We moved to Houston! Sort of …
Like many law firms, Eversheds is encouraging everyone to go back to the office at least a few times a month. The problem is that we don’t have an office in Dallas (yet!) so “popping into the office” means a four hour drive down to Houston.
We are going back to the office and in-person meetings, and that means it’s time to lose some pandemic weight. I recently bought my first pandemic suit but I refuse to replace my button-down shirts.
So here’s to a summer of getting it together — and more Fiona Apple shirts!
I started working from coffeeshops recently. It breaks up the tedium of working from the Oak Lawn apartment, and reminds a lot of my days studying for the bar exam.
We signed a lease for an apartment in downtown Dallas last week. After a year of being back in Texas, it is already time for a change.
Oak Lawn is special as one of the biggest gayborhoods in the country. However, proximity to gay bars and friends is not enough anymore. Living in Oak Lawn and working from home was great when I was 25, living a resort-style building, with a job that was good but not too demanding. But lawyering from a gloomy bedroom office is not the tea.
I am a week into my membership at the local Equinox gym, and it added some unexpectedly refreshing structure to my daily routine.
Equinox requires advanced scheduling for both solo workouts and classes, providing me with a solid deadline either to end work and leave for the gym, or a strict bed time (in the case of morning workouts).
Being forced to leave my apartment for an appointment also helps me organize my day, because I cannot allow work to sprawl into the late hours of the evening.
I was recently invited back to Georgetown Law to participate in a panel for incoming LL.M. students. Like every responsible event right now, this panel was held virtually.
The theme was how LL.M. students can best navigate this (not so new) virtual environment for job-hunting purposes.
My work from home desk looks a little different in Dallas — I figured since I stare at a screen for 10+ hours a day, I might as well get some exercise while doing it.
I rigged a DYI bike desk and decided to decorate the wall a little bit…
The Coronavirus spread rapidly across the country last week, so my firm announces Friday that we can work from home starting Monday.
I grab my equipment from the office over the weekend and start the “social distancing” experiment along with most of the city on Monday morning. Working from home reminds me of my prior gigs, but there are major differences this time, including unusually heavy email traffic and the inability to work from coffee shops.
However Monday turns out to have more than emails and bored dogs in store for me…
I was recently among 17 attorneys from my law firm submitted for high honors from the Capital Pro Bono Honor Roll. This list recognizes attorneys who contributed more than 100 hours of free legal work to low-income individuals in 2019. I also became a member of the Texas Pro Bono College related to the same service.
I recently had the chance to return to Georgetown Law to help with mock interviews. I get invited back to campus a few times a year either to speak on alumni panels or for networking receptions. It is always refreshing to visit campus and meet the next batch of Georgetown tax lawyers right before they start their careers.
State and local tax attorneys from across the country recently came to Washington D.C. for the Council On State Taxation (COST) annual conference. The conference was held at a hotel downtown, but the reception was in Chinatown at the National Portrait Gallery. A group of us went over after the work day, and it was a fun time.
After the COST conference reception, my firm held a client-only private dinner across the street at Dirty Habit in Hotel Monaco. There was a ton of food, but this was my favorite part:
It has been a long summer. Here’s the tea:
Work: It is busy, fun and challenging. I cannot believe that I started as an extern exactly two years ago! It is scary how quickly time passed, and how much has happened since I started. I still feel lucky to have been accepted to Georgetown’s tax law LL.M. program and to have started at one of the top law firms for State and Local Tax.
I remain actively involved with the law center and frequently meet with new tax students. It is a privilege to meet the new crop of talent every year, and even help some of them score interviews with us. I also took on three ongoing pro bono projects involving trans rights, death penalty law, and immigration — and I love that I work in a profession where I learn something new every single day.
One project for the fall is increasing my efficiency and building up my billable hours. I am also a board member of the DC LGBT Bar and the Texas Minority Counsel Program, which should keep me pretty booked and bless throughout the rest of the year.
The state and local tax group at my firm had its yearly retreat in South Beach (of all places!) It was a sweaty experience, but I made a weekend of it and visited a lot of my old college haunts.
It took almost exactly a full year to waive into the District of Columbia bar. I knew what to expect however because almost all of the associate attorneys on my floor have some administrative horror story about the D.C. Committee on Admissions. I was warned that my application would languish if I didn’t constantly pester the Committee (and they were right.)
Waiving into the District of Columbia Bar should be a simple process because I am already licensed in Texas. But the process was surprisingly complicated and seemed to involve fees every step of the way. The Committee wanted school transcripts, my test scores, and a certificate of good standing from the Texas Supreme Court.
Oh, and $418.
We had a little bit of snow in November, but nothing that stuck around. This time, we got about a foot of snow in the District over the weekend, which was apparently a 30-year record.
Although this type of snow storm was nothing special back in Minnesota, D.C. is not equipped to handle snow at all.
I started 2018 feeling ridiculous — I just finished the first semester of my Georgetown tax LL.M. program but did not have any grades yet. I was unsure if I would fail my classes or ever get a decent job. Maybe this Washington D.C. adventure was a mistake.
Things quickly got better. Instead of failing, my grades were actually strong. Job offers came in, spring semester’s grades were even better than the fall, and I started working immediately after graduation.
I moved from Pentagon City to Chinatown, and got rid of my car. Everything fell into place and I became a proper Washingtonian.
I recently had the opportunity to return to Dallas to speak at a tax conference. It was a great way to meet existing and potential clients. This was also my first time giving a formal presentation on State and Local Taxation, which is not something every law firm allows first year associates to do.
I visited Houston for the first time recently for the Texas Minority Counsel Program. The city reminded me a lot of Dallas, except downtown Houston felt more vibrant.
After a week full of networking, working, and spending way too much on Uber, I feel like I got a sense of the city.
It’s LL.M. orientation week. Last year, I was in the audience listening to alumni give study and job search advice. This year, I am on the same stage talking to a new crop of students.
I don’t get through all of my rehearsed talking-points, but I do manage to avoid saying anything stupid or outrageous. I repeatedly cautioned the students that securing a job offer from an externship is completely dumb luck on my part. But I probably sound like a lottery winner explaining that buying Powerball tickets is foolish.
My best piece of advice is: “Remember that massive book of information that the career office gave you? Actually read that and follow the instructions.”
If just one student uses that advice, then the panel was worth it.
It is a small miracle that I am even on this train, because the scheduled departure time was only 15 minutes after I left my client’s office. However, I make it because the train is (predictably) delayed. This also happened the first time that I traveled to Philadelphia for work, so I figure that like the D.C. metro, other trains rarely run on time during rush hour.
The train’s food cart is usually to be avoided, but it is late and I am starving. This is how $8 sandwiches get sold.
I briefly chat with one of my coworkers who is working in the train’s cafe cart, and then join the food line.
When I get in line, one of the men ahead of me immediately turns around and stares.
Man: “Sorry, but …did you go to University of Miami?”
Me: “Why, yes. I did.”
Man: “…and you also go to Georgetown?”
Me: “I did. Just graduated with my LL.M.”
Man: “I knew it! I saw you on campus and thought it was you!”
Turns out the man lived in the Hecht dorms when I was a resident assistant, and is now a 1L at Georgetown University. Small world!