Privileged to be a Lawyer

PRIVILEGED TO BE A LAWYER By: Jennifer Morton

Jennifer Morton Law, PLLC

ACCESSING JUSTICE

When I was growing up, I cringed at times if someone introduced me as “Dr. Morton’s daughter.” My father, a radiologist, is a good man, but I was concerned about the assumptions people would make about me because of his profession. I wanted people to get to know me without immediately assuming that I was spoiled, or that my family had money, or that I lived on easy street with access to opportunities and advantages that others did not have. I cringed because I did not want anyone to assume that I was “privileged.”

Of course, the irony is that indeed I was privileged. If being privileged means to enjoy some special right, opportunity, good fortune, or advantage that others don’t have, then I have been privileged since the day I was born. I was raised by a doctor and a nurse who are celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary this month. We lived in a suburb with access to wellfunded, excellent schools. My parents were good role models who set high expectations for their four healthy children. My mother’s nickname is “Saint Ann” because, well, she is a saint. Both parents have graduate degrees. My grandmother was a registered pharmacist and earned a B.S. degree in chemistry in 1920 from MIT. Education was important to my parents. For me, securing a college degree was easily attainable, expected, and facilitated by my family’s financial and psychological support. I had the advantage of good health and faced no significant obstacles, like disabilities or discrimination based on my gender or skin color. Unlike my grandmother, who struggled to obtain employment comparable to male scientists, by the time I contemplated law school, the laws and customs in our country allowed better access and opportunities for women to practice law. Not only was my path to becoming a lawyer not littered with obstacles, but I was privileged to enjoy advantages, access, and opportunities that many of my peers did not experience.

Over time, it became more obvious to me that there is something inherently unjust about the unearned advantages and opportunities that I enjoyed from day one compared to many of my peers. I did nothing to deserve living on easy street. It was luck-of-the-draw good fortune compared to the vast numbers of people who are saddled with tremendous burdens due to no fault of their own. Recognition of this inequity contributed to my desire to use my privilege to empower others.

For the past thirty years, I’ve practiced law in Knoxville, litigating employment law and civil rights cases, mostly in federal court, advocating for workers’ rights and mediating disputes between employers and employees. Many of my clients have disabilities or other immutable characteristics that have unfairly created obstacles in their pursuit for equal opportunities in the workplace.

The privileges that I enjoy as a lawyer are somewhat different than the unearned privileges that gave me a head start on my journey to becoming a lawyer. Practicing law may be a privilege, but it is not without obstacles and burdens. Lawyers are not handed law degrees without doing the work to earn the degrees. My practice involves challenging cases usually taken under contingency contracts, which can be a tough way to earn a living. Litigation can be tedious and contentious. Most lawyers understand why the surveys and statistics paint a bleak picture of job satisfaction and emotional wellbeing within the legal profession. We often work long hours with negative impacts on our health due to stress, excessive sitting, lack of exercise, and inadequate sleep. Many of us struggle to find the holy grail of work-life balance. The privilege of accessing justice requires fortitude.

As we slog in the trenches of the daily grind, it is easy to lose sight of the privilege of being a lawyer. Fortunately, as members of the Knoxville Bar Association, we are privileged to enjoy the support and camaraderie from extraordinary colleagues and an active Bar Association. The KBA works tirelessly to fortify its members with education, social events, projects, and programs to connect us, strengthen us, and make practicing law easier, more enjoyable, and more meaningful. Lately, the KBA has been encouraging us to prioritize our personal wellness so that we are less likely to suffer burnout and more likely to enjoy the privileges of practicing law. As Judge Collier highlighted recently in this series, we should not lose sight of the privilege we share as lawyers filling an essential role in the functioning of a society that is supposed to adhere to the rule of law.

For me, I am grateful for my many unearned privileges that gave me easy access to education and motivated me to use my knowledge of the justice system to empower others. I am privileged to be a lawyer with work that is meaningful to me. I truly enjoy listening to clients’ stories, learning about their workplaces, getting to know them, and giving them a voice in our justice system, whether I am acting as mediator or litigator. It is my sincere privilege, meaning honor and pleasure, to provide my clients with access to justice and opportunities that otherwise might be out of reach.

On a final note, I was delighted to learn recently that the UT College of Law’s Advocacy Clinic is expanding into low-wage workers’ rights. As a pilot project, the clinic is looking to represent unemployment insurance claimants with separation issues at the Appeals Tribunal stage.1 Perhaps this project will spur students to consider future careers providing access to justice for low wage workers.

1 Intake for the UT Clinic’s pilot project is very limited as the program is established. Clients need to be income eligible and willing to postpone a hearing to give the law students time to prepare. Selected cases will involve termination/quit issues as opposed to monetary eligibility or other initial determinations.