Learning to Navigate Big Law as an Attorney of Color

Laywering is hard. Regardless of your practice area or type of office, the requirements and commitments are demanding and the lack of diversity in all areas lead to feelings of isolation for most attorneys of color. That’s just the nature of the career.

But it often seems that Big Law is just harsher than average towards us. It’s harsher because, for better or worse, Big Law is still considered the most prestigious career-path within our industry so the gatekeepers make a point to make entry extra difficult. Those gatekeepers are usually also more conservative, privileged, and vested in the status quo remaining the same—i.e. they want to make sure they keep the power.  So it’s no surprise the red carpet isn’t rolled out for those of us that don’t fit the narrow parameters of what a “successful” big law partner tends to look like.

This article in Law360 discusses experiences from other attorneys of color and what they endure in this legal arena. Some of the slights are small (microaggression) that aside from feeling like slights can also be dismissed by others and make you question whether you’re being overly sensitive. In the article, a white male attorney doesn’t shake the hands of a female partner because he assumes she’s not the attorney in charge. She moves on to get her job done, but little actions like this—things that dismiss your capacity or hell, even your presence, can add up and impact you negatively.

Reading the article reminded me of the pilot episode of Mad Men, where Roger asks Don if he had hired any Jews lately because they were going to meet with a Jewish client. It’s supposed to be a so horrifying-it’s-funny situation because surely no one does that anymore. Yet, here are some modern day examples of Black men being permitted to participate only because of the color of their skin. Forget that one of them was better equipped to be at the meeting than the other attorneys…

Having to feel like you’re a token makes you question your capacity. Am I here because I’m capable or am I only here because they want to please some client?

Add these experiences to the fact that often times the attorneys of color aren’t given prime assignments because the gatekeepers ignorantly question our capability and you end up with a barely average career track that makes you question whether you should stay in big law at all.

The best solution would be that firms would be open and honest about the racist and sexist system they have established and work towards real change. But in the meantime, you’ve got students loans to pay for, right?  What are your real options, other than leaving for a smaller firm or going solo/new career track?

The solution is simple: be the best. Easier said than done, but the only “real” way to progress (that’s within your control) in this kind of conservative field, is to be the most prepared and the most proactive when it comes to assignments. Let me add here that it is CRAZY that you have to work harder than the average legacy-child to make the same gains in the same firm, but what are the other options that are actually within your control? It may seem hyperbolic to say you have to be the most prepared, but doing so works two-fold: first, it will put to rest the most ignorant beliefs that you’re not capable of doing the work; second, there’s such a great satisfaction and confidence-builder in knowing you’re going to be the most prepared out of everyone on that case (come on, we’re all attorneys here, we can admit we sometimes have a competitive ego that occasionally requires stroking 😉 ).

Of course, once you are able to gain some real power and capital within your firm, then you must push for change. Advocate for implicit bias training, transparency in hiring/promotions, mandating sponsorship programs, etc. Those things rarely happen simply because white male allies create them on their own.  It’s a change that we have to demand.

Most importantly whether you decide to bear what you have to in order to make partner or decide to start looking for something more compatible to your life, the slights you experience that make you question your worth and capacity will eat at you. You must take care of yourself and not fall into the common trap of self-medicating with alcohol or other bad habits. There’s no shame in acknowledging that working in a field that is biased against you and your community all the while having to work doubly hard to prove yourself is going to harsh your vibe, to say the least. Take care of yourself.

Finally, seek others out—there may not be many other attorneys of color in your firm, or practice area, or even city, but strong and vibrant communities for attorneys of color do exist (even if it’s a the national level) that you can join and use to form support systems. I really encourage involvement in these because there can be so much validation and relief just to hear someone else say they understand and have gone through the same thing.