Her Story
About Lakeisha
Lakeisha Sanders is a litigation attorney in Dallas, Texas. She has been in law since 2015 and began her professional journey as a correctional officer in Louisiana, serving from 2015 to 2020 in roles including time computation and entry and releases at a men's prison and downtown department. While working full time, she attended law school part time at night starting in 2019, graduating in December 2022 after finishing in three and a half years. In 2020, she transitioned to law firms as a paralegal and law clerk, handling criminal defense, personal injury, civil litigation, family law, probate, and intellectual property matters across multiple firms before moving to Texas in 2023. She passed the Texas Bar and now practices as a litigation attorney. Sanders is a member of JL Turner and the Dallas Bar Association. She attributes her success to her parents, particularly her mother's encouragement after her father passed away in June 2018, which motivated her to retake the LSAT and pursue law school. She values being true to her word, integrity, faith, and principles in both her work and personal life. Sanders advises trying all aspects of law to discover what one loves, and she notes challenges in the field including the impact of AI and navigating a male-dominated profession as a Black woman.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Lakeisha
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success comes from my mom and my dad. They are my rock. My mom pushed me after my dad passed, because I wasn't even going to go to law school. I gave up after not doing well on the LSAT a few times. My mom said try one more time and she pushed me when I felt defeated. I took the LSAT one more time in June of 2018 after we buried my dad that month, passed, and got into law school right after that. My parents are the reason why I am here right now.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice is try everything so you know what you don't like and find out what you do. For my profession, try it all in the different aspects of law like criminal, family, probate, and find what you like, what you hate, and what you love. Then go after what you love because then work doesn't feel like work.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
Big challenges include AI messing with things actual attorneys can handle and think through. Being a Black woman in this field is sometimes an issue as we make up only 2.8% and it can feel isolating being the only one in the room, but it's also a badge of honor to show the next generation they can do it too. It's a male-dominated field and you have to have confidence and know your stuff.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Being true to my word and being a woman of integrity. I'm a woman of faith as well because God leads me every day. You have to be a person that has principles and stand on those every day. If you don't, then what are you? People can make promises and break them, but then your word means nothing and your credibility is shot. I am a firm believer that whatever I say I do, if I can do it, I will.
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