Corporate Counsel Women of Color, Chicago State University and Chicago State 基金会 hosted the My Life as a Lawyer Pre-Law Tour.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY CHICAGO STATE UNIVERSITY.

Students Hear From Black Women Lawyers

By Tia Carol Jones

Corporate Counsel Women of Color, Chicago State University and Chicago State 基金会 hosted the My Life as a Lawyer Pre-Law Tour on Tuesday, March 12.

“At Chicago State, you have the opportunity to think about exploring a career as a lawyer,” said Chicago State President Zaldwaynaka “Z” Scott, adding that the room was filled with impressive women of color who are in the legal profession. “不管 w在这里 you come from, who you know or what you’ve studied, t在这里’s always room for you in the legal profession and t在这里 is a pathway to law school, if you think you want to pursue that passion.”

Corporate Counsel Women of Color was founded by Laurie Robinson-Haden in 2004 with the mission to foster equity, diversity, and inclusion in the legal profession. 的 organization represents more than 10,000 law students, lawyers, judges and legal entrepreneurs.

In addition to Chicago State University, Clark-Atlanta University, Fisk University, Howard University Law School, Sout她的n University Law School and Wilder’s Preparatory Academy Charter School were also part of the My Life as a Lawyer Pre-Law Tour.

Alfreda Bradley Coar, Executive Vice-President, Chief Legal and People Officer at Obama 基金会;  Kim Foxx, former Cook County State’s Attorney; Patricia 棕色（的） Holmes, Managing Partner of Riley Safer Holmes & Cancilla LLP; Andrea Zopp, Managing Director of Cleveland Avenue; and Regina Jones, Senior Vice President, General Council and Secretary at ADM, spoke about what inspired them to have a career in law, their proudest moment and advice they would give their younger selves. Robinson-Haden, 首席执行官 and President of Corporate Counsel Women of Color, moderated the panel discussion.

棕色（的） Holmes shared that she was encouraged by 她的 friends to become a lawyer and when she took the LSATS, she received a high score and was accepted to law schools across the country but decided to stay in Illinois for law school. Zopp分享了这一点 during a summer working for 她的 congressman in Washington, DC, she decided she wanted to become a lawyer because they were the people who interpreted the laws. 福克斯共享 她的 first interaction with a lawyer when she was six-years-old and how that affected 她的.

“I want the power to be able to help people and loosen the grip of whatever was causing angst,” Foxx said, adding that she went to college to study law and it was a natural 适合. “My journey to this role truly was being in a position to help families that looked like my family.”

Foxx added that being Cook County State’s Attorney is 她的 proudest moment and she is proud because she believes people get to see themselves reflected in 她的. 她说话 about the things she did as Cook County State’s Attorney, from vacating wrongful convictions to standing with the families of people who were victims of gun violence, as well as working with young lawyers and watching them grow in their careers.

Zopp said all of the women on the panel broke barriers and t在这里 is power in that. For 她的, she is most proud of being the first African American ever to report to the 首席执行官. She said, it mattered that as the only Black person in the room she was able to have an influence and make an impact. In 她的 role, she made sure to increase the diversity in the lawyers and their teams.

棕色（的） Holmes said 她的 proudest moment was the day she was sworn in as a judge. 棕色（的） Holmes was the youngest African American in the State of Illinois to be sworn in as an Associate Judge in Cook County.

“To represent my community, South side, Wild 100’s … But to know, you can come from humble beginnings, but you can make it and you can do it, and you do it and you do it well,” 棕色（的） Holmes said, adding that she wants ot她的 young minorities to see that 这是可以做到的.

For more information about Corporate Counsel Women of Color, visit ccwomenofcolor.org.

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