Legally Blogging

The Legally Blogging idea was dreamed up by three ladies who all met in blog-land and instantly clicked. You could say it was love at first sight. The immediate connection stemmed from the one thing they had in common: Law. Obviously, as time went on, they discovered they had much more in common than just law, but that was a great starting point.

Here they are!

They decided to join forces and start a blogging series, to show that lawyers aren't always what you'd expect. The main goal of the series is to connect with other legal ladies out there and meet some great new people. Every week, the hope is to showcase a new person in the series.

Series so far:

Catherine - Part 1
Allison - Part 2
Jackie - Part 3
Jackie (City Girl...) - Part 4
Erica (To The Sea) - Part 5
Crystal (29 Rue House) - Part 6
Bridy (Brid's Journey) - Part 7
Josie (Straight No Chase) - Part 8
Jennifer (Come Rain or Come Shine) - Part 9
Katies (KTJ Weighing In) - Part 10

If you're interested in participating in the Legally Blogging Series, just send an email to Jackie: jjstoughton [AT] gmail [DOT] com.

We'd love to have you on board!

Hi. My name is Bobbie, and I blog at 40 Shades of Pink 

I'm so excited to be Part 11 of this series!!


 
First a little about me:
After growing up in a very small town with my grandma, I was looking for excitement and the big city life.  I moved to Las Vegas and waited tables for 12 years while attending UNLV.  After the smog, crime and traffic of big city life lost its appeal, I returned home, started dating my husband, and entered Law School when I was 30 years old (when almost everyone else in my class was 22). 

I've been  practicing mainly insurance defense law for the past 10 years. I am currently the head of the insurance defense litigation department in my firm and happily married for 8 years (my anniversary was yesterday!)

Do people in real life know about the blog?

I've told a few of my friends about it, but mostly they don't read it.  I find that not many of the people I come in daily contact with know about the blog. I also don't blog much about my work or my work days.



So what do you blog about (a lot of house renovations)?

Wanting to capture the excitement of being newly married and fixing up our first house, which was in pitiful shape when we got it.  Over the last five years, we have replaced the flooring in all but two rooms in the house (the dining room has original wood floors and the upstairs above the garage has no floor!), we have  gutted two bathrooms, and partially gutted the other one, painted every room in the house (some rooms twice), replaced all the appliances, gutted the laundry room, built a kitchen island and my husband made a concrete countertop, fenced the back yard, replaced all the doors and most of the windows,  replaced all three A/C units,  built a closet under the stairs, and a partridge in a pear tree.

We're still not finished with the house, but work has slowed drastically.  In addition to the house, I blog about what I cook and bake, what I read and wear, and my (pitiful attempts at) gardening.

What do you do when not blogging?

I  take care of a husband, house and dog. I teach high school girls Sunday School class at my church. I  make a lot of to-do lists.  I like to cook and bake and read food magazines. I attempt to garden (just planted two Hibiscus I got on vacation in Florida). I go to Starbucks a lot. I love to read blogs, and watch You-Tube (especially organizational and makeup videos). I am irrationally interested in other people's daily lives. 


I'm in two different "book clubs", each consisting of only one other person. One to read non-fiction business books only (we are now reading Start)  and one to read anything, but usually non-fiction (now reading an Invisible Thread). I participate in Women's Bible Study at my church (currently doing Brave).   I have a secret desire to be a housewife as my favorite thing to do is putter around the house getting things cleaned and organized. I never have the time, money and energy (all at the same time) to get the projects I want to accomplish actually accomplished.


What do you think is the biggest misconception about lawyers?

So many misconceptions!

One misconceptions is that we are all Ally McBeal, arriving at 10:00a in a short skirt to find a secretary at the elevator holding out our coffee and paper, have a long lunch, and leave to meet everyone we work with in the bar downstairs at 4p. (This is simply a fantasy.)

Another misconception is that our everyday life is an episode of The Good Wife where dramatic unknown facts suddenly come to light at the very last minute, which requires an assistant to race through the court room doors to hand me some information when I'm in the middle of questioning a witness. (Reality is: about 90% of my days are spent in my office reading a huge file to find those facts, which are never that dramatic, and writing persuasively to apply those facts, which again, is never that dramatic.)

A few of my days of what I wore to work:

 
 
 I find most people have no real idea of what I do each day. I usually explain it by reference to this commerical: Its a pretty accurate description. Everyday, I'm invited into the middle of someone else's battles, do a little fancy foot work, soothe over the situation and leave it behind me better than I found it.

On a bad day, my work looks more like this.

What is the favorite vacation you've been on?

I love vacations!! 

Every vacation is my favorite!



















Vacations are serious at our house. We have a pretty neat set-up worked out where we take one big vacation a year and we take turns picking where we are going. St. Augustine was my husband's choice. We've also been to Seattle, Washington; Ashville, North Carolina; Chattanooga, Tennessee; Depoe Bay, Oregon; San Diego, California;  and San Antonio, Texas.

I actually have a vacation hangover right now. I just got back from  a week in St. Augustine, Florida and then a few days at Pensacola Beach, Florida. St. Augustine has so much history and so much to visit (I drank from the Fountain of Youth!), then a few days at the beach was so relaxing and restful.

Next year, its my turn again.... I'm thinking  upper Michigan  or South Dakota or Cape Cod.... so many to pick from....


My advice for younger lawyers

If you haven't gone to law school: think long and hard about this. Its not something to do because you graduated from a 4 year college and don't know what else to do. Its not glamorous. Talk to other lawyers (a lot of other lawyers) and take what they say seriously. Its a difficult profession in every sense of the word.  Its rare to find someone who says they really love the job and would do it all again. Its a lot of responsibility.

Find a small area or subject and master it. Become very knowledgeable about one very small area and stick to that area. Sometimes my lawyer friends ask me if I get bored doing the same type of cases day after day, without variety,  I always answer, "I can run laps around anybody on a very small track."

Find a mentor. Keep your eyes open for someone who is doing what you want to do the way you want to do it and try to learn from them. Most people are willing to help you if you approach them respectfully and seriously. I credit one specific person for making me the attorney I am today.

Thanks again for allowing me to be Number 11 in the Legally Blogging Series!

See you later, Litigators!