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Vote on Desiree Davidson's Story
Were they afraid we were planning a coup d'etat?
I spent my first summer during Columbia Law School at a firm in Philadelphia described as one of the best places in the city for black lawyers. I believed that if there was any place where I would have an equal chance at opportunities, be treated fairly and succeed, this would be it. There were three black female summer associates out of sixty that year but any time all three of us were in an office talking, one of the partners would knock on the door to see how we were doing. It happened too often to be a coincidence that sometimes we would purposely agree to meet in so-and-so's office to test our theory that we were being monitored. Like clock work, ten minutes after we would get together a partner would stop by.
I never represented how I truly felt about my firm
Irrespective of my opinion of how the firm was run, I never let my true feelings show in public (i.e. court, when chatting with clients or fellow attorneys in court). I turned out quality work, and never falsely billed. If anything, the client should have appreciated that (although, of course, they have no idea what happened at the firm). After being let go, I've vowed never to work in that sector of the legal profession, because I feel that honesty and ethics are not valued nor do they have a place in it.