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Updated: Oct 30, 2018 181 Comments · by

Coffee Break: Kate Satchel

Coffee Break

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This bag from Steven Alan comes in both merlot and ink green, and I kind of love the latter color. The satchel itself is very ladylike, and it reminds me of bags we've featured that were in the four-digit range, although it's a lot more affordable at $395. It has a top handle as well as a removable crossbody strap, and it comes with a dust bag. It's a good-sized bag at 10.25″ x 12.5″ x 4.75″, so if you're on the hunt for something that size, the bag is available at Shopbop, Steven Alan (in black), and Amazon, where there's one left in tan, on sale. Nordstrom has the Kate backpack and mini backpack for $350-$395. Kate Satchel Here are two lower-priced options. This post contains affiliate links and Corporette® may earn commissions for purchases made through links in this post. For more details see here. Thank you so much for your support!

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About Kat

Kat Griffin is the founder, publisher, and editor-in-chief of Corporette. You can read more about her here.

Comments

  1. Dallas

    Need help.

    been working at a medium-size law firm, was brought in as a “support” attorney, approx 8 months ago, but very quickly caught on, plus the attorney that i was meant to support is pretty junior too. He is overwhelmed, so management decided to split his case load between the two of us – now i have half of his cases as my own, with my own paralegal – same as him, he has one paralegal. this is fast moving for this company, but makes sense given the situation.
    this happened about a month ago. I’ve been asking my managing partner about “comp” for a while-keep getting told he needs to talk to CEO…i’ve basically taken on all the responsibility, for no pay increase. I LOVE my job and this company and don’t want to rock the boat, but do I need to reach out above my bosses head? I’m def. getting screwed – i know (because my colleague told me) that the non-support attorneys make a lot more, base, plus a percentage, while I just make a flat salary now.
    I have yet to bring in any $ to the firm, but i anticipate i will within the next week.

    help!

    • Anonymous

      Seems like a great thing to address at your annual review in a few months.

    • Ellen

      I need a support attorney, and have for some time, ever since we had to fire Mason, but the manageing partner actually wants ME to do the work b/c he can bill me out at my Partner’s rate of $950/hour instead of the $350/ hour Mason brought in. I told him Mason was useless (other then to keep Lynn happy) and that I am workeing TOO many hours, but he just sees dollar signs when I bill 100-150 hours, and does NOT want to give up the cash flow! FOOEY!

    • AK

      Land the client next week (since you anticipate this being pretty soon). When you tell your boss about this success, use the conversation as a springboard to discuss the need to adjust your comp due to the evolution of your role and revenue you’re bringing in the door. If they need to talk to the CEO, tell him that you’ll follow up with him on date X (7-10 days out) to hear about next steps. If you get the same run around at that point, either move the discussion up the management chain or start looking elsewhere (probably do both). Do not sit tight and continue to be underpaid.

  2. Depression at work

    I’m early in my career, late 20s, struggling right now with depression and lack of motivation. Seeing doctor and on meds, but I’m finding it extremely difficult to focus at work or get anything done in my new job. I’m usually extremely high-achieving and excel at work, but now I’m afraid that I will be fired for under-performing. Every day I try to figure out how to leave early. I am also exhausted from moving to a new state recently and trying to redefine myself after the end of a long-term relationship. The work-related issues have been going on for 3+ months, probably longer, and kind of contribute to the spiral. Does anyone have any advice? Most days I just want to quit my job and go to bed. So appreciate this kind community for helping me feel optimistic during rough patches.

    • Anon for this

      I’ve been there, and I know how hard it can be. I was an unmotivated disaster. There were a number of times I called in sick simply because getting out of bed was too much to handle.

      You’re on meds, but are you seeing a therapist? Speaking for myself, the meds alone weren’t sufficient. Therapy really helped with learning coping methods and with making changes to help alleviate the symptoms. And really just being able to discuss my feelings and frustrations in a judgment-free zone with someone committed to helping me get through it made a difference, too.

      In the meantime, at work, as much as you can, break down things into manageable portions. When you complete that, know that it’s a small victory and that it’s important, even if its isn’t to anyone else. If you can, during lunch or something, get out and walk around. My fingers are crossed for you!

      • Anonymous

        +1 to this. I was in your shoes, OP. Ultimately, I found a different job. But, I also got on meds and went to therapy. I broke everything down (still do) into little, tiny tasks and only focused on one thing at a time. You can do this.

        Start with just one, small task. Then go to the next.

    • Flats Only

      Sweetie you are seriously depressed. That can happen after a lot of change. It sounds like you have a new-ish job, and you mention moving to a new state and ending a relationship. All that change at once can really mess with your head and throw you into a depression just when you feel like things should be great – it happened to me. And then you feel bad because you aren’t your normal self on the job, and off you go down a spiral. Go back to your doctor and get those meds adjusted. Also, if you’ve just seen your GP and gotten meds, you should get a referral to a psychiatrist who should have more experience with serious depression.

    • Curious

      People may contradict me, but it may also be good to talk to HR and note that you have a depression diagnosis and may need accommodation. In the past I have gotten the impression that this can protect you.

      • anon

        Don’t tell HR. Nothing good can come from this. Please don’t. I got fired after being forced to disclose anxiety. Law firms generally are not places where mental illness –especially where it directly affects productivity– is treated with sensitivity and compassion. Maybe your firm is different. I hope so. Even though depression is covered under the ADA, it’s difficult to imagine what sort of “accommodation” the firm can give you that they will see as reasonable- giving you less work? Understanding if you miss a deadline or aren’t motivated enough to finish a report? Letting you leave early on Fridays to go to pottery class? (well, that may work…) That’s not going to solve your problem. I’ve been where you are. Not sure what meds you’re on, but wellbutrin worked for me (could have written your post). It gives you a kick in the butt and motivates you, rather than lots of SSRIs that make you feel content but can dull motivation.

        • lalala

          +1—depression and anxiety are basically the status quo of attorneys (not being snarky). There’s a worse stigma to being a legit F–k up (not saying you are, but if you WERE) than asking for accommodation for depression.

          I think assistants are easier to deal with if you trust yours. Just say, “I’m struggling with some personal things right now and I really need your support.” Pull in your assistant and give her access to your inbox. Ask her/him to calendar things/tickle them for reminder.

          And, tiny. tasks. Mine had “open laptop” on it.

          20 minutes outside and walking every day. 8 glasses of water. talk to the doc about meds. Maybe a therapist.

          Super cheesy, but the book “5-second rule” (authored by a fomrer atty) has been helpful to me–i feel like when i’m in the depression mode, I don’t do things, then feel crappy b/c im not living up to potential, then feel trapped, then blah blah, spirals into panic. (and i’m not even enjoying the things I’m doing when I”m not doing my work, because i’m anxious abt how I’m ignoring what I’m supposed to be doing).

          Thinking of you!

    • January

      Your description of your mental state reminds me of my last 12-18 months. I talked to my doctor months ago about adjusting my dosage and finally tried it recently, and wow – I can actually get out of bed in the morning! Also second the recommendation for therapy, if you’re not already doing it.

    • Anonymous

      It’s probably bad that my first thought was, doesn’t everybody want to quit their job and go to bed?

    • Rainbow Hair

      Wow, I’ve been there. Like a LOT of what you’re saying resonates: new job, new state, “what happened to my high achiever status?!”, major relationship changes (in our case, the addition of a freakin’ kid), etc. etc. It took me a really long time to do it. And then the fact that help didn’t *help* right away was devastating.

      The therapy that really worked for my was CBT. Here’s something that I think is probably a riff on some of that stuff: You got help for yourself! It’s SO hard to get help when you’re exhausted and depressed — but you did it! If you find yourself saying, “Ugh I don’t do anything/Ugh I don’t do anything right” you have at least this piece of evidence to remind yourself that you do. And I am sure if you think about it, you’ll come up with lots more. It feels cheesy, but reminding yourself of these things can really help.

      I would encourage you to take the same approach at work. Break things down into tiny steps and make check lists so you can monitor your progress. And I *know* that doing any step is impossibly hard when you feel this way, so each thing you’ve done IS a real accomplishment. Insist to yourself that it is.

      Wellbutrin also helped a LOT. I still find myself looking around at the world, amazed that “I can DO THINGS again!”

  3. Anonymous

    Reading the morning thread – do you know Muslims and Jews (or are you one) who have escape plans to leave the country if things go bad? How specific are these plans? I’m Muslim and admittedly I’ve given it no thought – bc he’s not a king and will only be in office for less than 3.5 more yrs and I’d like to think if it comes to that pressure from somewhere – congress? Corporate CEOs? Someone? Would cause him to re think what he wants to do. But pls share if you have plans.

    • Anonymous

      Reading the morning thread – do you know Muslims and Jews (or are you one) who have escape plans to leave the country if things go bad? How specific are these plans? I’m Muslim and admittedly I’ve given it no thought – bc he’s not a king and will only be in office for less than 3.5 more yrs and I’d like to think if it comes to that pressure from somewhere – congress? Corporate CEOs? Someone? Would cause him to re think what he wants to do. But pls share if you have plans.

      • nuclear conflict

        I second this. I’m far more afraid of a nuclear war than anything else.

      • Anonymous

        Same. If I were any kind of non-US citizen though (even a non-citizen married to a citizen with citizen children), I would be making darn sure I had all the required certifications/licenses to work in my home country and getting citizenship for my family there. Visas and green cards can be revoked quickly and relatively unilaterally (w/o involvement from Congress or the courts) and that’s definitely something I can see Trump doing.

    • Anon

      My husband & his family (my in-laws) are Muslim. We don’t have specific escape plans but we are aware that it would be easy for us to escape and be fine. One of his brothers, a doctor, is considering moving out of the country due to the political climate / intolerance and I’m sure he has escape plans for his immediate family and my MIL / FIL. My husband’s other siblings likely don’t have escape plans.

    • Anonymous

      If you’re not a citizen, especially if you are not legally in the US, then you should worry. I do not think that situation applies to anyone here, though.

    • jazzygal

      Yup,

      South Asian Muslim woman here, and I am applying for my PIO (person of Indian orgin) card just in case. My family owns ancestral property in the part of india that we come from, so if it happens, then we will have somewhere to go.

      • Anonymous

        Is Hindu nationalism that much better than white nationalism? -An Indian-Am Muslim

        • anon

          Yup, after learning about Operation Blue Star/1984 and anti-Muslim riots and the rhetoric surrounding Partition in 1947 and the effects that still linger, not sure if I’d want to go back as someone who’s not from a well-educated, wealthy Hindu family (not that they’d take me because I was born here…)

        • Anonymous

          I can certainly understand the impulse (and would definitely travel on an alternate passport if I had one) but it seems dangerous to renounce citizenship if you live in the US currently or ever plan to again. Any non-citizen can be kicked out very easily.

          • Anon

            We don’t live in the US and never plan to. Education and healthcare and all the other luxuries have convinced us to stay where we are. Being double taxed and young enough to be drafted are scary things when you’ve been educated in Europe and believe in liberal ideals.

      • Blonde Lawyer

        Would he not be able to go to his other country of citizenship if he was a US Citizen?

    • Rainbow Hair

      Jewish, and have citizenship in a non-scary-right-now country. So my “escape plan” so far as there is one is putting my foreign country passport + my marriage docs + my kid’s ID docs in a lock box… ideally with some cash, and knowing I can grab it if necessary.

      I’m a bit anxious about the nuclear thing, too. We have an earthquake kit, so short of adding a fallout shelter to it I don’t know what we can do. Ugh this world.

      • Anonymous

        I am neither Jewish nor Muslim, but I live in Washington DC and my husband and I have discussed fairly specifically our escape plan to get ourselves and our kids out of the city in the event of major unrest or a real crisis (not the North Korea chest-thumping kind). We have important documents and cash in a lock box to grab-and-go. We’ve gotten our young kids passports just in case, even though there’s no planned international travel on the horizon.

        I do not blame anyone for having specific fears because of the religious or ethnic group they belong to, but I think civil unrest or an international crisis is a lot more likely at this point.

        • Anonymous

          How much cash? We’ve traditionally only kept about $500 in the house but my husband and I were recently thinking we might need to keep a couple thousand, if things really go awry and we’d either have to flee or there was a collapse of the electrical grid due to terrorism, or something.

          FWIW I am white, no religion but yes, we have contemplated leaving the country. Regrettably the only way we can afford economic citizenship in the places that offer that is by liquidating our 401ks, which would obviously be a last last resort we’d probably not be able to do because we’d wait too long. We have enough cash to get us across a border and live for awhile, but not a lot of options for foreign citizenship.

    • Jo March

      South Asian & minority religion – no escape plans, but the increased risk of hate crimes and racist & anti-immigration rhetoric plus my physical appearance has me rethinking certain life choices, such as where I live, where I go alone and at what times of the day, saving more money per month in case I or members of my family lose our jobs & have trouble finding employment due to visible markers of our religion or need to donate to someone’s family (or support my own) if they’ve been the target of a hate crime. These are things I thought about before the current climate as well, but they have now come to the forefront in a more “this very well might happen tomorrow or next week” type of way.

    • Anonon

      South Asian Muslim here. My friends, family, and I halfheartedly joke about back up plans, but I haven’t taken any steps other than the occasional musings. I doubt I would. I don’t want to live anywhere else other than this country; it’s where I grew up and all I know. With that said, one of my siblings has been working to re-establish ties with our parents’ home country as a just-in-case scenario. He figures there’s very little downside to doing so, which is a valid point.

  4. JD Preferred

    Any suggestions on searching for or identifying JD Preferred jobs? Also, how do you sell yourself to these positions if you have been a practicing attorney in unrelated field for ~5 years?

    • Anonymous

      I’d look for jobs dealing with compliance or regulatory. If you are in an unrelated field, you may need to demonstrate or reassure that you know what you are getting into. Anything to show you have coursework/experience/probono work, etc either working with the compliance standards or agency specifically involved in that industry or something close related.

      I work in medical device regulatory (bigger company) and I know one of the concerns is that it takes run time to really be a useful employee, so that’s a lot of training/chance the department is taking to take on someone with experience with that agency. So they like to see some demonstrated interest/experience (which is a Catch-22 if you are trying to break in). They’ve had experience with people coming on board and leaving within 2 years because the new person didn’t like it or anticipate what they were getting into and couldn’t handle it. So that’s the type of perception you are trying to head off (at least here).

  5. Anonymous

    Question just in case anyone here works in health system finance – if a big academic health system (think Columbia or UPenn or Georgetown) has an office that does primary care and has a lab on premises, but that lab is “outsourced” and run by LabCorps or the like — if you go to that lab, the patient’s insurance is clearly billed. But does the health system make money by you going to THAT lab? As opposed to you going someplace else across town? Meaning is it in the interest of the health system that you use their on premises LabCorp or does it really not matter bc all lab profits are going to the lab and not to the health system itself. Just curious from a finance/business perspective.

    • Not yo lawya

      Do not work in health system finance, but do work in health law.

      From a finance/business perspective, yes the health system will benefit from the relationship. However, physicians and patients are always free to choose the lab company (or other health care provider) that they wish. Physicians can be encouraged, and in some circumstances (i.e., employed physician) required, to refer patients to a particular provider that is within the health system except where the physician believes a different provider is best suited to the patient OR if the patient expresses a choice for a different provider.

      Not sure if this answers your question or just gives you an idea of the complexity inherent in your question?

    • anon

      Can LabCorp send the hospital a referral fee for each lab they send to them? No, that’s a kickback and the feds really don’t like those.
      Now, can the health system lease space and charge rent, or set up some other arrangement whereby it contracts with another company to provide the service and structures the arrangement in a way that make financial sense? Yes, assuming certain regulatory parameters are met.
      Are there quality, efficiency, and patient care/convenience reasons that motivate a health system to offer certain services on-campus to its patients rather than have the patient go elsewhere for care? Yes.

    • anon

      It depends on the financial relationship between the health system and the lab company. It’s possible that the lab company is leasing the lab space and/or equipment from the health system, in which case the health system is not directly affected by referrals to the lab or a patient’s choice to go elsewhere. It’s also possible that the lab company is running the health system’s lab for some percentage of the revenue, in which case a referral to the lab directly benefits the health system and the lab. I’m sure a myriad of other financial arrangements are possible.

      Either way, the physician does not benefit.

  6. buffybot

    I have some Jewish friends who got “back up citizenship” in Germany (ironically) expressly for the purpose you’re mentioning here. I don’t think it went any further than getting the citizenship recognized, but it was clearly done as a part of a contingency plan.

    • Anon

      A strange and sad day when Jews feel more comfortable in Germany than the US.

        • Anonymous

          Yeah, the US has been way more anti-Semitic than Germany for my entire lifetime (I’m mid-30s). Germans are way better at acknowledging and apologizing for their terrible history than Americans are, and most Germans of my generation feel a lot of guilt about the Holocaust because it isn’t so far removed for them (i.e., their grandparents were involved). I think Americans tend to write off slavery as “distant history” even though it was only a few generations before the Holocaust.

          • Anonita

            I’m Jewish and actually did take out German citizenship in addition (for non-Trump reasons – I’m not American) and have now lived there perfectly happily for almost a decade. It’s not always pleasant to wander past a monument or memorial while out and about (I did lose family), but I’ve had no people issues other than curiosity, since there simply aren’t that many of us where I live, or indeed at all.

        • Torin

          Yeah exactly. I would say that this is actually a good day because it shows how thoroughly a society can put this kind of hate behind it.

          • Anon

            Good point. The one German dude I know (not a us citizen) will not acknowledge or talk about the holocaust. He’s all all-around jerk though. I realize he has colored my perception of the whole country.

          • Anonymous

            The one German dude I know is really nice. He also doesn’t talk about WWII or the Holocaust….because it really doesn’t come up in any of the conversations I have with him (I’m friends with his wife). I’m not sure what kind of acknowledgment you would be excepting.

          • Anon

            More like refusing to acknowledge it. He has a lot of German pride and will bring up how the best mathematicians, scientists etc in history have been German (debatable) but when someone brings up any of the bad stuff about Germany he will literally say, “I refuse to discuss that.”

            As I said, though, he’s a jerk all around.

          • Anonymous

            Um, the mathematicians and scientists he’s referring to were almost all German JEWS. He acknowledges that at least, I hope.

        • Linda from HR

          Not only that, they’re ashamed of that part of their heritage. Swastikas are banned in Germany, a nazi salute would get you beaten up.

          • Anonymous

            I sometimes wonder how different the US would be if we had no First Amendment and could ban Confederate flags and racially offensive speech.

  7. Anon

    I sometimes wonder how different the US would be if we had no First Amendment and could ban Confederate flags and racially offensive speech.

  8. Baconpancakes

    For everyone who posted a while ago about liking the Old Navy Pixie pants, what am I doing wrong? Washing and line drying them (with dark colors) ends up with a fine layer of lint all over the pants, which is removable with a lint brush but annoying. Other dark colors in the same wash don’t show the same lint. Arggg.

    • Jo March

      I’m big fan of them and wash mine inside out. Sometimes, I end up having use a lint roller anyway but I usually do that after I’ve put them on and not right after they’ve been washed. Slightly annoying, but definitely not every time for me and I haven’t found anything else that fits me as well at a similar price point.

    • Torin

      Yeah this happens to mine too. It’s the fabric I think. I have three pairs, two of the regular and one of the chinos style, and the chinos ones don’t do this. It’s annoying but TBF, I did get them on sale for like $18.

      • Carrots

        Agreed – I have three pairs of the chino Pixies and don’t have this problem, so it may just be the material of the ones you have.

        • Anonymous

          I love my chino Pixies. The regular Pixies look like garbage pants on me. I don’t understand Old Navy.

          • Midwest Mama

            Me three. The regular Pixies are skin tight on me no matter how much I size up. I love the Chino Pixies, though, and have them in 3 colors.

    • Anon

      Hm. I have them in black and navy and haven’t had this experience. I do have a new washer and dryer, though – maybe clean out your dryer vent?

  9. LHW

    Does anyone have a recommendation for a yoga mat and towel? I always get nervous attending a new workout class so I want to make sure my gear is in check since that’s something I can control.

    • Monday

      In my experience, Lululemon mats are worth the money. With anything cheaper, I slip around, and anything thinner is hard on my knees. They’re reversible with two textures and I have never fallen even in heated (extremely sweaty) classes.

      I have no brand loyalty when it comes to towels and feel that basically anything will do just fine.

        • Monday

          5mm. It’s heavier to carry but the thickness is just right for me. They’d probably let you sample each in the store.

      • Anon

        +1

        I am not a fan of lululemon generally, but their yoga mat is so amazing! I have the 5mm in black and it is perfect.

    • Flats Only

      If the yoga studio rents mats, try that out first. I was able to try 4 or 5 different kinds that way and know which one I preferred when it came time to buy. Don’t worry that anyone is going to look down on you for your mat.

      • Flats Only

        FWIW I have a Manduka mat, and that thing is really heavy. I park around the corner from the studio so it’s not a big deal for me, but if I were taking Metro it would be a pain.

      • Miz Swizz

        I’m looking to upgrade my mat too! I tried a Lulu 5mm and wasn’t a huge fan because it felt hard to me. My studio rents mats so I’m glad I was able to try without buying. I’m currently using a Gaiam mat I bought from TJ Maxx and it’s not very grippy, so my mat slides occasionally while we’re flowing. I bought myself a Manduka eQua towel but find it still a bit slippery unless I sweat enough to get it to stick to the mat. For a non-mat sweat towel, I like the Yogarat towels. You can find them on Amazon and I’ve found them at my local TJ Maxx as well.

    • Torin

      I use a lululemon mat. I do find it slippery when I really start to sweat, so I bring a generic microfiber yoga towel (just look them up on Amazon and get a cheap one) and spread it out on top at the point I start to slide around during class. If the class isn’t too hot I sometimes end up not using it. I don’t think you need a super fancy towel. I do find cheap mats slippery and not well padded, but a towel is a towel.

    • Triangle Pose

      I’m go to hot vinyasa yoga pretty regularly. Any mat that is thick is fine – Gaiam entry level priced mats are fine. I don’t think you need to spend like $70 or whatever on Jade or lululemon one. The key for me is the towel. I actually prefer to use the Gaiam No-Slip Yoga Towels which used to be called the Gaiam Travel Yoga Mat. Anyway, the one with towel material on one side and rubber backing on the other. It’s great, non slip and you can put it in the laundry (hang dry). This way I rarely need to wash/scrub my actualy mat because I only touch the towel and all the sweat is on the towel.

    • Anonymous

      I like my Manduka eco lite (extra length), but honestly nobody cares about your mat or other accessories so do not buy a new mat for one class.

      • CX

        I love my Jade mat, but I only upgraded it after I began practicing enough in a hot climate that slipping in my own sweat was a legit hazard.

        Just rent buy something from the Marshall’s discount bin until you decide you want to practice regularly. They might be slightly more slippery/less padded than a high end mat, but not seriously prohibitive to enjoying a yoga class.

        I use cheap quick-dry towel designed for hiking.

    • Yoga Stitch

      I have a Jade mat, because it was a gift to my self for losing a significant amount of weight and for maintaining a 3x a week yoga practice for a year. But honestly, most people are using the mats from the studio (no rental fee at the 2 studios I use).

  10. Madeleine

    Anyone have desk/bookshelf decor suggestions? I just moved (with just a suitcase) so my room looks pretty empty. I doubt I’ll fill up my bookshelf just with books (I do 90% of my reading on an ereader or via library books) so I’m looking for ways to spruce up my boring IKEA desk+bookshelf a little bit. TIA!

    • Sus

      Anything, and I do mean anything you can collect can go on the shelf with your books. My bookcase currently contains: an empty orange vase (because I liked the color and the plant died), a stack of small rocks, balanced to look like those really big art projects, a cross-stitch project that I framed with twigs (with a rock behind it to prop it up), a bowl made of faucet handles, a good-smelling candle, a twig with dried pine cones still attached it it, pictures of my niece and nephews, and on and on.

      Go for a walk and look for pretty or interesting things you can pick up. Use an empty jar from something you ate today and put some weeds/grasses/flowers in it.

  11. Men's office wear

    I need help helping my husband. He is basically out of clothing and neither he nor I have time to physically go anywhere to try things on.

    He works at the senior management but not C-suite (VP/SVP level, department head, etc) in a business casual office– the engineers and others can and do wear jeans and polos, his level is more of the real pants and collared shirt (no tie) OR jeans/collared shirt/blazer when not client facing. Client facing is all suit, and he’s set there.

    So, he’s been wearing the same clothes for the past oh, i don’t know, 5-10 years and has gradually thrown away or donated much of his wardrobe. We were laughing this morning because he’s down to ONE pair of jeans that only kind of fit, and one pair of dockers (actual dockers, bought at the TJ maxx down the street from our house in a panic the last time he realized he was out of pants). He also has a few pairs of trousers from when he worked in a more business-y office (trousers/shirt/tie type office), but never wears those. He’s been wearing shorts all summer (athletic shorts+ t shirt or khakis + polo), or his grubby non-office appropriate jeans.

    I told him I’d try and help and we could just mass order things from The Internet and he can try them on at home and we’d mail back the rest.

    A. What do I order?
    B. From where do I order it?

    No particular budget, we can afford high quality pieces but certainly don’t require them (see: he’s been wearing pants that were $19.99 from TJ Maxx for months now). He cannot rock skinny-jeans or slim-fit jeans and needs roomier pants (or pleats if trousers) but is revealingly trim (soccer thighs).

    • Anon

      My SO loves loves LOVES Trunk Club. His stylist had his style nailed down after one box and nearly everything she sends these days is perfect.

      • Senior Attorney

        Mine, too. My husband looks like a million bucks thanks to Isabel from Trunk Club.

      • Marshmallow

        Did this for H a couple of years ago and he LOVED it. He actually just IMed me out of the blue asking if we could do it for him again. Would highly recommend. He has a lot of anxiety and frustration with trying clothes on in the store, and to have a box of clothes in his size and style just show up at the house felt really special and easy for him.

    • Men's office wear

      To clarify- he’s been wearing the shorts *at home*- not to the office. That’d be too casual.

    • Fishie

      I’d start with Nordstrom – free shipping and returns. My husband likes Bonobos Weekday Warriors. They’re a step up style-wise from khakis in various colors. I’d start with a days-of-the-week pants collection and a few button down shirts (meaning a shirt with buttons on the front. IDGAF what the collar does, it’s still called a button-down in my neck of the woods) and go from there.

      • Men's office wear

        Yeah, he’s got dress shirts (with and without buttoning collars ;)) but needs more. Do you have any specific brand recs?

        His are currently all brooks brothers but they don’t make the exact style he has and likes anymore (something something slim fit not non-iron). He has a couple of Polo brand ones but hates logos so rarely wears them.

        Bonobos in colors seem college-y to me. At least, that’s what the guys I know wore in college and some never stopped. Totally fine and appropriate for weekend wear but not the image DH is looking for (I don’t think- are their dressier or non ultra preppy ones? What I’m envisioning is the equivalent of wearing wearing vineyard vines to the office).

      • Senior Attorney

        And in case you didn’t know, Trunk Club is Nordstrom. Just sayin’.

    • Moonstone

      I like the quality of LL Bean and it sounds as if their styles would suit him.

    • Actuary

      My husband was in a similar position of having no clothes after years of stuff being too small or ragged so I just bought him a bunch of pants from Lands End. I’d reccomend them for decent price / quality (at least the men’s section; I have no experience with the women’s clothes). They have a style that has a hidden elastic waist that he ended up really liking (look for “comfort waist”). They also had shorts with this waist so I could finally get him to agree to toss his old cargo shorts. Lands End also had good quality non-logo polos and I’d be willing to take a chance on their button downs

    • Anon

      My husband gets the majority of his clothing from Land’s End or LL Bean. He shows me a pair of pants and a shirt and asks if I think they go together. He’s not color blind but has color issues. If I say yes, then he hunts down a coupon code and orders.

      He wears the wrinkle free dress shirts from either place for work, and some plaid woven short sleeved shirts on the weekend, usually open over a tee (most of his tees are logo tees from places we’ve vacationed) with the dreaded cargo shorts. Work pants are chinos or khakis from either place, usually wrinkle free, and weekend pants are either dockers cargo pants ordered from Amazon or cargo shorts he’s had for ages. He has some technical type shorts too meant for hiking (basically nylon-ish cargo shorts) that he wears on more active days.

      I’m not wild about cargo anything, but short of carrying a purse or a murse, I think men are always going to wear them because of cell phones.

    • Ms B

      If you have one near you for the returns, Joseph A. Bank is a winner for The Hubs for business casual pants and shirts. Once he finds a style he likes, he gets three or four of a thing (pants, silk polos, oxfords, dressier shorts, etc.). Pleats may be his friend and they are starting to come back. The quality has been good relative to the price.

      The Hubs also has done well with nicer jeans from either Tommy Bahama or Lucky. Each one has a straight leg cut that hits mid-rise and has some nice dark washes that sound like they would work for your husband’s office.

      One other option is something like Matthew Mason, where the haberdasher comes to your home.

    • DC

      I got my husband a personal shopper from Nordstroms. He met with him in person once for awhile, and now the guy just sends my husband whatever he wants (and the stuff that goes with it that my husband might forget, like a coordinating pocket square for the jacket or the right belt). My husband likes it because he can just email or text the guys the type of stuff he needs, when he needs it, and he gets it really quickly. He always looks amazing.

    • Anon

      BF likes Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers and the respective outlets. 99% of his work clothes are from those two (four?) places. He specifically likes the slimmer cut shirts at BB and BR, since they’re more of a young/modern look. The BB outlet does a fit called the Regent that’s trimmer than a classic dress shirt fit, but not a super slim fit, plus they do the non-iron fabric!

    • Anon

      Robert Talbott? My husband likes their pants and L/S shirts. They are really good quality. There are some on sale at Sierra Trading Post and the rest I’ve bought full price. We have a laundry do the pressing.

      • Anon

        just did a label check. My husband also likes Facconable (preppy French brand, has US presence) for L/s shirts and casual jackets, and AG jeans. Brooks Brothers and Robert Graham polo shirts.

  12. Scotland Bound

    This might be a better question for the morning thread, but I’ll post it here in the mean time:

    Edinburgh: Anything clothing choices to avoid? I was thinking dark jeans and ankle boots or black Toms for most of our walking around days. Too American? What would you wear? Thanks!

    • AnonLondon

      It’s Fringe right now, so literally anything will go and nothing to avoid! But generally, dark jeans and any sort of shoe will be fine, people haven’t been fussy about clothes in my experience up there.

        • Scotland Bound

          Ha, we’re arriving right after Fringe. (I had completely convinced myself Fringe was earlier in the summer until a friend clued me in.) So, not looking for festival attire, just outfits that won’t scream American… until my southern husband opens his mouth. #can’tpretendtobeCanadianabroadanymore

    • Snoozy

      If it’s this month, you could literally wear anything up to and including a cow costume (or indeed, nothing at all – I’ve seen some pretty odd things related to the Fringe Festival over the years).

      More seriously, your outfits sound fine. Much of tourist Edinburgh is hilly and/or cobbled, so make sure your shoes are comfortable. If you’re travelling now-ish, bring something warm, a waterproof or at least decent jacket (or umbrella, but they’re pretty disposable in Ed) and a t-shirt or two – you’ll need them all, and possibly on the same day.

    • Thistle

      Any comfy shoes and a wind/waterproof layer. It can get cold when the wind comes in from the firth.

    • Anonymous

      Edinburgh has tons and tons of stairs, so take appropriate footwear. Other than that, I did not find it very dressy, and what you describe sounds great.

  13. MBN

    Apologies for threadjacking. I’m a 26 yr old new law student. I am commuting 1 hour to and from school every day (this isn’t optional, please don’t tell me to move closer–it’s not happening). I just finished my first day of law school orientation and am feeling so overwhelmed. I know I need to finish readings and devote time to briefing, outlining, and study questions too, but if any of you can offer descriptions of how you divided up your time to these things during school so I can get an idea of how to weigh them with time management, that would be amazing. I would love to hear how you organized pre-class notes, class notes, and consolidated this stuff into useful information for exams. I want to get start on the right foot with a cohesive notes system, but don’t know yet if I want to stick to hand-written, something like onenote, or each class in a word doc. I’m so intimated at the prospect of devoting time and energy to a process that isn’t efficient or ultimately useful. I appreciate any advice former law students have to offer. :)

    • handwrite your notes

      seriously. my grades seriously improved when i started handwriting my notes. you can’t take down everything the professor is saying (like you could with a computer) so it forces you to really focus on the main points/takeaways. Its also MUCH more manageable when outlining (rather than hundreds of pages of typed notes of everything the professor discussed).

      • MBN

        Thank you. I totally lean towards transcribing everythingggg with a laptop, but hearing this again and again from folks is driving it home that that isn’t helpful in the long run. :)

        • Law school

          I don’t think transcribing is all that helpful in law school because class time is where you learn how to think about cases rather than learn lots of facts in a lecture. It’s not like an undergrad class where you’ll be quizzed on some factoid the professor brought up once in one class. You’ll be asked to solve problems applying the principles from the cases, which you will discuss in class. IMO, it’s much more important to be engaged in the conversation and looking for takeaways than taking verbatim notes.

          Other thoughts in another comment. Good luck!

      • cbackson

        Scientific research supports the idea that you process information better when you take handwritten notes.

      • Senior Attorney

        When I was in law school about a million years ago (seriously — pre-laptops), I took notes by hand and at the end of the semester I typed them up (on a typewriter — no personal computers yet) verbatim instead of doing outlines. It worked like a charm. Highly recommend.

        • Ms B

          Late to the thread, but this, although I did have an early PC at that point that I typed my outlines into. I found it more effective after the first semester to type up each week’s work that weekend while it was relatively fresh and then refine using study aids and with my study group on a regular basis.

          I also recommend reading the Nutshell (if they make one) for each class early on — it really helped with getting an idea up front of what the overall points of the class would (or, in some classes, should) be (and gave me talking points when necessary).

    • Anon

      Don’t worry about creating outlines until about half way through the semester. Just cross it off of your list of things to worry about right now. There’s no point in trying to create an outline this early. You don’t even know what you don’t know and it won’t be a useful tool for you yet. Just focus on reading and briefing cases. That’s it. Law students like to create lots of other little things to try to feel in control and on top of it. Literally all you need to worry about right now is reading and briefing.

      I took notes using my computer, because classes sometimes moved faster than I could write. I used Omni Outliner, but really, anything will be fine. I had classmates keep notes in one huge word document. That’s a bit much for me, but you’ll find what works for you as you get further into it. Again – do not worry about outlining now. It is counterproductive at this point. Just read and brief.

      I tried to treat law school like a job. I got to school at 7:00 (I’m an early bird), worked hard, and when I left at 4:00, I was DONE for the day. I also heard somewhere that 30 minutes of exercise improves your cognitive functioning, so I told myself to do that, not because I particularly enjoy exercise but because I thought it would help me study better. No idea if it really worked or not, but it was good for me regardless. I’d do it when I got home at night and it helped me transition and decompress.

    • Anonymous

      Here’s the thing, what works for one person isn’t going to work for another. I would strongly encourage you to think about what has worked the best for you in the past (handwritten notes, computer notes, etc.) and just commit to it. Don’t second guess yourself. Don’t change mid-stream so you have half outlines in 6 different forms or something. Each of my friends in law school and I had a slightly different system. All of us made law review and got good jobs.

    • Anonymous

      Until the last three weeks or so (?) of the term, I pretty much only read the cases. If you take good notes all along, preparing outlines won’t be super cumbersome and can be done in a few weeks before finals. I never did any briefing. It really only helps with being more prepared for class and doesn’t translate to improved exam performance. I didn’t care about looking smart to my classmates, I cared about getting As on final exams.

      I found a computer way easier to use for note-taking – I can’t write fast enough to get all the info recorded. You do need to have the self-discipline to make sure you’re not browsing Facebook in class and if you don’t I can see how handwritten is a better option.

    • Sloan Sabbith

      I switched my bite taking around a LOT but what worked best for me was detailed notes in word or OneNote about the cases (short, tight briefs- you want them to just cover what you HAVE to know), and then added notes in class. I either printed my book notes and handwrote class notes or added them in and differentiated through color/highlighting/onenote tagging that they were notes from class. I had a new page for each day and saved them into OneDrive or google drive so I had them available if my computer crashed. On “good” weeks I would do all my reading for the week on the weekend. Otherwise, it was between classes, for a few hours after class if it got out at 3:30, or after dinner.

      As it got towards the end of the quarter, I would print everything off, create an outline of all the important topics, and fill it in with the most important notes. I used a TON of tables and lists to make things compact and easier to use to study off of. I tried to get my outlines to sub-15 pages per class for open book and significantly shorter for closed book (which was then made into flashcards).

      I hand wrote all my notes for conlaw. Sooooooooooo many flow charts. Total disaster to make into an outline. Would not recommend.

      In terms of time management….I am not the person to ask. “Get Sh*t Done Somehow” was my MO and it sucked. Other than setting aside a huge chunk of one weekend day to do Reading when I was particularly on top of it, i sucked at time management.

      Others might recommend listening to Barbri lectures or whatever during your commute. You do you, but I would say just use it as a way to connect and disconnect from your day.

      • Sloan Sabbith

        Note* taking. Not bite.

        And yeah. I agree above- don’t switch midstream in a class. I tended to switch around quarter to quarter but once I decided on a method I stuck with it until the end of the quarter.

        In terms of handwriting, I HATED it. I grip writing utensils too hard and my hand cramps. So other than conlaw and notes in class, I didn’t hand write notes.

    • Turtle

      This is long but may help:

      1) An hour commute is bad, but your life will be infinitely worse if you don’t get regular sleep. Don’t stress out by pulling all nighters or surviving off of 5 hrs sleep nightly, right now is the easiest time of year for you.

      2) Treat school like a work day so you have time to decompress and not be focused on school constantly. I got to school by 8 or 9 each day, studied in the library between classes, grabbed lunch with classmates for about 30 min. each day, and stayed in the library until 7 or 8 reviewing notes, doing required reading (try to stay a few days ahead, it’s much easier in case something happens), and doing an outline. And, to be honest, unless you receive advice particular to your class, you probably won’t have time to read and review the “supplemental/optional” readings for every class, no one has that kind of time, so unless items from them are mentioned in your class outlines received from older students, concentrate on the required items.

      3) YMMV, but the best thing I did was 1) re-read and re-write my notes in a legible way, 2) supplement an existing outline received from an older student with my notes and any useful tidbits from other outlines (there are tons floating around, just ask any 2L or 3L you get to know), then review this work at the end of the week/month as time allowed so you’re exposing yourself to the material multiple times separated by time. I found that helped the information stick in my head, making studying for finals much easier.

      4) As far as organizing notes, I used a computer to take notes, because some professors just move too fast for writing, and organized them by class>syllabus topic>date of notes as title of document; also keep a subfolder for that class of outlines you receive for reference.

      5) I left study questions for weekend studying, so maybe 2 to 4 hrs on Saturday and a couple hours on Sunday. You should pace your studying so that your Saturdays and Sundays aren’t 100% school; it keeps you sane

      6) KEEP YOUR STUDYING TIMELINE CONSISTENT. The worse thing you could do is not review your notes or start outline until October. Some people may be able to get away with that, but if you don’t have a killer memory and if you don’t work well on little sleep, it will only bite you in the but.

      Self care – take breaks when you need to

      • Turtle

        Also, if you have trouble understanding a concept, there is nothing wrong with listening to barbri lectures, legal concepts podcasts, or other reputable sources. You can get the particulars for your professor in your own notes, but some concepts are simply difficult without a breakdown.

    • Gail the Goldfish

      Buy hornbooks (overview books). Read them. I wish I had figured out much earlier on in law school that just reading the case law the professors assigned out of the textbook is a terrible way to learn things and I should have started with broad overviews of the concepts. When you end up with too much reading to read both the hornbook and the assigned cases, skip the cases. For contracts, I like the Chirelstein book with the picture of the ship on the front. Don’t have any specific recommendations for other classes.

      • Sloan Sabbith

        Chemerinsky for con law helped me pass…

        Torts and Contracts E&E were assigned by my prof and I liked them a lot.

        The Crim Law Nutshell was fine.

        No idea on civ pro or property.

      • Anonymous

        See it’s hard to advise on this bc it is so individual. I would say – don’t waste your time/money on hornbooks. You already have 100s of pgs of reading nightly – do you really want to add unassigned horn books to that? I thought the readings were more than sufficient to grasp the class – sure maybe not day to day as you’re starting with Marbury v. Madison or whatever, but by 1/2 or 3/4 of the way thru the semester, the entire framework of the subject which you’ve developed in pieces by reading cases then makes sense.

        YMMV – I know for some people it is pointless to read individual cases not knowing the entire framework like offer/acceptance/consideration/damages and not knowing upfront where that case fits in the framework.

      • MBN

        How do you decide between hornbooks, E&Es, Emmanuels, etc.? I’m open to them, but they seem like such a pricey investment up front and I don’t know how to determine which will be most helpful :(

        • Anonymous

          Don’t buy them yet. You have more than enough to do with assigned reading and in certain classes it’ll be enough for understanding. In 2 or so weeks you’ll start to recognize if there’s some classes where you just aren’t getting it as well — THEN buy horn books for those classes. Personally I’d go to the campus bookstore and browse thru them and see what formats/lengths work best for me. I wouldn’t randomly get one from Amzn bc someone says it’s the best bc it is quite possible that as w everything in law school, that one doesn’t work for you.

        • busybee

          Your law school library will almost certainly have copies of them. Check them out and see what works best for you.

          • Ms B

            +1 to this and remember that what works for one class may not work for others.

            Oh — one other thing — if you can lay your hands on a set of bar review books early on for cheap (try used book stores or eBay), it might be helpful. The review volumes especially (if they still make those) were very focused and useful in organizing my own outlines.

    • Rainbow Hair

      I felt so, so terrible the first day of law school. I actually ran out of the orientation (the part where they were saying, “don’t spend 24 hours a day studying! you need a hobby to put on the ‘interests’ section of your resume!”) in a panic. I didn’t understand how the other people knew what readings we were supposed to do, I kept googling “what is brief + law school?” and “what is outline + law school”, I tried to buy enough highlighters to color code every word of my text book, etc. And then I gave up, studied the way that had always worked for me, and somehow ended up at the top of my class all three years. (Ugh I hope I don’t sound braggy.)

      The point is, I was a *mess* and I felt like I was in WAY over my head, but I used the same smarts that had got me there to get me through it, and I was *fine.* And you will be too.

      • Lorelai Gilmore

        Yes! There’s so much law school advice out there. I found it overwhelming. Life got much better when I abandoned all of the outlining/highlighting/briefing nonsense and just studied using the same brand of college-ruled notebooks and handwritten notes that got me through college. (And then got me through two bar exams!)

    • Anonymous

      Ah, I remember this. I came home from law school orientation and got into bed and cried. It does get better, I promise. These other commentators all have excellent advice, so I’ll just add one small thing that helped me.

      Also, this worked for me, but I know for other people it would drive them bonkers. I caution you to wait a few weeks before starting this.

      I used to travel back and forth on the weekends to see my then boyfriend (now husband) who lived 90 minutes away. On my drives I would listen to these pre-recorded review lectures on my iPod for my 1L classes – property, criminal law, etc. They were somewhere from 4-8 hours and really just go over the basic rules/exceptions/concepts. I had a terrible property prof and also just didn’t get the whole “bundle of sticks” concept, so listening to someone else go over the basics really helped me. I think just hearing the concepts over and over again help hammer them home.

      Obviously, each professor has different things they focus on and different things they care about with respect to a class. And they’re the ones grading the exam, so you can’t rely on these supplemental lectures alone. I have no idea what the names are of these lectures, but the woman who did the property lecture was very good.

    • Blonde Lawyer

      Everyone has to find what works for them. I worked during law school and had a 45 minute commute each way. I was also married with pets so had some home obligations but not as many as people with kids. Here’s what worked for me. I followed the color coding tricks in the text book that they will teach you. It’s been a long time but I think I did purple for procedural history, yellow for issue, green for analysis, pink for conclusion? No idea if that is right now but it made it easy to find stuff quickly in class. I took some notes in the margins of my books to remind me what the cases were about if I got called on. If I didn’t have time to do 100% of my reading, I looked the cases up on westlaw/lexis and read the summaries. Don’t rely on that all the time though. I wasn’t afraid of getting called on and getting an answer wrong. It doesn’t impact your grade so don’t freak about it.

      I typed my notes in class. I have ADD so if I’m not staying busy I get very easily distracted. In undergrad I had to draw while I hand wrote notes. I would browse the internet in class while listening to everything and taking awesome notes. I did not just transcribe everything either.

      I worked after classes and studied at night after dinner. I didn’t really make my outline until the end of the semester and I made it off of the giant word document of my class notes for each class. So I had one file for each subject basically and just kept adding to it at the bottom with the date.

      I did mostly solo studying but made it a point pre-exams to study with a group. We all had a different way of coming at a problem and raised different ways of looking at issues. Sometimes a question a group mate asked ended up on the exam.

      I ended up graduating with honors. I’m sure I could have done better but I might have been miserable. I wasn’t shooting for big law. I had my goals in mind and did what I could to meet them. You will be okay.

      Don’t let yourself get psyched out by all of the over achievers. It’s law school. You are all over achievers. Do what works for you.

    • Anon

      Briefing cases takes forevvvver the first few times you do it, but by a month in, it’s infinitely easier and quicker. By the end of the semester, you can skim a case in just a couple minutes and get all the information you need – really. (Give yourself a few extra minutes for those longer con law cases ;) )

      All that to say, DO NOT freak out about how much reading it feels like there is right now. I promise, promise, promise it’ll get easier very soon.

      Oh, and know this, because no one told me and it felt like SUCH a light bulb going off: cases are like Aesop’s fables. When it comes time for exams, with the exception of landmark cases, you aren’t expected to know what happened in the case – no need to remember whose fox trespassed on whose land – just remember the moral of the story – the judge’s verdict. On an exam, it’s perfectly acceptable to write, “In the case of Smith v. Jones, the judge held that foxes cannot trespass on private farms. The instant case involves a squirrel trespassing on a private country club. Because of these [spell out] similarities, it seems likely that a court would find likewise that squirrels cannot trespass.” (There really is some dumb fox case you’ll read that I can’t remember ha.) (And I mean, fluff it up beyond what I wrote. But the point is that it’s NOT about the reading you do. It’s about the RULE from the reading.)

      • Sloan Sabbith

        I have a poster in my front entry with a fox dressed up in dressage gear from Etsy. I had the seller type “Welcome, Saucy Intruders” on it because I loved that case so much.

      • Rainbow Hair

        1) OMG so many animal trespass cases. That and trains. We had so many train torts!

        2) Anon’s point about what you’re actually supposed to DO in law school is so key, and something no one ever made explicit to me. It wasn’t until I was teaching law that I could really articulate it: you’re arguing from precedent. You’ll have one case that looked at facts A+B+C and decided Liable; one case that looked at facts A+B+D+E and decided Not Liable, and then on your exam your professor will say, “OK, take case A+C+D+E, liable or not, and why?” And you say “In Case 1, A and C contributed to liability, but there was also the important fact of B. In Case 2, D and E contributed to exoneration, in spite of A and C. Here, we have A and C, but also D and E, and a notable lack of B. Because [blah blah reasoning], a court is likely to find liability (or not).”

    • Anonymous

      If it helps – law school isn’t hard. It’s just a grind and it isn’t hard to outwork others and end up in the top 5 or 10% if you just keep at it consistently. People aren’t as brilliant as they act. At least this was true at my top 10 (but not HYS) school. Maybe it’s different at HYS.

      • Anon

        I used to have crying breakdowns because all these other students were studying 12+ hours per day for exams and I was literally physically incapable of concentrated study for more than 5-6 hours per day. That one girl who always used to brag about staying in the library for 17 hours per day? Failed the bar after graduation. It’s about quality, not quantity. It doesn’t matter how many hours it takes you, don’t freak out, you do you.

      • Anonymous

        Was just talking about it this morning. It became clear who was truly awesome and who was just average at the end of 1L summer when the law review list came out; and lo and behold the majority of the law review list consisted of the people who were unassuming hard workers, doing whatever worked for them (treating it as a job; or studying 24-7; outlining or not; hornbooks or not) without touting how their way was the ONLY way. And none of the braggers made it. Also at a non HYS top 10.

    • lalala

      Read Planet Law School.

      I would not brief cases. Still read the cases, maybe make notes on the important themes, but get the canned outlines (keyed to the casebook) and look at the main points.

      If you have Cali Lessons, available, do those.

      Get Glannon’s E & E’s for your subjects, and if you can get your hands on a BarBri first year study guide, that’ll be really helpful for an outline.

    • Marshmallow

      Hi! I second what others have said about what works for one may not work for another, so I think there’s inherently some trial and error involved.

      While handwriting worked for others, typing is what worked for me. I used Evernote (it was free then, I’m not sure now if OneNote would be better) and set up a separate “notebook” for each class. I took notes in outline form, not trying to transcribe every word but only the key points. I found it helpful to be able to move things around within the notes during class, and then again to be able to search my notes later while outlining.

      Outlining! Is what it sounds like: organize the course by topic, rule, case, etc. I found it helpful to use the syllabus as a guide. Don’t worry about it until around halfway through the semester. Don’t just buy an outline off the internet or from a former student and use that. It can be helpful as a comparison, but the process is the whole point. When I finished an outline, a few days before the exam I had this whole process where I would print the outline, put it in a binder, and go through and put Post It tabs for each section while reviewing. I’d also create a mini outline and stick it in the front of the binder like a table of contents. Usually during an exam, the mini outline is all I’d actually need to jog my memory. Microsoft Word “outline view” is your friend for this.

      +1 to the comments above about dividing your day up like it’s a workday. If your commute is via public transportation, it’s a good time to get some reading done. If you’re driving, maybe find a podcast you like or listen to books on tape and use it as your brain junk food time.

      You didn’t ask about this, but absolutely go to professor office hours and try to cultivate relationships with a couple of professors you like. I didn’t do that until quite late in the game and it was a missed opportunity.

      Finally, don’t fall into the trap of letting other students intimidate you with their competitiveness. Treat it like a job (which is advantage for you since you’ve been working!), worry about yourself, and it will be fine.

    • Law school

      I don’t need to tell you much because the advice here is great!

      – Treat it like a job. I’d get there at the same (early) time each day regardless of when class starts and use time before and between classes to get reading done.

      – I didn’t brief cases after the first couple of weeks. I used a color coded highlighter system to know what was what (i.e. pink is the issue, green is for key facts, yellow is the relevant points of the discussion, blue for the holding).

      – Don’t compare yourself to anyone else. If you are doing your best you will know it.

      – Get a pocket Black’s Law dictionary.

      – Use the hornbooks.

    • 2L

      Just went through this myself, last year. It was overwhelming at first, but my mantra was “I can figure this out” and it worked!

      Most of the advice here is great. I would add:
      1) For hornbooks specifically: Ask 2Ls what they recommend. At my school, particular hornbooks align well to particular professors. I didn’t use the same brand consistently across classes–I went with what seemed like a fit to that professor’s content and teaching style. Also, check to see if any of your professors have written hornbooks.
      2) Don’t use the hornbooks to learn the content and cases, use them to give you an overview and synthesis and make sure you’re not missing anything. I like the E&Es for this purpose because they force you to think through novel problems rather than just digest content.
      3) Don’t listen to peers who are convinced that they know “the secret to law school success” or whatever. Most of them don’t and end up being miserable people, and, as others have mentioned, don’t actually “succeed” in terms of grades. Only take advice from people who are similar to yourself in terms of their study needs and habits. Don’t get psyched out by the inevitable drama that will happen. Stay in your own lane and you’ll be fine.

      Don’t start outlining too early in the semester. But do try to finish up your outline a little while before the exam–a couple days will be fine. Spend that time reviewing over your outline and letting it sink in. Get familiar with what’s in your outline and where to find it. Then use it to take practice exams, if your school has any available. Those little things you can do to make exam-writing quicker and more automatic can make a huge difference both in terms of your grades and your test anxiety.

    • Anonattorney

      It’s all about the outline, because all that matters is your exam grade. Take detailed enough notes that you can start creating your outlines 6 weeks before exams. Structure your outline in the same way as the book for the class – these structures guide you in how to answer exam questions. Once your outline is done, schedule office time with your professor and go over any questions you have. Go to every class. Do your best to memorize your outlines to maximize your time during the test, even if the test is open book.

  14. Investing Error?

    What’s done is done, but had a question for the future re: investments. I had $2700 in a regular brokerage account, in some mutual funds. After some research I just opened a Roth IRA (401k is maxed out). I just liquidated the $2700 and stuck it into the Roth IRA. Is there a stupid tax implication of that? I guess I will have to pay taxes on the gains? Only $300, but still curious.

    • Anonymous

      The brokerage account was after tax money and the Roth is also after tax money – so in that way it’s ok – it’s not like you moved a 401k into a brokerage account. But yes you did realize taxable gains when you sold whatever you were holding for that $2700 – hopefully it was all LTCG (if you held for over 1 yr).

  15. Socks

    any experience with Bombas socks? I found a pair in my drawer that I must have ordered to get free shipping on something. They were very comfy but apparently pricey. Debating whether to buy more.

    • Anon

      My parents gave my husband 10 pairs for his birthday (he asked for socks – seriously). They’re great and he loves them! Wears them daily.

  16. Side Hustle

    I’m thinking about starting a side hustle where I’d be paid as an independent contractor. I would choose the hours I work, and I would try to shoot for 5-10 hours a week at $15/hour. My question is: how do I best ensure I won’t end up completely screwed on the tax front next April? My withholding from my day job is probably too high right now (got a $2K refund), so if I leave it, would that balance it out? Should I be saving a potion of my pay for taxes? How much? Do I need to consult with a tax advisor (which, if so, will pretty much ensure I do not do this)….? Is there anything I should read to better understand the pros and cons? I’m a lawyer, but my understanding of tax law is nonexistent. Thanks, Hive!

    • Rainbow Hair

      When I worked on a 1099 (admittedly, full-time because it was a scam and I was really an employee, thanks JerkBoss) I put 1/2 of every check I got in an earmarked savings account. When it came tax time, my tax preparer was like, “bad news, you owe $A LOT” and I was like “no that’s fine! I set aside more than that!” … of course this requires a lot of delayed gratification. BUT you don’t have to do math up front!

      • Anonymous

        This is the only thing that works for us. My husband had done 1099 contracting for years, but the first year he made serious money from it, we did not hold enough back and we ended up owing over $4k to the IRS. Ouch. We don’t rely on the 1099 money to pay bills, so we put 80% of it on savings, pay taxes when they’re due, and then after tax time decide what to do with the rest (vacation, invest or leave in savings).

    • Wehaf

      I recommend checking whether you will have to file your taxes quarterly. It will depend on exactly how your earnings are structured, but lots of self-employed people have to file quarterly.

    • anon

      It depends on your tax situation, but if you aren’t making a ton of money, and you got a $2,000 tax return last year, you’ll probably be fine. But save at least 30% of the money you earn so you can pay taxes at the end of the year if need be. I earned thousands via a 1099 side job, and I’ve never had to pay quarterly taxes or dealt with any tax penalties. Google it and read up on it to learn more, because of course it depends on your situation. Congrats though! It’s exciting to have a side hustle.

  17. Rainbow Hair

    Can anyone recommend a dress for me? My requirements are pretty specific. Twice in two months I’m going to dinner things where women wear long dresses. I’m going for work. At one my CEO is wearing a tux. So I need a
    long dress, and it needs to have at least elbow-length sleeves. And I’m cusp-sized (16 pretty reliably). And ideally it would be some kind of lovely fancy jersey that would travel well.

    Anyone know where this unicorn is?

    Not open to renting.

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