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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 would have stayed had I not been abused
I would have stayed with the first attorney if she had not struck me and she had paid me what I was worth. She could be very likeable if her business and money was going well. With the second attorney, I would have stayed if he had hired a paralegal to assist me. I have only been in the legal field a short time and in the paralegal field even shorter. I would have stayed with him if he had seen that I was not as experienced as his former paralegal and given me a break.