Rhode Island Women Lawyers:past, Present, & Future
| Jurisdiction | Rhode Island,United States |
| Pages | 0021 |
| Citation | Vol. 72 No. 2 Pg. 0021 |
| Publication year | 2023 |
September, 2023
This series was inspired by Roger Williams University School of Law's annual Women in Robes event and was created in alliance with their exciting new project, The First Women, which recognizes and honors the first women of the Rhode Island Bar.
From birth, the Honorable Associate Justice Linda Rekas Sloan has been influenced by the dual cultures of her Taiwanese mother and American father. Born in her mother's native Taiwan and given the name "I-Fan" her name was officially changed to "Linda" when the family moved to the United States. As a Navy kid, Judge Rekas Sloan had rich experiences in her young life, including living on the Hawaii Naval Base, as her father's career took them to various parts of the country. Her family eventually settled in her father's hometown, Coventry, Rhode Island, where she matriculated through the Coventry Public School system.
After high school, Judge Rekas Sloan continued her education at Providence College and Boston University School of Law. During her 1L summer, she interned at the Rhode Island Office of Attorney General through the State Internship Program. Then, after her second year at BU Law, she interned at Olenn & Penza, the firm at which she would spend the first four years of her career. There, she practiced insurance defense, gaining foundational litigation skills by trying cases from the ground up.
Judge Rekas Sloan stresses the importance of networking and how it affected her career moves following her time at Olenn & Penza. In relationship-rich Rhode Island, she emphasized how crucial it was to develop and maintain professional contacts—an essential skill for young attorneys and a skill that could lead to unexpected opportunities. As a relatively new practitioner, she became involved with the Rhode Island Bar Association's New Lawyers Committee (NLC) by attending meetings, CLEs, and participating in volunteer projects. It was through the NLC that she met the managing partner of Salter McGowan, who helped bring her into the firm, where she went on to develop a creditors' rights and insolvency practice.
As she moved further along in her career, Judge Rekas Sloan recognized that a candidate's personal fit within a company's culture can be more indicative of success rather than his or her substantive knowledge of a certain practice area. After all, a lawyer who has a general aptitude for legal thinking and is willing to work hard can master any practice area with...
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