One Step Forward, Two Steps Back: The Problem With 'Striking It Big'

-- By UchechiAmadi - 27 Feb 2009

I. Introduction

Born in the South, raised in the Midwest and educated in a large public school, observing the expensive and elitist way of life over the past several months has often felt like learning a new language. At home, friends say the transition denotes striking it big; they say piercing the bubble and entering the ranks of well-traveled Ivy-leaguers could never be detrimental. Such a statement demands conversation. Clearly, there are benefits to attending a top school in a prime city, but for someone from a humble background interested in using a law degree for justice in direct representation, the social clout, individualism and community that is lost in transition (and replaced with the magical idea that climbing the social ladder is an inherent good) may be more burdensome than realized.

A. What is lost?

1. Connection to social group culture

Take the example of the paradigmatic black female. In both the law school and firm contexts, the woman’s efforts to engage in community building with a group of peers she can relate to may be hindered. Two considerations in the former case are: (1) the lack of descriptive representation and (2) the initial limited opportunity to make connections beyond the school environment. Considering black women comprise a very small portion of the student and faculty bodies, one used to learning from a racially diverse group may face problems of adjustment. Also relevant is the secondary idea of confining one’s social justice exposure to the law school itself, as we all know many school events target students. For someone acquainted with ‘doing’ and interacting directly with those in need, this presents a challenge; it may transform an individual who directly searched for opportunities into one who is instead ok with thinking about the opportunities and shifting the work to another. This matters; one who has spent years researching will face a challenge in a community wherein she must return to grassroots work and relate more immediately to needy clients.

2. Individualism

The loss of the sense of individual identity is evidenced in the firm case. Bebe Moore Campbell in “To Be Black, Gifted, and Alone” suggests that black corporate women encounter stress, racism, sexism and professional competition in the workplace, relinquish their ‘cultural selves’ in settings promoting uniformity and face a withdrawal from a cultural identity including family and old friends.

It is not difficult to imagine the emergence of two worlds for such a woman. In the corporate world she must look and act in a way that ‘aligns with firm culture.’ At home, she may be herself and must re-ignite the interpersonal relationships that shaped what she saw as her identity. The problem (mentioned in the Judith Warner Obama discussion and again in the homelessness dialogue), is that she may soon experience a disconnect in which she disassociates from her own persona. Individuals who used to take her as the example of all things black stop doing so. Her individuality is suppressed, her opinions muted. Before long, she can claim neither her blackness nor her sensitivity to local concerns.

B. What fills its place?

1. Magical reassurances

In the wake of the loss of group interconnectedness and individuality, reassurances serve as fillers. Shouted from the mountaintops are the mantras of the crowd. ‘Change must come from the top down’ they say. ‘You must help oneself before anyone else,’ they exclaim. Time progresses and the messages seem to make sense. ‘Power is needed to produce results,’ the young lawyer thinks. ‘I’ll put in my years, but then I will turn this place around,’ she reasons. Before long, it seems the realization must emerge that the rise in social stature has likely led to a more radical transformation of the mind.

Perhaps Jerome Frank would suggest the effort to make the woman feel comfortable with her place in the world regarding the transition she has made from a small town girl working for justice to a big city hustler working for justice is an incidence of magic. In a frantic attempt to justify the need for an elite degree to work for the poor, the magician covers doubt with comparisons of high-profile individuals who have obtained prestige in government or public interest circles only after securing education at the top.

But is prestige necessary? If it is, why is this so? Missing from this view is examination of what the lawyer seeking good ‘actually’ does. It might be the case that a theoretical education is helpful to finding and assisting needy clients but more helpful may have been representation by one individual the client could unite with on an interpersonal basis, either because the lawyer retained the connection to the culture she left behind or because she never left that place to begin with.

2. Cues from the script

Perhaps Leff would say the mediators in these incidents are merely taking cues and staying the course. The social structure has arranged a system whereby even those who want to work for justice in small communities and deeply embed themselves in public service look to the top schools and shell out big bucks. Already steeped into the systems, Leff would not be surprised at an individual’s actions in taking on the role even though it was not envisioned. Leff might also not be surprised by the clinging to repayment programs which permit the student to pursue the job of his choosing while under school restrictions.

II. Conclusion

It is evident work needs to be closer to the ground, but the broader lesson here is that a determination that one wants to work towards justice requires confrontation with the notion that doing so from an ‘elite’ standpoint is any different than doing so from the standpoint of the individual who had a similar goal but stayed in a local arena. Striking it big in the eyes of the layman implies honor and prestige, but it does not, and will not, equate immediately to success in the direct representation realm. Unless an individual stays encouraged to fight the loss of individuality, more may be lost than gained in the long-term.

# * Set ALLOWTOPICVIEW = TWikiAdminGroup, UchechiAmadi

Note: TWiki has strict formatting rules. Make sure you preserve the three spaces, asterisk, and extra space at the beginning of that line. If you wish to give access to any other users simply add them to the comma separated list