Author: Renwei

“I fooled the crowd when I made it sound like I was more than ready / Strike up the band, deprive my sleep / Cause there’s no love like apathy / The bell that tolls rings loud enough that it should have woke us up.” — The Format

First off, I don’t feel quite comfortable or equipped to write about last week’s shooting at Michigan State University. Nevertheless, I wanted to share the full transcript of Tom Izzo’s speech here as I haven’t seen it anywhere else online. I hope Spartan Nation can find solace in his speech and sentiment.

Here are a few other articles you can read this week that may help you cope with this recent tragedy:

• “Requiem for the Spartans” by Tim Alberta
• “Elementary School. High School. Now College. Michigan State Students Are No Strangers to Mass Shootings.” By Julie Bosman, Sophia Lada, Tracey Tully, and Patricia Mazzei
• “Michigan State Deserves More Than Thoughts and Prayers” by Jemele Hill
• “Tom Izzo knows Michigan Game Can Help Michigan State Heal, But Some Things are Bigger Than Rivalries” by Chris Solari
• “236 Minutes of Terror at MSU: Barricaded with a Gunman on the Loose” by Reis Thebault, Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, and Wali Khan
• “What We Know About the Michigan State Shooting” by Tariro Mzezewa
• “Tom Izzo closes heartbreaking speech to Michigan State students and community with a challenge” by Dan Wetzel

Continue Reading on Above the Law

“Judge it how you judge it, say we going corporate /
Nah, we just corner boys with the corner office /
I’m at the cap table, what the splits is? /
Not that cap table, boy, we live this.” — Jay Z

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve no doubt felt the wake from ChatGPT’s launch, landing, and exploration into our collective minds. In case you’ve been disassociated from society over the past few weeks (I wouldn’t blame you), here is a good ChatGPT primer and why it matters for lawyers.

Naturally, having covered DEI topics in the legal profession for the past eight years, I couldn’t resist asking ChatGPT: “Why is the legal industry not diverse?”

Here was ChatGPT’s response:

“The legal industry, like many others, has historically been dominated by white men. This has led to a lack of diversity in the field, with limited representation of women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ+ community, and individuals with disabilities. The reasons for this lack of diversity are complex and can be attributed to a number of factors, including:

Keep reading on ATL

“And blame postmodern things I can’t relate / Like summer camp in coastal states / Like alcohol and coffee beans / Dance floors and magazines / I think it’s safe to say I’ve only got myself to blame.” — The Format

This week, I had the opportunity to catch up with Helen Wan — an author, lawyer, and speaker on DEI and women in the workplace.

Wan is a graduate of Amherst College and The University of Virginia School of Law. Wan’s novel, “The Partner Track,” follows idealistic young lawyer Ingrid (played in the series by Arden Cho) as she competes to climb the partner track at a New York law firm, premiered as an original Netflix series last month.

I’ve covered the lack of diversity in the media time and time again (see here, here, and here), so I won’t digress on how critical representation is to our industry specifically and society as a whole.

Wan’s story from the launch of her book to the landing of an original Netflix series is a testament to her hard work, grit, and the realization of dreaming big. It was incredible to learn about the rocket ship and roller coaster (rocket-coaster) trajectory of “The Partnership Track” as well as the trials and tribulations she’s faced throughout her career.

After speaking with Wan, I couldn’t help but want to write my own story. And I believe you will too after hearing more about her journey of bringing her novel to our television screens.

Continue reading on ATL