A Lawyer's Morning Memoir: Self-Pollinating Pride as a Means of Cross-Pollinating Aspirations for Change

Approx. 5 minute read*

Waking up to yet another bright day in sunny South Africa, this morning I decided to do something different. Something, which, on reflection, I do not do often enough. I decided to take a slight detour from the day’s script. Those who know me well, will know that this was not easy as one may think. 

Resisting the instinctual urge to immediately launch for my phone to check for messages and emails, turned out to be more of a conscious decision than I thought it would be. Then not calling out “good morning” to my (beloved) virtual assistant to have the news highlights, weather and reminders of the ‘very important weekend tasks I absolutely must complete today,’ all read out to me, while not as hard, also felt ‘different.’ I suppose that in a manner of speaking, I made the conscious decision to push pause on my usual Sunday morning task-driven agenda.  

With that in mind, I decided that I would choose the most positive thing coming out of this week, which either excited, inspired, or just plain old stuck with me, and importantly, to reflect on it. (This all had to happen within five minutes tops so that tech withdrawals and planning anxiety aside, I could have my morning coffee!) 

So, with the ground rules in place - and as the lawyers who may read this will appreciate - a momentary internal chuckle when I realized that I had given myself just under .1 to review, assess and opine), I started channeling my inner Deepak Chopra.

I managed to identify three potential candidates for poll position fairly quickly. In fact, probably quicker than it has taken those of you who are still reading this far into my morning memoir. Having briefly weighed up which of the three had the most meaningful impact, to my surprise I managed to decide on an outright winner fairly easily (and, I might add, well within the allotted time). 

Even though I was pretty sure that my champion was the most meaningful, admittedly at first I thought it to be a bit “lame” for “anti-establishment” me to ever reveal outside the realm of internal dialogue. Why, you may ask? [By the way hats off to you if you’re still reading this. And yes, I totally agree that it’s time to get to the point!]. 

Again somewhat to my surprise (lots of those coming out here is seems), the winner in the race for my new found weekly appreciation poll did not end up being the obvious choices. It was not the kind words of appreciation and recognition for the proverbial ‘job well done’ that young lawyers live for. It also wasn’t the very sweet and scrumptious doughnut that had lifted my spirits when I was feeling a bit anxious and overwhelmed while chasing a deadline. Here it is folks - the thing to cross the checkered flag ahead of the pack was, quite plainly put, [*compulsory dramatic pause*] a feeling of pride. 

To be frank, right about now I would probably be cursing myself for having wasted precious moments of my life that I could never get back again reading about some random guy’s seemingly shallow epiphany! I mean who in their right mind, especially after such a drawn out buildup, actually announces to the world, and at the risk of being criticized for, among countless other things, how seemingly shallow they are?

Take a breath. Maybe even do what I did, and look away for a moment. Ready to move on? I suppose I could never know, so here’s to hoping! 

Just over three months ago, Covington announced that 14 lawyers spread across eight of its 13 offices globally, including nine women and six lawyers of ethnically diverse backgrounds, had been promoted to the firm’s partnership. As a young(‘ish’) lawyer from a minority group in the wider world of BigLaw, it was a proud and inspiring moment when I realized that I was part of that change. I was part of a firm that affirms its commitment to effective transformation and recognizes the true strength that diversity brings. A firm that is not afraid to take action.

“The diversity of this new class reflects the tremendous progress we have made as a law firm in building a strong pipeline of women and ethnically diverse lawyers. Diversity makes our law firm stronger, and is fundamental to whom we are as a firm and to our long-term success”

Following this arguably trailblazing step taken by Covington toward the future of our profession, just this week I learned of another reason to be proud to be a lawyer at Covington, i.e., today's winner. The Human Rights Campaign Foundation recently awarded Covington a perfect score in its Corporate Equality Index - for the 12th consecutive year! 

“Diversity and inclusion, while an important component of our efforts to attract and retain the profession’s top lawyers, are also a direct reflection of what we want for ourselves as a community and what our clients expect of us”

While I appreciate that pride in its rudimentary form may be a status-related, self-conscious emotion, I also believe that it multifaceted. In its authentic form, a sense of pride can inspire amazing things. In its most infectious form, it can inspire change. My hope is that the pride I express today, inspires the young and ‘graying’ alike to transform our profession to one that is as colorful and varied as the clients we serve and the communities we live in.  

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are: (i) the author’s own; (ii) for informational purposes only; (iii) not in any way whatsoever to be construed as those of, or attributable to, Covington & Burling LLP and/or any of its affiliated entities ("Covington"), and/or The Human Rights Campaign Foundation ("HRC"); (iv) not a reflection of the official policy of Covington and/or the HRC; and (v) not to be reproduced without the author’s prior written consent.