I want to thank Ken Priore (TLA West Coast Chair), John Hanover, and Michael Chen for the great session with The Honorable Judge Stuart Rice, Los Angeles Superior Court.
Judge Rice was engaging and the moderators (and attendees) asked great questions from clerkships to how to become a Judge. If you watch the video of the program, you will get to know Judge Rice's path to the bench and what to expect if you are before him in court.
The Tufts Lawyers Association is appreciative of Judge Rice for participating in this program.
We are excited to continue this series on April 7, 2021 when we will feature the Honorable Andre Birotte Jr., U.S. District Court, Central District of California. Please register for the program.
If you missed TLA's Racial Disparities in the Legal Profession event earlier this year, no worries because you can watch the recorded video here.
TLA's Public Interest & Social Justice Committee wants to hear from you. We couldn't go through all of the questions submitted, but our excellent panelists (Lisa Radcliffe, Mitchell Robinson, Koro Nuri, and Hon. Eric Washington) wanted to provide some of their responses to questions. If you have other questions or comments, please email us at TuftsLawyers@gmail.com.
Here are the questions and answers:
I am a white attorney at a private firm. We work
hard for diversity... but evidently white attorneys need to be better mentors
to attorneys of color, if only because there are still relatively few
POC. Do you have suggestions for those who want to be allies to be most
effective with junior attorneys of color?
While I do think it is important for attorneys of color
to have mentors of color that can directly relate to some experiences, I
think it is more important for PoC to have mentors in the profession,
period. In addition, it is equally as important to also have mentors
outside of the race. I think your willingness to be a
mentor in this first instance is a great step. Would you provide any
particular guidance, insight or access to a white attorney that you would
not provide to a PoC? It is beneficial to simply share your
experiences and lessons learned with the PoC, as many things are universal
and the history is that simply not many PoC have had access to interested
mentors (especially informal ones). As I mentioned on the call, I
think it is extremely important for white attorneys who wish to be allies,
to be so when PoC are not around when discussing access and opportunities
that may be relevant. (Koro)
Koro’s response is spot on. Serving as a
mentor/ally is a critical component to the DE&I equation.
Serving in this capacity can change your firm’s culture and the trajectory
of your mentees career, especially if no formal DE&I programs have
been implemented. While there is no magical formula that works for
every firm or legal entity, you are an experienced attorney; you know the
firm, its culture and players so you already have a lot to offer. Be
engaging and spend time getting to know your colleague. Be
strategic. What steps can you take now that will help that attorney
become a viable part of the firm (or other legal entity) in the future? In
DE&I an ally is someone who stands up for others to proactively build
inclusion. To do so, that ally is using their power (and position)
to advocate for someone who does not have that same status. What do
you think you can do to achieve this? In the workplace, it can
simply mean advocating for your mentee to be given a specific assignment,
placed on a specialized team or challenging your fellow partner who
summarily dismisses the idea that your mentee should even be
considered. As an ally you can also try to help your firm take meaningful
steps to build a DE&I program. And as I stated during the discussion,
if your firm or department isn’t properly equipped to address this, please
hire DE&I professionals who are. (Lisa)
I agree with Koro’s comments about the importance of
mentorship by Black and White partners in the law firm context. It has to
go beyond PR expressions by the firm or private conversations with
partners who are going to “look” for an opportunity to work with the
lawyer of color. In my experience that means that the partner is looking
for some work that is peripheral to the more substantive work that other
associates on his or her team are performing. Instead, the partner or
senior attorney needs to make associates and younger lawyers of color part
of their team so that there are meaningful opportunities for that lawyer
to engage with clients and develop the legal skills necessary to
eventually lead a team of lawyers working on substantive legal matters. It
doesn’t matter if the partner is Black or White. It’s really all
about partners recognizing their own biases and working hard not to let
them influence their decisions about how to staff certain matters. It’s
about equal opportunity. However, having Black partners or senior
lawyers of color in the case of public sector organizations is important
in helping younger lawyers of color navigate through the cultural aspects
of the business environment that may not be as welcoming as the firm or
entity might have hoped. The bottom line is that there are things all of
us can do to better support and ultimately retain lawyers of color in our
institutions. (Eric)
Have you encountered (and how do you address) situations
in which a member of a different minority group, is "comparing
oppression" (for lack of better phrasing)? So as to say one has been more
oppressed than another rather than mutual allyship
Unfortunately, this does come up occasionally and often
raised by African-Americans as well. My response is usually that one
person's pain or "oppression" should never diminish the
experiences of someone else. However, there are times when specific
issues are being discussed and the conversation should remain focused on
that in order to be effective, but ultimately all of our goal should be to
help eliminate all forms of discrimination. (Koro)
I
couldn’t agree more with Koro’s answer. Well said! (Lisa)
How does the concept of gender bias factor into this? -
while often Black women experience that double whammy, but Koro identified that
in his class at Tufts were 55 Black freshman - of which only 10 were men.
So, question whether that typical gender bias gets turned on its head
professionally?
The question is a little confusing and perhaps someone
else may be more qualified to answer, but I don't think the Black gender
demographics in higher education (which I think are typically more
Female than Male) would change (or undermine) the actual experiences of
black women in professional settings where there is a "double
whammy". (Koro)
I’m not sure I completely understand the question. But
I will say that Black women feel the effects of the “double whammy” all of
our lives. Dealing with microaggressions stemming from racism and
sexism is exhausting, even numbing, but we carry on. One thing is
for sure, Tufts prepared me to navigate the racism and sexism I’ve
experienced as a Black female attorney. Near the end of our
discussion, I mentioned that racism and sexism are often inextricably
linked (intersect) and deeply rooted in our society. They impact the
way Black women are viewed and treated professionally. They are the
reason Black women are paid substantially less than our counterparts, and
why we aren’t recruited, mentored, complemented, recommended, valued or
promoted like we should be. The microaggressions we experience because
of our race and gender are a reason why many Black women have chosen to
leave their employer to pursue other endeavors. The legal profession
should be cringing at the lack of black female representation particularly
at the decision making and equity partnership levels. If legal entities
committed themselves to developing meaningful DE&I programs for Black
women, I can say with confidence, that they will be laying a solid
foundation and creating an environment where everyone will at the very least,
have a chance to thrive. (Lisa)
Thanks again to all of the panelists for their time and
continued efforts.
Law Day on the Hill is TLA's signature event every year. This year we are celebrating our 19th YEAR of Law Day.
Last year, our meeting was in person (our last in-person event of 2020), but this year we are excited to do the meeting by zoom. We are excited to see the TLA member engagement with Tufts students beyond just the New England region.
If you have not attended Law Day before, the event format and purpose is great. The event is designed to benefit Tufts undergrads who are interested in law school or a career in the legal community. We conduct programs, panel discussions, and networking sessions to give the students a sense of what law school and a legal career is like. At the same time, we invite TLA members (Tufts Alumni who graduated from law school) to attend and share their experiences with the students and with fellow alumni. It is a great opportunity to give back / mentor and build connections with fellow TLA members.
This year our rockstar team of Co-Chairs, Melissa John and Dara Lynn Freytag, have put together an amazing program. We will have a panel discussion about healthcare and biotechnology with four experienced panelists:
Suzan
V. Levin, J96,
assistant general counsel, Pfizer (part of the Pfizer's COVID team)
Mehreen N. Butt, J99, councilor, Town of Wakefield, Mass., and Planned
Parenthood League of Massachusetts
Emily S. Mahoney, MG13, counsel, Faber, Daeufer, & Itrato,
P.C.
Following the panel discussion, we will break up into networking groups to facilitate mentorship and connections.
Thanks to our Law Day planning committee members for their efforts on this program: Melissa John, Dara Lynn Freytag, Trecia Pessoa, Joseph Rivera, Sabienne Brutus, Steven Feldman, Aime Macdonald, and Tom Dunn.
