I have been seeing a lot of posts about potential discrimination and leaving the firm/company because of that. It really doesn’t help for us to bounce around from role to role filling the same jobs others may have left because of micro-aggressions and not being valued. We are lawyers and we should practice speaking up for ourselves. File a complaint before you go at-least. Help someone else dodge a bullet or the company/firm realize a pattern.

likesmart
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Agreed. Because the traditional advice is to leave and not burn bridges by complaining, many law firms have drifted in the opposite direction of society by continuously losing their diverse attorneys while retaining their non-diverse ones.

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I think for some people, staying is not good for their mental health so it’s not about the lack of willingness to speak out. More generally, and unfortunately, very often speaking out would negatively impact that person’s future at the firm.

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I didn’t say people shouldn’t leave. I stated people should speak up or file a complaint for the greater good

I don’t know where my mental health would be if I never left. And I also would have never found the perfect role with the perfect team where I am valued, respected, and trusted to carry out the responsibilities of my job.

uplifting

LC 1: Thank you for identifying the actions a company or law firm could take that would result in meaningful change. I wish there were also more safe ways for employees to call out bad behavior, that would actually force the company/law firm to act. Perhaps the core issue is that organizations/offenders don’t want to change.

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The truth is black partner rates and GC rates haven’t increased so what career? Don’t put $ before your dignity. At the end of the day you can generate the same income or more yourself. God bless everyone. We will continue to fight for equality and work hard for it.

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Agreed, but to provide another perspective: once it’s clear that the firm has written you off / doesn’t see a future for you, it is hard to fight to temptation to leave and seek another workplace where they’ll see your value.

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That's a great slice of advice. I know, sometimes, it's hard to know if our own situations are hills we want to die on. But I absolutely agree that it's worth opening the conversation before bailing. See something, say something.

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