During the early years of her career, Lori Anne Thomas would sit near the front of the courtroom, only to be told to move by court staff as the area was reserved for lawyers. Except she is one. āIāve heard more than enough times, āYou donāt look like a lawyer.ā I know exactly what that means, which is that Iām not a tall, white man,ā said Thomas, a Toronto lawyer who specializes in criminal law and recently became president of the Canadian Association of Black Lawyers. āIt hits at you and just on top of dealing with everything else, being a recent call (to the bar), trying to figure out how to do everything and navigate the legal community and also build a practice, to then also have that obstacle of being constantly reminded that youāre kind of not expected to be here.āThomasās story is one that is shared by other female lawyers and lawyers of colour, some of whom have been mistaken in courtrooms and other legal settings for assistants, interpreters and even an accused person. Toronto criminal defence lawyer Janani Shanmuganathan said sheās been mistaken several times for a Tamil interpreter at the Scarborough courthouse, where staff or a Crown attorney will approach her in the hallway telling her sheās needed in a courtroom.Other times, staff will approach her in the courtroom, even though sheās seated in the reserved area for lawyers. āI donāt think people are saying that to be mean or in a negative way, but I think the gut reaction for people is that I donāt fit the stereotype of who they think a lawyer should be,ā she said. āItās very frustrating and sad. Iām a child of immigrants, Iām the first lawyer in my family, I worked really hard to get to where I am. Itās unfortunate that I have to constantly be demanding my space and the right to be recognized for the lawyer that I am. Itās disheartening.ā According t ...
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