President’s Message
| Publication year | 2015 |
| Pages | 10 |
| Citation | Vol. 28 No. 6 Pg. 10 |
November, 2015
An Accidental Lawyer
Angelina Tsu, J.
By every account, I am an accidental lawyer. I wanted to be an astronaut and when it became clear that was not going to happen, being a lawyer seemed like a reasonable backup plan. But my legal career almost ended before it began and it all started with one sentence.
“I have spent the last 20 years of my life breaking down barriers for women in the law – every time a woman like you walks into a courtroom, you set us back 10 years,” she said with a look that was part disappointment and part disdain.
I was a second-year associate attending a National Trial Skills CLE where I (mistakenly) thought I was going to improve my trial skills. Instead, I found myself standing in what appeared to be a supply closet in the Salt Palace being berated by an out-of-state judge who had recently joined the Trial Skills faculty.
I tried to respond but managed only to ask how it was possible that a single person could undo the progress made by an entire generation of women lawyers. Without hesitation she told me: starting with my hair and ending with my shoes she pointed out – in great detail – everything that was wrong with me. I will spare you the details except to say that not one of the comments was a critique of my legal skills. Instead they focused solely on my physical appearance.
To ensure I was not confused, she ended the conversation with: “You should not be representing clients – ever.” Devastated, but still (barely) able to maintain my composure, I thanked her for her time and walked out the door. I did not return for the remaining days of the CLE. I went home – and I did not leave my house for five days. In that time, I concluded that if the judge’s comments were true (and as a very junior lawyer, I assumed they were) the only responsible thing for me to do would be to resign from my firm.
Eventually, I found myself in the office of my mentor, Annette Jarvis. Annette was also the chair of my practice group and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. I began recounting my conversation with the judge. Before I could resign, Annette stopped me and said, “I have spent the last 20 years of my life breaking down barriers for women in the law so you can be the kind of lawyer that you want to be.” Then she picked up her phone and called the head of the organization sponsoring the National Trial Skills program. Before...
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