Diversity

A headline in the September News reads “#YLDisME defies the stereotypes of what a lawyer is and does.” I find that the biggest stereotype for lawyers, especially young ones, is that they are arrogant, pretentious, or narcissistic.

After reading the article, it seems that the YLD is just reinforcing this perception through the guise of diversity. The young female attorney in the article is hurt because she was mistaken for a nonlawyer. Even as just a white male, I have been mistaken as a nonlawyer several times in my six years of practice. Women attorneys have assumed I was a mail runner or an intern. Courtroom police have thought I was a criminal defendant. And staff have inquired if I was lost on the way to chamber hearings. However, YLD President Adam White’s quote implies that as a white male, he obviously has never experienced any bias.