Response # 29

Minorities represent such a small portion of the total population that exists in law firms. These reasons are dues to the discrimination and racism that exists with in the law firm between the partners. A Chinese female attorney was given a Korean document and was asked if she was able to read it. She replied with no because the languages of Chinese and Korean are different. However the partners could not understand why this was so. A Native American was asked where his” tomahawk” was. All of these situations make for a very uncomfortable work environment in which the minorities leave the firm. Minority attorneys are not held on the same level as a white attorney. White attorney’s were who went to any law school were sometimes held higher than a minority that went to a top ten law school. This leaves minorities to feel unappreciated and not valued with in the firm. When this type of discrimination is distributed to the people of the firm, it contributes to the low representation of minorities in law firms. It does not allow for them to move up in the company when they are always competing for the approval of white partners who in some cases, the minorities are more qualified than the white partners. No one is willing to work under such treatment and this leaves only one option. The options for them to leave the firm and seek employment elsewhere or even start opening their own practices. And for the minorities who do stay at the firms, they have to prove themselves on a routine basis as to their competency of being an attorney. This complex situation because not only are they a women which is a challenge alone, but they are also a women who happens to be a minority. This set forth additional obstacles that in their everyday life during their career have to hurdle over.