MBBA President Paula Edgar's Life And Lawyerly Advice For Law Students And Young Attorneys

What does being a lawyer mean to Paula Edgar, the new president of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association?

Paula Edgar

Paula Edgar

“Ease your mind staring at skylines from rooftops… Quick to call a shot, politic with thick plots / And the Garden of Eden against the sea that we got to make sure the core of the Big Apple don’t rot / Where seeing’s believing, we be achieving a lot.” — Rakim

Last month, Paula Edgar was named as the new president of the Metropolitan Black Bar Association (MBBA). For those unfamiliar with the MBBA, it is the largest association of African-American and other minority attorneys in New York City and a change agent in the legal profession.

The MBBA was founded to advance diversity and inclusion in the field of law. The organization works with the community and focuses on making an impact when it comes to issues like domestic violence and police brutality.

Edgar was generous enough to spend some time with me this week and share some advice for up-and-coming lawyers. From living on both coasts to losing her mother in the South Tower during 9/11, I found Edgar’s story fascinating and learned quite a bit from her. I believe you will as well. Here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation:

Renwei Chung (RC): What does being a lawyer mean to you?

Paula Edgar (PE): Being a lawyer is a privilege and a responsibility. It means having the training and skills to advocate, to interpret, to analyze and to be strategic. It means having access to resources and networks to effect change.

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For me, being a lawyer means being a leader by helping others to become lawyers and by helping already established lawyers to reach professional goals and become better at their crafts. I take the counselor definition of lawyering to heart. We need to use our roles to help others — which is why I am excited to be in this new role as the president of the MBBA. It is a privilege to be a part of this profession, and especially to have this role as a woman of color — I don’t take this lightly.

RC: You’ve had a chance to live on both the East Coast and West Coasts. Can you tell us about yourself and your journey to law school? Specifically, what attracted you to the law and how did you choose CUNY School of Law?

PE: I moved to the West Coast because I was in a relationship. Although that didn’t work out, I was able to experience the beauty and culture of Southern California and establish longstanding friendships with my West Coast family. I came back to the East Coast after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.

My mother, Joan Griffith, worked in the South Tower and was killed in the attacks. It was the experience of working with the estate attorney who represented our family, Angela Titus McEwan, that inspired me to want to go to law school to help people.

I decided to go to CUNY Law School because I immediately felt embraced when I walked through the school’s doors — the school has a history of public-interest-focused advocacy. Attending CUNY Law further solidified my desire to use my law degree to serve the interests of the public — specifically by providing a path to the law for students of color in the pipeline.

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RC: What advice do you have for those who are about to embark on the law school journey and/or for those who are about to graduate law school?

PE: For entering law students, my advice is to take this seriously. Law school is different than undergrad and having only one or two evaluative devices to be graded on is intense. My advice is to use all of your school’s resources — Academic Affairs, Career Services, etc. The Administrators and staff in your school are invested in your success and you should not feel ashamed or afraid to ask for help when you need it. Lastly, start to establish your network now! Join a few bar associations, attend events, connect with people and follow up! Also connect with alumni and colleagues, and establish new connections on social media. LinkedIn and Twitter are excellent tools to grow your personal and professional brand and increase your networks.

As for graduating law students, whether you have a job offer or not, you must continue to build and maintain your professional networks. One of my favorite sayings is your “Network is your Net worth” — if you put the effort in, it will pay off. Volunteer and be of service to other attorneys — this will help them to see and appreciate the skills you have and the value that you can add to a future workplace.

Any specific advice for those moving to New York for the first time as a law student or young lawyer?

PE: This city is one of the best places in the world (especially Brooklyn). Use your free time wisely. Explore the city, don’t go to the same restaurants all the time. Your Metrocard is a passport. We are truly the city that never sleeps — so see the sights, try new things, meet new people, and be smart!

RC: How can young lawyers and millennials help shape our profession?

PE: Young lawyers and millennials are already shaping our profession by being authentic. By demanding a change from the status quo, they are slowly helping to make our profession less staid and more reflective of today’s culture generally. Many of the changes regarding diversity and inclusion, life-work balance, parenting, telecommuting,, and embracing new technology are a direct result of young lawyers and millennials entering the legal profession.

RC: What does diversity mean to you? How does the MBBA help foster it in the New York market?

PE: Diversity is multifaceted. It means acceptance, respect and meaningful representation. Diversity must be paired with inclusion. We must strive to have our profession not just accept groups who have not traditionally had access, but to value each person for their uniqueness. Having a more diverse and inclusive culture has been proven to be better by study after study, and yet there is still resistance. We each have to individually make a commitment to stepping outside of our comfort zones and using our privilege to make the profession more diverse.

The MBBA helps foster diversity in the New York market in a myriad of ways. We are committed to the providing resources, skills and opportunities to our members by offering programming, career opportunities, business development and networking experiences.

We recently had a program series called the MBBA Partnership Pipeline Initiatives Program. This included “Success Strategies for Black Law Firm Associates,” which brought together experienced black partners with black associates to have a “real talk” about what it takes to be successful in a law firm and thrive as a partner.

In partnership with Greenberg Traurig LLP and PepsiCo, Inc. we sponsored “Filling the Pipeline: Building and Sustaining Tomorrow’s Black Law Firm Partners” and we also held an event where over 20 general counsel attended, called the Partnership Pipeline General Counsel Reception. This event provided an informal networking environment for both external and in-house counsel to candidly and honestly discuss strategies to positively impact diversity in the law firm partnership pipeline.

The MBBA is also committed to our community. We recently held a community forum and legal solutions roundtable called “I am a Solution” in response to the police killings of black people and the resulting violence in order to identify actionable solutions to foster better community and police interactions. We are also holding our inaugural back-to-school backpack giveaway where we will provide 500 backpacks filled with supplies to children in need in each borough. This is an initiative developed to alleviate some of the financial burdens for parents, and also to have children interact with black lawyers and law students.

RC: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

PE: Readers, I hope you will take much of what I said here to heart. A lesson I learned acutely after losing my mother is that life is short. I hope that you will consider this a call to action to make a difference. I invite you to join the MBBA, and I encourage you to also connect with me on social media. Let’s change the world!

RC: On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Paula Edgar for sharing her experience and wisdom with our audience and wish her continued success in her career.


Renwei Chung is passionate about writing, technology, psychology, and economics. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.