GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC

Whaaaaa? How is it that we are already into August?! It’s so hard to believe that the routine (yay) and obligations (yikes) of the school year are upon many of us now – or soon enough/too soon (depending on who you are asking)! New moms sending their kiddos to childcare, and not-brand-new moms sending their kiddos to college have exchanged stories of advice and wisdom about learning how to cope with these serious life changes. And, let’s not forget our brand new GA (Grandma Attorney) this week. JOY!

So many folks found referrals this week in our most-represented region of the country – and ONE of us found, and another ONE of us obtained, a referral for a case OUT of the country. Japan, to be precise. Connecting those two took less than 24 hours. Incredible!

Hmmm, and about that “most-represented” region…

GIRL ATTORNEY – OKLAHOMA Facebook Group: It’s time! The Oklahoma-specific inquiries are as GREAT as they are NUMEROUS…..and…….also……possibly acting as a regional/mental-block for gals that have been added from other areas of the country. It’s a great problem to have – and it has a great solution. An admin will be needed to co-admin the GIRL ATTORNEY – OKLAHOMA Facebook Group with me (and to take the lead role as admin in the new group). If you are interested in being a co-admin, please shoot me a PM and let me know (as briefly as possible) why you would like to do it!

Also, if you are interested in being an admin for another state – or for a smaller region w/in a state – PM me, please!

Last but not least, once we have a co-admin, we will open up membership for that group, too!

 

GIRL ATTORNEY – EVENTS: #girlattorneygettogether

It takes a little something extra to be both interested and willing to take the initiative to set up a get together. You ladies are the best of the best! Thank you to last week’s hosts (Faustine Curry – Lunch/Austin, TX; Xian Adams – Dinner/Norman, OK; Pansy Moore-Shrier – Close The Gap Run*/Tulsa, OK)! *SO sad to hear that the Run was cancelled by the organizers this morning. 🙁 Did it get rescheduled for later in the day? Will it be rescheduled for another day? Anyone have a picture of their socks they want to share??? Ha!

LUNCHEONS!!

THIS THURSDAY – OKC Estate Planning Mastermind Lunch(Hostess: Sarah Stewart Maldonado) · August 11 @ BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse

THIS FRIDAY – DFW (Hostess: Eileen McCombs) · August 12 @ Shady Valley Country Club

HAPPY HOUR!

THIS FRIDAY – Tulsa (Hostess: Kathleen Pence) · August 12 @ McNellie’s South City

 

WELCOME to the GIRL ATTORNEY FB Group!

A BRAND SPANKING NEW WELCOME to all the new members – we continue to grow geographically, in areas of practice, in ethnic diversity. As I’ve said before, the GIRL ATTORNEY FB page is seeking to provide that type of space – to make us all wiser and stronger for it. So, Thank you to those of you who introduced yourselves this week. Also, for those of you who have yet to do so – Just do it! It’ll make you feel good!

MEMBERSHIP GUIDELINES: (aka: a refresher of what to do when you see something that another member posted….that someone else – not in the group – would find VERY INTERESTING….in a way that would not feel awesome for the original poster): Leave it alone. Do not screenshot and share. Resist the temptation to be THAT person (justifying it on the premise that the original posting gal took the risk that it could be re-shared). I mean, just because you CAN, is never a justification for doing. Be cool to each other out there, ladies. And, well, also post with an awareness that there are always those risks (that it will be found/forwarded in some way) when you choose to share something with the Group.

COMING – BIG NEWS – SO EXCITING: A website is being developed as a companion to this Group page. Some things the website will feature include: a bi-weekly interview with a fellow girl attorney “This Girl,” a “column” that addresses issues that are unique to women lawyers in the workplace “THAT’S Bullshit” (kidding, kidding! – well, kidding about the title), Artists who are GIRL ATTORNEYS and their Art…..and, MORE (seriously)! Several women have reached out to me and are involved in generating this content. If you are interested in getting involved in providing your original content through the girl attorney website, shoot me a PM on that! I’d love to facilitate as many of you contributing as are interested.

Well, there you go – there’s my overview of This Week in GA!

Goodnight, Girl Attorneys.

P.S. While, of course, I have LOVED the shape/image of the GA logo from the very beginning – the color has been a bit of a distraction for me. Since I LOVE the shape, and – as a general rule – I don’t want to be an overly-picky person, I just kept telling myself to let it go – but, well, it just kept looking like Tiffany & Co. blue, to me. Of course, it wasn’t. BUT, it was close enough to make me just a little crazy. And, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE a gift that comes in A LITTLE BLUE BOX. But, even after almost a month, I just couldn’t get comfortable with that blue – for the logo – for that reason. Enter Sally (who, did I mention to you guys that our graphic designer, my sister, is a Grammy Award winning designer? I probably did because I brag on her whenever possible) – well, anyway, I finally told her my gut feeling on it (the color) tonight and she has helped me take the plunge to a new, classic, blue. The updated image (and FB cover “photo” for the Group) will come later this week! So, be patient – and get excited!

Okay, now I really mean it – Goodnight, Girl Attorneys. XO

Susan Carns Curtiss, Founder and CEO GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC

WOO HOO!!! I’m sure I’m not alone when I say – I am so glad this last week is over!

So, on that topic – CONGRATULATIONS to each of you GIRLS who took your Bar exams – all across the U.S. this week! YOU DID IT! Don’t forget to share your victory lap with us when the results come in!

FACEBOOK GROUP MEMBERSHIP:

WELCOME to all the new members – we continue to grow in numbers which is great, of course. But, more importantly we are growing geographically, in ethnic diversity, and most of all…we are meeting and hearing from more of each other, helping each other, and learning from each other. There are few things more awesome in this life than “spaces” that feel safe enough to show our vulnerabilities and allow us to learn from others. GIRL ATTORNEY FB page is seeking to provide that type of space – to make us all wiser and stronger for it.

So, more about that…Thank you to those of you who introduced yourselves this week. Also, for those of you who have yet to do so – Just do it! It’ll make you feel good!

GIRL ATTORNEY – EVENTS:

LUNCHEONS!!

THIS FRIDAY · Austin (Hostess: Faustine Curry) · August 5 @ El Arroyo Restaurant NEXT FRIDAY · DFW (Hostess: Eileen McCombs) · August 12 @ Shady Valley Country Club

HAPPY HOUR!!

THIS FRIDAY · Norman, Oklahoma (Hostess: Xian Adams) · August 5 @ Blu Fine Wine & Food

CLOSE THE GAP RUN!! Sign up or donate – follow this link!

THIS SATURDAY – Tulsa, Oklahoma (Organizer: Pansy Moore-Shrier) · August 6 @ Guthrie Green

POSTING GUIDELINES:

This is really just a re-post from last week: I want to take a minute to remind everyone to please try to avoid the temptation to REPOST stories/links to other sites, memes, etc… Please consider, instead, POSTING your own unique thoughts about the topics of interest to you! Again, of course – there is so much great content “out there” – but, too much of that content linked into the Group can really SPAM up the GIRL ATTORNEY FB feed. So, please proceed with thoughtful caution.

If you do post a link from an outside source – a couple of things to consider:

1. Please include, at least, your own thoughts or comments regarding the issue or article in your original post.

2. Please consider putting the link into the first comment. Thank you!

There’s my overview of this week in GA! Goodnight, Girl Attorneys!

Susan Carns Curtiss, Founder and CEO GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC

THANK YOU to those of you who introduced yourselves this – our THIRD – week! It has been so fun for me – and for everyone, of course – to get to know you, your work, your past accomplishments (and mistakes), and your future goals! The life and breath of the GIRL ATTORNEY FB Group is each of you…all 2,464 (what the heck?!) of you! XO

BEST OF LUCK THIS WEEK to each of you GIRLS getting ready to take Bar exams! Of course we have a large contingency of State of Oklahoma Bar takers this week (Tues & Wed) – BUT, I ALSO know of one of ours taking the Massachusetts Bar Exam this week (Wed & Thurs), as well. Any others? Tell us when and where GIRLS, and be prepared to have LOADS of good vibes, happy thoughts, and prayer to support you! YOU’LL DO IT!!!

LUNCHEONS!! Not just one, but TWO meet-ups south of the Red River have been set up and are being hosted by fellow fabulous Girl Attorneys:

· Austin (Hostess: Faustine Curry) – August 5 @ El Arroyo Restaurant

· DFW (Hostess: Eileen McCombs) – August 12 @ Shady Valley Country Club

For some reason (probably because FB is the devil), I had no trouble RSVP’ing to the Austin Lunch – but could NOT RSVP to the DFW Lunch without (eventually) contacting Eileen directly. SO, if you would like to go to either or both of these and can’t just “click through” to say that you are going – please contact the hostess, or me, directly by PM. We’ll get ya on the list!

ISSUES of life and family and work and social justice – were ALL addressed in respectful and compelling dialogue this week in the Group. No surprise there; we are who we are.

FINALLY, I want to take a minute to remind everyone to please try to avoid (translation – it’s not exactly a total ban) the temptation to REPOST stories/links to other sites. Please consider, instead, POSTING your own unique thoughts about the topics of interest to you! Again, of course – there is so much great content “out there” – but, too much of that content linked into the Group can really SPAM up the GIRL ATTORNEY FB feed. So, proceed with thoughtful caution. Thank you!

Okay…well that’s it for now, and my overview of this week in GA! Goodnight, Girl Attorneys!

Susan Carns Curtiss, Founder and CEO GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC

• We’ve grown from just over 1,400 STRONG to NEARLY 2,400 There IS strength in numbers, ladies – and with nearly 480,000 Girl Attorneys in the U.S….we are well on our way there. Hahahaha

• On a more practical note – we got a docket covered in Candian County, Oklahoma, made referrals for Girl Attorneys in U.S. states across the country, a couple of us (who met initially through GA) coordinated a meeting with a congressman’s staff about getting a particular bill passed, and we congratulated Girls for their upcoming nuptials, babies and anticipated bar passing. (You’ll Do It!)

• We commemorated the 15th Anniversary of Legally Blonde (moment of silence, please).

• The question was asked….what advice would you give a new lawyer? And it was answered, most-keenly, with: “Catch all the Pokemon.” (Okay, in all seriousness, there were over FORTY informed, wise, and practical responses to this question – I mean, answers that are the stuff of self-help books that SELL WELL!) But/so, please forgive me – I truly can’t help it if my favorite answer was technically the most juvenile.

• AND, in OKC (and including at least one GA who DROVE FROM TULSA TO BE HERE), we enjoyed the INAUGURAL GA lunch….complete with GA-contributed homemade brownies and lemon bars, a neighborhood block packed with luxury cars (my Prius was in the garage, after all)….one Girl Attorney mentioned to me, “Guess your neighbors must be thinking, who let the riff-raff into the neighborhood??! All these Mercedes and BMWs…” hahaha, and more-than-enough (by a long shot) TexMex. THANK YOU to everyone who came – you made it the great gathering that it was!

• HEAD’S UP Austin and DFW areas….be watching for meet-ups created in the Event tab!

• THIS GIRL – After my post about the amazing Susie Wilson, (where I arguably – definitely, actually – OVERUSE the expression “This Girl” to make my point) it occurred to me that Girl Attorney should have a “column” that features a brief interview of one of us…weekly/monthly? It would be called “This Girl” and be another way for us to get to know each other better. So, be watching for that!

• ALSO…be watching for a new announcement about the future of Girl Attorney next Friday (7/16/16) at noon!

Okay…well that’s this week in GA! Goodnight Girl Attorneys!

Susan Carns Curtiss, Founder and CEO GIRL ATTORNEY, LLC

• A week ago tonight, at exactly this time, I couldn’t sleep. I picked up my phone, and a little after midnight I started [finally] writing the “Description” for the Group I created back in November of last year.

• On Sunday morning, I changed the group settings from “secret” to “public,” “joined” 46 of my girl attorney friends to the Group, and wrote my own introduction.

• Over the next/past seven (7) days nearly 1,400 more women were brought into the group by their friends. THAT’S NEARLY A 3,000 PERCENT INCREASE. Well, according to a percentage-change calculator I found through Google – and also assuming I submitted the data correctly in the first place…but, assuming arguendo (I love using that word) that I actually screwed up the calculations because I’m so bad at math that I can’t even enter the numbers correctly….46 to over 1,400. THAT’S A LOT OF US.

• Women have been offered lunches, information, advice, support, encouragement, job connections, job advice, office space, lunch*, community, themselves, their stories – undirected, unrestricted, unscripted – this week as been our stories, OURSELVES.

• A dear friend and supporter asked me mid-week, “Do you have any ‘original content’? What’s driving your growth?” Of course, the answer is: we have tons of original content – it’s YOU. It’s US. It’s every person’s story. ORIGINAL. AUTHENTIC. SUBSTANCE.

• Girls…some news – tomorrow (Sunday, 7/10) – I will launch our new (and the only ever REAL logo) for our Group. I’m so excited I can hardly stand it. I’ll post it at noon, CST. All credits go to my sister, Sally, who has been working this week to get to know our Group as it has grown – so that she could create an image that reflected us as a whole. I don’t know how she does her voodoo-magic graphic design stuff. She just does it, and she does it so well that she earned herself a freaking Grammy for CD packaging a few years ago. We’re lucky to have her working for us. Plus, for no money down… 😉

• ALSO, don’t forget the OKC-area *meet-up this Friday (click on the “Event” tab to find and rsvp if you can come). I’ll plan to take a final tally by Wednesday at noon. AND, if you are – or have friends out east that might be interested in a Philadelphia meet-up in a couple of weekends, let me know.

Okay…well that’s this week in GA! Goodnight Girl Attorneys!

Susan Carns Curtiss, Founder GIRL ATTORNEY