Black women in Law talk intersectionality with students

Members of the USC Society of Women in Law gathered at Taper Hall Wednesday to glimpse into their future. The event was intimate and the classroom was filled with students eager to hear about what a career could potentially look like for them as women in law. 

The Black Women in Law Panel featured practicing Black lawyers from the Black Women Lawyers Association and aimed to inform SWIL members about the BWL. 

The panel also facilitated an environment where attendees could learn about the journey to become lawyers from practicing Black women in various legal fields, said Lynce Polidor, the director of equity at SWIL. 

“It often is really hard to find other women, especially Black women, to look up to as someone who wants to go into law,” said Polidor, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law. “I also really want other women to understand what Black women experience with intersectionality.”

In 1975, a small group of Los Angeles-based African American attorneys and judges met and voiced the need for an organization that addressed their needs as Black women. Jasmine Horton, a USC alum and current president of the Black Women Lawyers Association in L.A., said that the focus of the BWL is to create space for Black women lawyers trying to advocate for and pursue justice. The organization hosts bonding meetings and events for members, gives its members the opportunity to work on pro-bono cases and offers bar-prep for law school graduates, among other initiatives. 

USC alum and in-house employment counsel at AT&T, Uche Anene, and associate at Filer Palmer LLP attorney Paige Poupart both sat on Wednesday’s panel. They recalled their experiences as undergraduates looking to go to law school and answered questions from the audience about gap years, bar exam prep and intersectionality between the various fields of law. 

During the panel, each of the panelists shared some pieces of wisdom they wish they had known before starting law school. Anene said she wished she had planned her journey better and had started networking earlier to better set herself up for success. 

“You’re not only just building [relationships] when you’re in law school, but also [building] some legal relationships prior to coming to law school. So you create a pipeline for yourself for internships and for people that can give you encouragement or advice,” Anene said. 

When students asked what they should consider when making their decision to attend law school, Horton suggested that undergraduates intern for practicing lawyers to decide whether they want to go into that environment. They also urged students to consider if they are comfortable taking out student loans. 

“I wouldn’t do law school until I’m at least 75% sure you want to just because it’s a big financial expense,” Horton said. “When I was a student here, I actually worked at a law firm Downtown in between classes … [for a guy] who was an alum.”

The lawyers shared their experiences as Black women working in the legal field and spoke about dealing with discrimination in predominantly male spaces. 

“It’s primarily in court … you’re dealing with actual cases and it’s an adversarial process,” Anene said. “The adversarial side is filled with men and often men that love to man-speak and it happens everywhere … If a man says [something], then they take you seriously after you’ve already said it like maybe ten times.”

Poupart said she has felt dismissed both because of her Black identity and her womanhood, as racism and misogyny compound.

“I have, definitely, because I’ve always just considered my woman-ness in terms of my Blackness and they have never been separate as a Black woman,” Poupart said. “Black men don’t have the same trouble as I do.”

Deborah Brittain, a sophomore majoring in public policy, said the event gave her a clear picture of who she could be.

“I knew this would be important and something that deeply affects me as a Black woman and I really enjoyed it,” Brittain said. “I really enjoyed looking at my own alumna being up there … They made me have a clearer picture [in] my head of what my future could look like, and what I need to do and that I have resources to get there so I shouldn’t be afraid to use them.”