ATHENA RISING: THE POWER OF THE FEMALE LAWYER & COLLECTIVE

Welcome to Athena Rising, the brainchild of Vanessa Singh Johannes & Marissel Descalzo, two white-collar defense and corporate investigations attorneys in Miami, Florida. There are plenty of blogs and podcasts in today’s world, but little to none address the “real” journeys of women in the law. Here, we hope to create a space where stories of successes, hurdles and growth are authentically, openly and honestly shared, for all to learn from and develop through. These include lessons on how we manage work and life responsibilities and our mental, physical, and emotional health in an ever-demanding world. The need for sharing such stories has never been greater. We are witnessing great changes in the legal profession – indeed, more women than men attend law school than ever before; yet, more women in senior positions are choosing to exit the profession or take on different roles. We have personally found that much of our success (and sanity) has come from leaning on our fellow ladies in the law and hope that other women find a collective through this project. Rising tides lift all boats and, together, our voices and stories can help shape our future. Inspired by Vogue’s 73 Questions, the Athena Rising podcast episodes pose 36 Questions to interviewees. Why 36? Thirty-six (36) is a POWER number, evidenced by the ancient Chinese 36 art of war strategies. It is also the number that led to women’s’ right to vote (that is, 36 states were required to ratify the 19th Amendment). And, let’s face it, we can get through 36 Questions faster than 73!