My first job out of college was as an assistant buyer in the fashion industry and I had an exciting and successful career, but in the back of my mind I knew I was destined to go to law school. By the time I got there, I was a nontraditional student with work experience, a husband and two kids. When applying for jobs after graduation, I found that jobs that would hire a new law grad paid far less than what I was making prior to law school.
I ended up opening up my own firm, fresh out of law school. I was great at marketing, but didn’t know much about practicing law yet. I volunteered at a pro bono clinic to get some more experience, and that led to a a job at a top local law firm.
Years went by, and I eventually realized that the firm had me in golden handcuffs. I wanted to leave, but I was stuck. That changed the day that I saw a spreadsheet with everyone’s salaries as the partners were discussing raises and realized that every lawyer at my level and even those under me wer making more than me, and there was no one in the room fighting for me because they didn’t see themselves in me. They fought for the people that looked like them.
That’s when I realized that they’ll never give me a seat at that table. They didn’t see me. They didn’t value me. So, I built my own table.
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