I am a lawyer, my names (all of them) are clearly non-white, and although I am not black I am pretty obviously not white. I think there are a lot of problems about this piece. I don't deny that racism exists but I don't think this piece is representative of reality in big-city law (sorry to say it, but I do think that smaller towns are less comfortable with non-whiteness...). Also someone should have edited this piece - how the BMW is remotely relevant is beyond me (and I love BMWs). All in all, I think it was irresponsible for the Globe to publish this piece. Frankly it sounds to me like the twice-a-week-ultimate-frisbee was more of an issue with respect to law firm success than skin tone. But the good news is that Hadiya (a lovely name by the way) will, without question, be able to have a successful legal career if she perseveres. I do not think the PhD route is the way to go for her. Hadiya it's obvious that you are a skilled lawyer; it's way too early to bail on the profession.