compliments when I wear them.

    2. Sam Edelman has a nice “smoking slipper” look this year. In gnereal, I’ve seen a few of these from various designers…..

       1. I had a pair of very similar loafers, which haven’t worked for me. Aside from being old enough to not be able to fully shake the idea that they are absolutely positively uncool, they didn’t give me what I wanted from a winter shoe: the ability to wear socks and skinny jeans without feeling like Steve Urkle.

          So I’m going for flat short boots this year.

    3. I’ve settled on Chelsea boots

15. I am having difficulty with an assistant. I find that she is interested in doing things like booking lunch appointments, gossip, offering to buy me cough drops, for me but not so much in doing what I tell her to do (drafting letters etc). The speed of work being completed is also incredibly slow and poor. She’s used to working with male lawyers who presumably like the cough drop fetching, dentist appointment booking kind of stuff. I have no interest in that but I would like her to get my correspondence out. Other lawyers have commented to me that she is bitter about the placement. (Previous placement was with a conventionally attractive male lawyer with a very different practice to mine). Thoughts as to what I should do? I feel like she is taking it personally that I don’t want her doing the part of her job that she was presumably good at and that she views working for me as a demotion. HR for whatever reason won’t consider doing anything until at least two more months.

    1. The only thing I can think of is positive reinforcement. Tell her you enjoy working with her, and she is good at X, Y and Z. You realize she did more of X and Y while she was working for Foxy Man Lawyer, but you hope to give her a few more challenging jobs that will help her expand her skillset, such as A, B and C. Then give her the jobs you need her to do, and give her a ton of feedback for one week. Then hopefully she’ll catch on and rise to the challenge. If not, then you have great reason to say to HR that it’s not the right fit, despite addressing the issues head-on, and encouraging her to take on the work.

       1. This is great advice.

          I’d also let her get you cough drops etc now and then. We all like to do what we know we’re good at.

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