Let’s get deep. In this interview with Esquire Reanne Swafford-Harris, we get real and personal about life in law. A career in law is a very expensive long and trying process. This article provides advice and guidance for all those seeking to follow this career path.
How do you deal with being a minority, in a male-dominated industry?
Though this is the reality, I can’t allow that fact to hold me back. I have to be very aggressive in forcing my career in law, getting work, and step up for cases. I do my best to market myself internally, by making myself the expert. It’s important to distinguish myself as an expert so if an issue comes up, I’m the person that comes to mind right away. It’s important, even as a junior attorney, to look at your practice as running a business.
I see the partners as my clients, in order to build my book of business internally. I do my best to maintain my workload and hours so I can be considered for partnership and be a part of those important conversations.
What challenges did you need to overcome in order to start your career in law?
Having the inferiority complex that a lot of minorities struggle with. That feeling that you don’t belong. This is a very privileged white-male-dominated profession. I feel validated, being a black woman who did not come from a privileged background. Coming from a low-income family, it is rewarding to know I was able to break through so many barriers.
A lot of people got in this profession because of their wealth or networks. I got here because of all of my hard work alone. It took me a long time to look at it this way. It can be very easy to feel like you don’t belong. But it was a mental hurdle I had to get over.
We, as minorities, have to overcome these feelings, like questioning if we were chosen because of our minority status. But the answer is no. Yes someone may have had a higher score than you, but if they also had a private tutor and parents to walk them through the process. You, on the other hand, were working a part-time job while studying for the same exam then you shouldn’t look at your results as less than. You are just as qualified if not more for a career in law with all the hurdles you overcame. It’s important to continue to talk yourself into that mentality.
Who are some lawyers that you look up to?
Angela Rye – I really do look up to her because she’s an amazing lawyer that embraces her femininity. The reality is ratio of women to men in legal profession is 3:9. That being said, it can be very tempting to lose your femininity in this profession in order to ensure you are taken seriously. Women in this business often get so focused on how they compare to a man. Yes, that’s a real concern, but we shouldn’t have to lose ourselves to solve this issue. Angela is very present and not afraid to be pretty. She’s a great example that I don’t have to lose my femininity to be strong and get respect.
Johnnie Cochran – would be another because he’s a beast in the courtroom. That is a lot of attorney’s biggest fear. Being able to stand before a judge and be persuasive and get your argument out. He’s able to do that while also commanding the courtroom’s attention for the duration of a trail.
This may sound silly but I also admire Jessica Pearson from the TV show Suits. The way she carries herself and her presence when she walks in a room is admirable. No one wants to be that invisible woman who gets the job done, but her heads always down, so she doesn’t get the credit for her work. In this field, it’s important that your name is associated with projects because it helps you market yourself for a promotion in the future. Jessica Pearson represents that for me.
The perception is that lawyers are just professional liars. What are your thoughts on that?
Though most people think lawyers are liars, this isn’t necessarily true. Lawyers have to abide by a higher code of ethics. Lawyers can get reported to the bar and lose their license if they do something considered unethical in their professional or private life. Lawyers are actually pretty trustworthy people.
How do you balance being a wife and a career in law?
I think it’s important for women to really pick a partner that understands their ambitions. One that understands your drive and that you want to be a working professional. This is important because without that kind of support you’ll have that external and internal pressure to be it all and do it all. The reality is that’s just not healthy for anyone.
I personally remind myself that I don’t have to do it all. I don’t necessarily want it all either. It’s totally fine to get help from other areas if you can afford it. Any chores that can be outsourced or shipped to the house we take advantage of. We have schedules for our duties at home so we don’t have to deal with these pressures.
What keeps me balanced is to not having unrealistic expectations. It might appear that I don’t it all, but I don’t. That’s how I balance it all, by not doing it all and not expecting myself to do it all. I don’t put that pressure on myself and neither does my partner. We both give a 100% in the areas that we can give a 100%, and we aren’t afraid to get outside help.
You passed the bar on your first try, what advice would you give people who did not pass the bar on their first try?
Um,… I don’t know if they would value my opinion because I know it’s hard to know what that’s like if you haven’t gone through it. But I don’t think there’s anything else you can do but try again. When you pass the bar you don’t get your score or tests back. So, you don’t know the details of why you passed it. On the other hand, if you don’t pass you get your test information back and you can study and see what you did wrong.
I would say you should evaluate your study habits. You may have been at the library for 12 hours a day but how productive were those 12 hours? Did you shut down your social media accounts? Were your family and friends aware that you were studying? Some people have to work part-time. Maybe you need to save up so you can reduce your work hours in order to spend more time studying.
You have to make those sacrifices because the bar is something that honestly requires your full attention. You can’t half commit to this. I would really evaluate your study habits and be honest with yourself. Understand your study habits and how and when you are most productive and effective. This is a difficult exam but it is passable.
What are some resources that you took advantage of on your journey?
Subscribing to Google alerts. If there’s a new law or change to a policy in my practice I want to know right away. Google alerts help me do that. It gives you access to whatever is out there, on your topic of interest. I also subscribe to legal subscriptions to keep up-to-date.
What is one thing people think about lawyers that’s not always the case?
That we are always in court and that is not always the case. Yes, we go to court once a lawsuit occurs but there’s a lot of behind the scene work that we do. This is often preventative work to settle things without always having to go to court.
What’s some advice that you’d give someone who’s looking to practice law?
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The ranking of your law school is really important.
If you choose a higher ranked law school you’ll have more companies recruiting at that school. These recruiters will often choose from the top 50% of the class. On the other hand, if you go to a lower ranked school or law school that is not accredited these recruiters will likely only choose the top 5% of the class.Your chances of securing a job are just a lot higher if you go to a better school. A lot of people rack up debt from no-name schools and are making $50k a year. It’s unfortunate that these schools charge so much and don’t have any real accreditation. They take these students money knowing they won’t be able to get the big law career to pay it off. You don’t want to be that individual.
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Be honest with yourself.
If your LSAT score wasn’t where it needed to be you should really reevaluate or retake it. How can you improve your study habits? Were you really putting your all into studying or just saying you were studying? You need to be honest with yourself and do all you can do to improve that score. It would be a huge disservice to rack up debt and come out from a lower ranked school without a job.
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Establish Relationships.
Look at your job as a business and establish relationships. It’s not just about how well you do your work and how much you grind. That’s only half the battle. You really have to be more proactive about building relationships.
I honestly really enjoy my home and peace on the weekend. I don’t mind literally closing the door for 48 hours and not having leave again until Monday. But you can’t always do that you, sometimes have to make those weekend sacrifices and go to events with co-workers.
It’s easy to have the mentality that these are my co-workers, not my friends. But, the reality is we work really long hours in teams, so people want to work with people that they hang out with and are friends with. So if you’re always short with your coworkers, you are doing a disservice to yourself.
Even the small things like asking how someone’s weekend was, or how their family is doing, can go a long way. Culturally I think we often forget to do that but to make it in the corporate world it is definitely necessary.
This is an industry where you are dependent on other people for your workload because you don’t have your own clients when you start off. For this reason, you have to be someone that “they” want to work with and find relatable.
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