What I Learned About Inclusion and Why It Matters

WHAT I LEARNED ABOUT INCLUSION AND WHY IT MATTERS By: Anita D’Souza

HEARING EACH OTHER

As lawyers, we spend our time hearing our clients’ stories, and we tell those stories to advocate for our clients. Inclusion, for me, is the same - hearing our colleagues’ unique stories, and using those experiences to address our systems in the legal profession.

So, here’s my story. I was born in India to an entomologist (mother) and a marine engineer (father). When I was about 5, we moved to Iran. When the Iranian revolution happened, we moved to California for several years and eventually settled in Houston when I was 13. I then went to Massachusetts for college (Smith College), and to the “other UT” in Texas for law school. I finished my formal legal education getting an LL.M. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

I entered the legal world with a good understanding of the law, but a limited understanding of how the profession operated. I knew no lawyers in the US and didn’t know of any formal mentorship programs. When I graduated law school, I certainly didn’t see any Indian lawyers in law firms or other organizations; and I was only the second Indian I knew to go to law school.

I went from law school to Austin city government and then Texas state government, where I spent 20 years of my career - eventually served as the general counsel for three different state agencies and being fortunate to learn the ins and outs of policy making over the 18 years I worked for the Texas legislature. My career in government was incredibly rewarding.

However, I’ve realized along the way that my career to date - working for government - was and still is the norm for minority lawyers. A longitudinal study conducted by the ABA and the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education followed lawyers admitted to the bar in 2000 through their mid-career. That study found that, as recently as 2014, at the mid-career level, Black and Hispanic lawyers are more likely to work for government; Asian American lawyers are more likely to work as counsel in businesses; and White lawyers are more likely to be found in law firms. (https://www.abalegalprofile.com/demographics/).

The legal profession is defined by stare decisis and inclined towards incremental change - if at all. Change has and continues to happen, from law schools expanding the types of law taught to mentorship programs that help guide new lawyers. All of these are steps towards a more inclusive profession. However, as the study cited above points out, there is still more to be done. To broaden and maintain the momentum for inclusion at all levels of the legal profession, we need to continue to hear each other and advocate for and support our colleagues as we would our clients.