Her Story
About Marcy
I pretty much always knew that I wanted to go into the legal field from high school. I studied legal studies in undergrad, and then immediately after graduating, I went to Ireland to do an LLM. I worked as a paralegal for a couple years after that, and then graduated from law school in 2023. I've been practicing as an attorney for 2 years now. I'm actually coming up on a year with my current position at a mid-sized law firm doing DC landlord-tenant law. Before this, I was with a small boutique firm, and I was a Judicial Law Clerk directly after law school. All of that has definitely led to where I am today, which is very much where I've always hoped I would be. It just took smaller steps, and I'm very grateful for all the steps I've taken to get here. My judicial clerkship was especially meaningful because I had a year to work directly with the judge and learn as much as I possibly could. I very much loved that experience, and it's something that has guided my career thus far. Mentorship is a heavy underlying theme in my career. I've had very positive experiences where I've gotten to learn, whether it's shown me that I do want to do this type of law or that I don't, but I'm still very grateful for what I've had. Where I am now is very much my greatest achievement, but there have been smaller things along the way that made that possible, like passing the bar, the things I learned from the judge I clerked for, and getting through law school. I'm in court a lot, appearing before judges in the DC Superior Court, whether I'm presenting a case for the first time or doing a hearing closer to the end of the case cycle. My favorite thing is mediation, which I do a couple times a week. I like it because it's an opportunity to put a face to the name of the case I've followed, and I get to interact with my client and the opposing party or counsel. My day varies, but besides court, I'm speaking with clients and opposing parties via phone or email, and doing some drafting as well.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Marcy
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say very much perseverance. I had a hard time with the bar, and it was a very frustrating and discouraging period, but it was just knowing that I was gonna get there and not giving up. It was about giving myself the grace and the time to process the information and understand that, okay, it didn't happen this time, but we're gonna take a moment, take a beat, and then do this differently or change things up. It was about looking ahead and just not giving up, knowing that it will happen. I think at the end of the day, it comes down to perseverance and believing in yourself, understanding that you will get there even if it's a different path than your colleagues or your friends. You just have to keep pushing through.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I would say confidence is key. I think a huge thing in the legal field, at least for me, is imposter syndrome, and it's very intimidating to walk into a room and think that everybody has everything together and knows what they're doing, but most of the time, that's not the case. I think going in and having confidence, knowing that you are capable and you deserve to be there, along with that perseverance, is so important. Confidence is a huge thing, and it was something difficult for me at first. I think it takes a minute to get there, but you have to have it. It's important because it helps you grow and get to where you're wanting to go.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges in my field is definitely the communication skills required and juggling different personalities. It can involve working with very difficult individuals while still maintaining professionalism and working well with people. The legal field is always changing, and laws are always changing, so that's always a challenge. On the opportunity side, the team I'm working with is one of the best - they are some of the best people I have ever worked with. The legal field in general opens up a million different opportunities, whether that's organizations to get involved in or other areas of law you can explore. In a mid-sized firm like mine, we have a ton of different areas of law that our firm does, so I can work with other people in other areas to get experience in a different field if I wanted to. The different personalities, while challenging, also present opportunities to learn and build strong relationships with people. You can learn what kind of leader you want to be by observing others. I think there are just a ton of opportunities to build yourself and grow, and I think that's very neat.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Mentorship is absolutely the most important value in my work. That is something that has gotten me to where I am today, from getting through the bar to helping other people get through the bar and sharing those experiences. At the end of the day, it comes down to mentorship and the people who I have been the mentee to, and then any smaller ways, at least now at the beginning of my career, that I'm able to mentor somebody. As I progress through my career and get older and stay in the field longer, being able to mentor other people is something I'm very, very excited about and something I want to emphasize. In both personal life and career, perseverance is also very important - just pushing through and knowing that you will get there, understanding that it may be a different path than your colleagues or your friends, but you will get there. It's just a matter of persevering and believing in yourself. Perseverance is something I find very important.
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