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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.
The institution was a different institution
- Workplace Unfairness
- Female
- African-American
- Law Firm
- Non-Profit
- Acquisitions
- Cultural Shift
- Underutilized
I was associate general counsel and my primary client was the vice chair of the bank. I did a lot of very exciting cutting edge deals. I had been able to bring my expertise to the table. I gave the bank great advice. We had been under investigation by the government, but they came back and gave us a clean bill of health. They even said the bank was a model others should follow. I was in the throes of it all. But then there was an acquisition by another bank and the institution became a very different institution. My clients retired, and my new clients didn't know me at all. My assignments were cut from three businesses to one. I had to gain their trust all over again.