Legally First: Navigating the Legal Profession as a First-Generation Minority Student

Legally First: Navigating the Legal Profession

as a First-Generation Minority Student

By: Desirae Williams

Welcome to Legally First! This is the first installment of a four-part series where I will cover my experience as a first-generation, African American woman navigating the legal profession one day and one step at a time.

Being a law student and soon to be legal professional comes with many challenges. However, being a first-generation African American woman in the legal profession is even more difficult. I didn’t come from the wealthiest family who could afford to pay for even the slightest bit of my education out of pocket, so I had to buckle down and focus on securing scholarships and grants. This meant sacrificing a lot of free time that many of my peers had and spending long nights, weekends, and early mornings studying. However, I will never regret the sacrifices I made as they have strengthened my resiliency and intensified my ambition, both of which I believe are critical to surviving and navigating the legal profession, especially because Black women represent a little over three percent of BigLaw associates, a daunting statistic.

I feel blessed to join Black women in BigLaw and compelled to increase the numbers, but the journey has also been exhausting. On numerous occasions, I fell victim to imposter syndrome because Black women are stereotyped as combative and unsupportive. I feared that voicing my truth and having vital conversations about racism and diversity would have me labeled as the angry Black woman. However, I have learned to embrace who I am and no longer worry about the onlookers questioning my resolve. I am only concerned with the declaration that I am making, which is that Black women belong and deserve rewarding legal careers without sacrificing our true and authentic selves. It all comes down to valuing yourself.

Join me in this series in which I will cover: ways you can afford and pay for law school as a first generation law student, the dangers of imposter syndrome and how to assimilate while remaining true to yourself, and how to market yourself to law firms.

While there is no right or wrong way to approach these issues, I will be sharing with you what has worked best for me. I am a force to be reckoned with, and anything I want, I work twice as hard as others around me to get. If you would like to share your experience or ask questions, please leave a comment or send us a message on any of PracticePro’s social media pages.

And remember, you may be the first, but you will NOT be the last!