Bunchy Carter
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OCT 6 2016, 12:41 PM ET
Meet Three Black Millennial Women Who Founded a Chicago Law Firm
by ADRIENNE SAMUELS GIBBS
"All right slaves, get back to work."
Shocked? That was a real quote used by a real lawyer at a real law firm.
Yondi Morris-Andrews was sitting at a table, working on a document review in 2012, when she heard the partner utter those words. She was the only black person in the room and he was addressing a number of attorneys, so it wasn't a racial thing, but the utterance definitely made her uneasy.
"I looked around because I assumed that someone would say something," says Morris-Andrews, of Chicago. "I knew then that that culture was not for me and that I wasn't just offended because I was a black person. It offended me that it didn't offend anyone else. I knew I needed to get out."
Jessica B. Reddikk, Yondi Morris-Andrews, and Keli L. Knight run the KMR Law Group. Angela Carpenter Creative / KMR
And she did. After tweeting about needing to start her own firm, Morris-Andrews connected with two other millennial-aged, black women attorneys and Knight Morris & Reddikk Law Group was born. They've since worked with high profile clients such as Derek Rose and top chefs they can't name but you are sure to know. They started a legal staffing firm that supplies bigger firms with help during times of need. They also embraced social media in a way that most attorneys simply do not.
In a profession where 83 percent of the workforce are older, white and male, the women behind KMR are creating a more modern and diverse workplace that speaks directly to Millennial millionaires and ballers-to-be.
"Leveling the playing field is a huge job," says Jessica B. Reddikk, one-third of KMR. "Just the fact that we exist and other people know we exist allows for people of color and other women to see that something is possible. For men to see that this is something we are capable of doing? I think that will change the way they view women of color."
The learning curve was steep. Owning a law firm isn't just about practicing law. It's also about running a business, hiring administrators and getting your tax documents together. But two of the women are children of business owners, so they figured it out.
released a study that found that, of the employers listed in their NALP directory, only 7.52 percent had partners who were people of color and only 2.55 percent of the partners were women of color. The report goes on to say, "Moreover, many offices report no minority partners at all."
Via: Meet three Black millennial women who founded this Chicago law firm
OCT 6 2016, 12:41 PM ET
Meet Three Black Millennial Women Who Founded a Chicago Law Firm
by ADRIENNE SAMUELS GIBBS
"All right slaves, get back to work."
Shocked? That was a real quote used by a real lawyer at a real law firm.
Yondi Morris-Andrews was sitting at a table, working on a document review in 2012, when she heard the partner utter those words. She was the only black person in the room and he was addressing a number of attorneys, so it wasn't a racial thing, but the utterance definitely made her uneasy.
"I looked around because I assumed that someone would say something," says Morris-Andrews, of Chicago. "I knew then that that culture was not for me and that I wasn't just offended because I was a black person. It offended me that it didn't offend anyone else. I knew I needed to get out."
Jessica B. Reddikk, Yondi Morris-Andrews, and Keli L. Knight run the KMR Law Group. Angela Carpenter Creative / KMR
And she did. After tweeting about needing to start her own firm, Morris-Andrews connected with two other millennial-aged, black women attorneys and Knight Morris & Reddikk Law Group was born. They've since worked with high profile clients such as Derek Rose and top chefs they can't name but you are sure to know. They started a legal staffing firm that supplies bigger firms with help during times of need. They also embraced social media in a way that most attorneys simply do not.
In a profession where 83 percent of the workforce are older, white and male, the women behind KMR are creating a more modern and diverse workplace that speaks directly to Millennial millionaires and ballers-to-be.
"Leveling the playing field is a huge job," says Jessica B. Reddikk, one-third of KMR. "Just the fact that we exist and other people know we exist allows for people of color and other women to see that something is possible. For men to see that this is something we are capable of doing? I think that will change the way they view women of color."
The learning curve was steep. Owning a law firm isn't just about practicing law. It's also about running a business, hiring administrators and getting your tax documents together. But two of the women are children of business owners, so they figured it out.
released a study that found that, of the employers listed in their NALP directory, only 7.52 percent had partners who were people of color and only 2.55 percent of the partners were women of color. The report goes on to say, "Moreover, many offices report no minority partners at all."
Via: Meet three Black millennial women who founded this Chicago law firm
y'all nikkas have no chill .
