What a great article. Having a had a very similar experience, I empathize with the author. 

I am not black, my skin is white (and actually quite fair given my ethnic background) - but my name immediately betrays my origins. My parents were blue-collar immigrants and I grew up  in relative cultural isolation, so much so that I didn't even realize what it was that I needed to know to "fit in" at a big Bay Street firm until I got there.

My grades and my being well-rounded (was also a musician) and well-travelled (which were really summers with extended family in my parents' country of origin) helped get me hired as a summer student, articling student, and then associate at a big Bay Street law firm. Looking back I am not sure how I did it, because it wasn't until I spent about a year there as an associate that I realized how much I actually didn't fit in - I didn't like cottaging, knew nothing about hockey, didn't ski or play golf - but the biggest problem seemed to be that