The

Undeniable

Ruth

®

…and the Ruth shall set you free!

  • Day 80/90 – Breakfast with Prospective Law Students

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    Day 80 of the 90 Days of Awesome is in the bank! What made today awesome? I got to have bagels and coffee with honors business undergrads who are considering careers in the legal industry.

    Photo by Gina Sanfillippo, used with permission
    Photo by Gina Sanfillippo, used with permission

    I was invited to speak to this group of bright students from the W.P. Carey School of Business  at ASU about having a nontraditional legal career. These students are in an internship program which involves working out of business and attempting these weekly seminars where different speakers talk about various aspects of working in the legal industry. I was invited to share my story to demonstrate to the students that you can do more things with a JD degree then be a traditional lawyer.

    I got to talk about how I basically went to law school on a whim and how I found my professional passions after getting involved in the flash mob and social media communities in Phoenix which led to me starting this blog, opening a firm right out of law school, and putting as much energy into developing my career as a professional speaker and writer as I do into providing legal services for my clients. (I still say the best thing I did in law school was participate in the inaugural No Pants Light Rail Ride. It led to almost all the awesome opportunities in my career.)

    It was fun to listen to these people, who are at the beginning of their careers, about their ideas that they want to work on professionally and how they can make opportunities for themselves through blogging, social media, and just being professionally bold about what they want.

    To be honest, I don’t remember much of what I actually said, but the group’s coordinator, Gina Sanfillippo said I did a great job and all the students seemed happy with what I presented and wanted my card. I’ll take that for a win.

    In case you missed it: Day 79 of the 90 Days of Awesome – Mitch Jackson and I did a live preview of our talk on social media law for Periscope Community Summit.

  • Day 79/90 – Periscope Community Summit Preview with Mitch Jackson

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    Day 79 of the 90 Days of Awesome is in the bank! What made today awesome? I got to do a spontaneous online show with Mitch Jackson about our upcoming panel at the Periscope Community Summit in New York!

    Ruth and Mitch Rockin' it on Blab
    Ruth and Mitch Rockin’ it on Blab

    I previously shared that Mitch Jackson and I will be co-panelists at the Periscope Community Summit in September where we will be talking about the legal issues that accompany live streaming video and social media. Today, Mitch suggested we do preview show on Blab to talk about some of the topics we might cover in our talk and to get input on the topics and questions non-lawyers who use Periscope have.

    You can watch our full talk on Blab here.

    And here’s Mitch’s write up of our conversation.

    I thought it was so funny that Mitch has pages and pages of ideas for our panel. I summed up our talk into a sticky note that said, “Stop Fucking Up On Social.” The audience seemed to appreciate that.

    We’re only going to have an hour at Periscope Community Summit for our panel but I’m sure we’ll try to touch on copyright/fair use, trademark, defamation, privacy, First Amendment, harassment/bullying issues, and FTC requirements. Hopefully we’ll have time during and after the conference to keep the conversation going about these legal issues because with these new technologies, the legislature and the courts are still figuring out what the rules are.

    This is going to be a fun trip. I’m so looking forward to seeing everyone at Periscope Community Summit and all my New York and New York-adjacent friends.

    In case you missed it: Day 78 of the 90 Days of Awesome – I got to corrupt the 1Ls at ASU Law School!

  • Day 78/90 – Corrupting ASU 1Ls

    ·

    Ruth Carter

    Day 78 of the 90 Days of Awesome is in the bank! What made today awesome? I got to meet some of the new law students at ASU at their orientation reception.

    I can't wait until the new law school building is finished (Photo courtesy of ASU Law School)
    I can’t wait until the new law school building is finished (Photo courtesy of ASU Law School)

    ASU Law School has a reception during 1L orientation where they invite their alums to meet the new students. It’s in the evening so the 1Ls are exhausted from a long day of information overload and culture shock. It’s fun to share tips for surviving law school and give them a glimpse of what life after law school is like.

    My goal for attending these types of event is to show law students that there’s more than one way to be a lawyer. I purposely attended in jeans and a tank top to show them that not all lawyers wear a suit every day. Along with talking about my legal career as an Of Counsel attorney, blogger, speaker, and author, I tried to share some lessons that got my though law school:

    • If you’re smart enough to get into law school, you’re smart enough to get through it.
    • Sometimes you’ll lose your mind a bit due to stress and fatigue, but it’s temporary. You will bounce back and be happy again.
    • The difference between the top and the bottom of the class is small. Unless your dream job requires you to be at the top of your class, you don’t have to check your grades. I didn’t.
    • Become friends with the IT guys. They will save your ass when your computer breaks.
    • The staff and faculty at ASU Law are as supportive as they claim to be. If you need or want something, ask.
    • Treat law school like a trade school. Learn your craft and network your face off you so will be well connected to the community by the time you graduate. If you have an opportunity that requires skipping a class, definitely skip class.

    I told a group of 1Ls the story about the day I realized Dean Sylvester was super cool when he encouraged me to send a demand letter to the then-ASU Law Dean when he was late to class.

    I also met a 1L who I exchanged emails with a few years ago. She’d asked me if law school was worth it and I told her to ask herself whether a law degree was necessary to achieve her goals. If so, go to law school. And now she’s at ASU. That was really cool.

    I gave my business card to just about every law student I met and I told them to call or email if they need anything. We’ll now many of them take me up on it.

    For anyone who discovers this post after meeting me tonight, here a bonus for you: Seven Layers of Academic Hell.

    In case you missed it: Day 77 of the 90 Days of Awesome – I treated myself to a Suzie Housewife Day!