A Law Unto Themselves

2025 JLTLA President, 2014-2025 NEW Roundtable Inc. co-founder and board member, 2023 D Secretary/Treasurer, DBA 2024-2025 DBA Director, 2024-25 Lynn Inn of Court President, 2024-2025 DAYL Leadership Class Facilitator, DBWA forever co-chair, daughter, sister, mom, friend, mentor, volunteer.

Thank you all for supporting this very special project that is near and dear to my heart. Many of these women were already well known to me through J.L. Turner Legal Association, Dallas Black Women Attorneys, and Dallas Bar Association. As we recorded these interviews, I made new friends, heard new to me stories of struggles and triumph, gained inspiration from the wisdom of these trailblazing women. I felt empowered. In my everyday life, I now ask myself, what would they do in this situation? What would our city be without these brave and strong lawyers who took a stand and fought for opportunity? What will our city become if the new torch bearers don’t work to keep that flame of justice alive? As we continued the interviews, we began to see a common theme. Women work together for the betterment of their own lives, careers and community.

As a seasoned attorney of two decades, I am now at the stage where I intend to scale back my bar leadership roles and pass the torch to the next generation. Part of my plan is to find and mentor my replacements. Additionally, I am a clinic director at SMU so I have frequent contact with law students and young lawyers. I often mention the names of the women featured in this documentary to remind them of how far we have come and that we still have many more strides to make in the fight for equality and equity. Separately from the legal field, I am constantly amazed that we still have the first of anything or even roles that have never been held by a woman or person of color. I cannot wait for the day when there is never a first. When those mountains have been climbed. When Firsts Land is in the distant past.

In 2023, I visited the United States Supreme Court with the Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association. I was struck by the emotion I felt seeing Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on the Supreme Court bench. The first Supreme Court Justice to ever look like me and my sisters in law. When she looked in my direction, I stopped breathing. Then she smiled! A glance from a legend instantly inspired and motivated me to dream bigger. This is what representation means. It makes the stories of these women even more amazing. There were few or no women before them. The path had not been cleared. They had to clear it. They helped each other clear it. They provided maps for each other to lead the way. What is remarkable to me is the strides and achievements of these lawyers who were temporarily delayed and possibly detoured from their goals but refused to be denied the opportunity to practice law and support each other as friends and colleagues.

Fast forward to spring of 2024, while at an event at Arts District Mansion, Chelsea and I were discussing our amazement at all of the legal legends and trailblazers walking around the mansion. We discussed how new lawyers, law students and lawyers new to Dallas likely didn’t know this history. In fact, there are Dallas lawyers, women and men, who probably don’t know this history.

Someone should tell their story. We are someone. People need to know how these women moved the needle, kicked down doors, and broke glass ceilings to pave the way for the rest of us. Human rights and civil rights of women (and others are under attack. Women lawyers would be so empowered if they only knew this history (or shall we say HERstory?) and the obstacles our sisters faced being the firsts in this profession.

The questions were plentiful. Lunch or afterwork? Maybe speed-networking/rotating table format?But everyone won’t benefit from hearing the same stories. No. A panel? But how can a panel with dozens of women end in an hour? Virtual or Online? Which will have a better turnout? People have to hear these stories!! How will we preserve this so people who cannot attend can benefit from this knowledge? We can record it!! Who wants to watch a recorded webinar? That’s not exciting. A documentary!! That’s what we need. To preserve the history…forever. In Her Own Words. Because truth and words matter. We will tell these stories ourselves. But how do you make a documentary? I’m not really sure but we will figure it out as we go. It can’t be that hard, right? And now…It’s showtime!