Biography
Contact me at LisaNuss@msn.com.
I am an attorney and freelance writer. My opinion columns have been published in major daily newspapers including the San Francisco Chronicle, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, as well as the UK Guardian, the Huffington Post and Women's eNews websites. My posted piece defending Martha Stewart was reprinted in the book "Reading and Writing Short Arguments" (McGraw Hill: 2005). My work has also appeared in the Utne Reader, Bitch Magazine (it's legit - check it out!) and Skirt Magazine.
Like Michelle Obama, I also bootstrapped my way to a top law school and wrote my thesis criticizing the bigotry embedded in our elite institutions. I am currently working on a memoir about my experiences in law school. I'm trying to keep it light and funny, which is probably why it's taking so long to finish.
I recently had my first child and moved from San Francisco back to my hometown of Salem, Oregon, in the beautiful Willamette Valley. My grandmother's grandmother rode a wagon over the rugged Oregon Trail -- the women in our family have always been hearty and worked alongside the men (you can't exactly worry about your nails or wear high heels when you're caulking a wagon to float the Columbia River).
In San Francisco I worked as a consultant with the Promontory Financial Group where I advised banks and financial institutions on corporate governance issues and compliance with federal laws and regulations. Prior to that I was a campaign finance and elections attorney with the Mill Valley, CA, law firm Nielsen, Merksamer.
My political work includes positions as a legislative counsel, committee administrator and lobbyist in the Oregon Legislature, an internship in Congress and paid staff on a U.S. Senate re-election campaign.
I'm so thrilled to herald the blessings of choosing to become a mother for the first time in my 40s. I wouldn't do it any other way. My beautiful, exuberant boy hasn't diminished my ambitions or drive one tiny iota. He has, however, diminished my sleep and now nearing two, he is demolishing the house.
Other publications:
"Memo: Nancy and Hillary are More Than Elected Moms" - Women's eNews website: http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm?aid=3043
"Nice Dunk, Dear" - San Francisco Chronicle Op-Ed Aug. 30, 2002
http://articles.sfgate.com/2002-08-30/opinion/17558540_1_dunk-michelle-snow-lisa-leslie
"New 'Stepford Wives' Fuels Old Anti-Career Views" - Womens eNews website:
http://www.womensenews.org/article.cfm/dyn/aid/1901
"The Blonding of Women Lawyers" -
Skirt! Magazine
http://www.skirtmag.com/stories/030105/features_lawyers.shtml
