Black wives are a rarity. In fact, according to the American Bar Association, African American men and women make up only 5% of all licensed attorneys. Despite the small numbers, black women lawyers are spreading their #BlackGirlMagic and rising to the top. They hold positions as presidents of bars, partners in their firms, not to mention regularly solving multi-million dollar lawsuits.
The number of African-American women lawyers is steadily increasing, with more attending and graduatingLaw Facultyeach year. As they continue to make great strides and literally raise the bar in every area of legal practice, here are 10 Black women lawyers you should know about.
1. Tasher de Raychelle
Company:US Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Missouri
Practice area:Commercial Disputes and Bankruptcy
Location:San Luis, MO
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Tasher received a Florida A&M University School of Law and a Distinguished Alumni Award for Professional Excellence in Government. She was awarded the Nation's Best Advocates: 40 Lawyers Under 40 Award 2016 by the National Bar Association. She is also Chair of the Bankruptcy Law Committee of the ABA Young Lawyers Division and was selected to be a member of the Commercial Law of the ABA 2016-2018. She is also President of Ms. J.D., a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing women in the legal profession, and is the first black woman to hold the position.
Tasher has appeared in theSt. Louis Lawyer Magazine, jMagazine of the best lawyers. She is also co-editor of the third edition of theABA Sexual Harassment Policy Manualand is currently Co-Chair of the ABA Commission for the Toolkit on Sexual Harassment of Women, to be launched in early 2017. Tasher is also working with a local legal aid provider to start a bankruptcy legal counseling clinic in St. Louis to help homeless residents. with consumer bankruptcy proceedings.
2. Sia Baker-Barnes
Company:Accionista, Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, P.A.
Practice area:injuries
Location:West Palm Beach, Florida
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Baker-Barnes' greatest accomplishments as a lawyer came from cases where she was blessed to play a role in improving the lives of her clients. Some specific examples are cases where parents of young babies have been told that their children will never walk, never speak, and never lead a normal life because of the injuries they suffered from someone else's carelessness.
By pursuing the case on behalf of the children, she was able to resolve these issues so that the children could receive the best medical care, therapy and support. They received nursing and educational support that enabled them to push boundaries and lead full, active lives. Now some of them are running and reaching milestones their parents never thought possible. These achievements are the combination of the tireless work of parents and children after receiving the personal and financial support necessary to achieve these goals. She's very proud to play a small role in victories like these.
3. Lenore Horton
Company:Lenore F. Horton, Esq., PC
Practice area:Startup law, with a niche in providing primary legal advice to growing businesses.
Location:New York City und Washington, DC
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:With over a decade of professional experience, Horton has worked at top tier firms on securities and hedge fund affairs, holds a second law degree, an LL.M. in International Law and Justice and has worked internationally as a visiting professor on business and human rights issues. While it is common for "Big Law" attorneys to work on matters greater than $100 million, it is rare for this to continue after an attorney has left Big Law to establish his own practice found, but that's exactly what he did.
During her busy schedule, Horton was able to take time off to work as a full-time CEO at a company she was involved in, which gave her a unique perspective on the frustrations and challenges startups face and what they need from legal counsel. Currently, Horton's representation includes handling international agreements with public companies valued at over $100 million, which is not untypical. At the same time, she and her team also take care of free and inexpensive matters for prospective entrepreneurs.
4. Sue-Ann Robinson
Company:Robinson's Caddy Law
Practice area:Civil law, criminal defense and commercial disputes.
Location:Miami, Florida.
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Robinson received a special recognition from the United States Congress for his dedication to serving the communities in the state of Florida. In addition, it was recognized inMagazine for super lawyersfour years in a row and was recognized by the National Organization of Black Lawyers as one of the Top 40 Black Lawyers Under 40. Robinson has also appeared on several television networks: Fox News Channel, RT America, RT International, Newsmax and America Trends, as a legal analyst on topics ranging from police misconduct to the legal liability of large corporations in many crime cases.
5. Rhonda Wills
Pursue: Wills Law Firm, PLLC
Practice area:civil process
Location:Houston, Texas.
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Wills has recovered more than $100 million in settlements and judgments for his clients against corporate giants. He is also a cast member of the hit show.sisters-in-lawand WETV.
6. Merissa V. Grayson
Company:Law Firm of Merissa V. Grayson
Practice area:Custody and family law, especially father's rights
Location:Greater Los Angeles, CA
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Grayson started his own law practice, which has grown into other businesses including counseling and placement services for mutual parents. She is also the author of a three-part book series written for parents and stepparents in split or blended families. Grayson is also a speaker, traveling, teaching, and working with families across the country.
7. Lacy L. Durham
Company:Deloitte
Practice area:ERISA, taxes
Location:Dallas, TX.
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Durham has been recognized for such awards, including Outstanding Principal of the Year from the Texas Young Lawyers Association; multiple 40 under 40 awardsDallas business magazine, National Outstanding Black Lawyers and National Bar Association; and more. However, the awards she treasures the most are those that have recognized her lobbying work in the community, including the Dallas Women's Foundation Young Leader Award, the Altrusa International Woman of Tomorrow, and the Humanitarian Award. These achievements are all the more significant as Durham has been able to use her law degree, position and power to transform the lives of many around the world through her humanitarian and advocacy efforts to empower women and promote diversity and inclusion in the community Profession.
Additionally, Durham served as President of the American Bar Association Young Lawyers Division (ABA YLD) from 2015-2016, the largest association of its kind in the world. In this capacity, Durham represents the voice of 170,000 young lawyers and this platform has enabled him to expand the reach expand its range of support.
8. I like Kristin Pollard
Company:National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Marshall Space Flight Center
Practice area:General Law and Litigation
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:As a NASA attorney, Kiel provides legal services, advice and representation in a variety of areas including federal criminal law, outer space law, labor relations, human resources law, alternative dispute resolution, equal opportunity employment, security and other legal issues. Kiel represents NASA at administrative hearings, pre-trial hearings, trials and appeals, and also provides proactive and preventative legal advice to senior counsel. She strives to identify and resolve potential legal and business issues before they conflict with the agency's interests. In addition, Kiel drafts space rights agreements, contracts, cooperation agreements and other legal documents, including bills of quantities and specifications, terms and conditions and regulatory instructions.
Kiel was selected by MSFC leadership to participate in the NASA FIRST Leadership Program; The 2015 class consisted of 38 participants from all NASA centers. He received the MSFC Innovation Team Award in both 2014 and 2015.
9. Kendra Esteban
Company:HireALadyLawyer.com
Practice area:commercial law
Location:Fort Lauderdale, Florida
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:When Stephen started Supra Legal Group, she wanted the traditional office, but that environment didn't feel authentic to her. He made the decision to go virtual in 2014 and hasn't looked back. Now your office is completely virtual.
Going virtual has enabled Stephen to take his practice international and support clients doing business in the United States from anywhere in the world. He enjoyed so much helping clients with their overall business goals and legal strategies that he started a consulting firm to help clients create revenue strategies for their businesses, in addition to managing their legal affairs.
Another achievement for Stephen was that he created rentalaladylawyer.com, the only online directory of female lawyers because sometimes it takes a woman's touch to get the job done. Stephen says she's looking forward to promoting female lawyers because she realizes they're sometimes overlooked for the job.
10. Alexandria Gordon
Company:Gordon's Law
Practice area:injuries
Location:Orlando Florida
What Makes Her One of the Best Black Lawyers:Many years ago, Gordon confided in her father, a police officer from Orlando, FL, her dreams of becoming a lawyer. When he tragically died, she immediately found herself in the midst of multiple legal battles. In that moment, she knew without a doubt that the role of personal injury attorney was right for her.
Gordon previously worked as a defense attorney for one of the country's largest insurance companies before starting his own law practice. Being able to offer a sense of calm and support in the midst of the most devastating moments in someone's life is something people always remember. Having been there before, Gordon knows how important it can be to get the right advice. It gives her satisfaction to know that she is in a profession that helps give people the support they need to thrive. He prides himself on helping clients who have had their doors closed and reclaiming amazing settlements on their behalf.