Legal Lady Boss- Leila Jade Levi
As Avocate has grown over the years, many of our mentors I haven’t had the pleasure to meet. However, it doesn’t mean I’m not aware of their stories and the impact they are making on our community. I came to learn about Leila Jade Levi from an email from her mentee (whom I haven’t met either) about the impact Leila has had on her. As Senior Counsel for Reproductive Rights and Health for the National Women’s Law Center, Leila is focused on advocacy in the professional work that she does. She is also personally committed to advocating for our legal landscape to reflect our society at large with her focus on diversity and inclusion. Thank you to Leila and all our passionate mentors who are so generous with their time.
You’ve had an impressive career working for various organizations all pushing civil rights issues. Did you know this was the path you’d follow upon entering law school?
Yes. I went to law school knowing I wanted to pursue civil rights law, as I had that interest in undergraduate work as well.
You attended law school during the 2008 recession. As we’re entering an unstable financial time right now that can be scary for those in the workforce and soon to be entering, what advice do you have on how to handle the uncertainty?
I went to law school as a first generation lawyer and I did not know much about the law school or the profession. When classmates were having offers rescinded and unable to find work, I committed to making myself an expert in areas of civil rights law. So my 3L year, I worked at the Office of Civil Rights at the United States Department of Agriculture while taking a full course load and doing a human rights law clinic. It was long hours but gave me the subject matter expertise to be employable.
Walk us through your legal background. What have been some of the highlights, and what have been some of the challenges?
The highlights include when a client is genuinely grateful and happy to have my expertise and assistance. Highlights have been working with amazing mentors and stellar government and nonprofits lawyers. It is a challenge when you have imposter syndrome and the language of the law is new. It is a challenge to learn from mistakes and be patient with your own growth as a professional. It is also a challenge when you think you don’t belong in spaces because you didn’t go to a top 14 law school.
You are an active member of the Hispanic Bar Association of DC. What does diversity in the law mean to you? How have you seen progress throughout your practice? And what are some areas of opportunity?
Diversity is essential to me and means that people of historically excluded backgrounds join the legal profession. Our society needs people who have cultural competency in all professional areas and the legal profession does not look like our society. I have seen very slow progress. I am disappointed with how the profession has been discussing it for decades but statistics on hiring, retention, and promotion are still terrible. There is opportunity in every way to change the profession to be more representative and inclusive in every sector.
You’re currently Senior Counsel for Reproductive Rights and Health for the National Women’s Law Center, which is a role you’ve held since 2019. There have been significant changes in the reproductive rights landscape in the United States over the past four years. How has your role changed during this time? What does your day-to-day look like?
Access to abortion and all reproductive health care was bad and worsening for years before I started this position. My role has changed in the harm to patients and providers has been magnified. The issue has grown more in the public consciousness due to the loss of the access in Texas in 2021, and then the overturning of Roe in 2022.
Day to day, I work to support clinicians who are providing and would like to provide abortions, and share know your rights information. I work in coalition with partners who are supporting the legal needs of patients and providers in a post-Roe world.
For anyone who is looking to pursue a similar career path, what advice do you have?
Public interest law is meaningful and there are many paths to pursuing it. I recommend as many internship and academic experiences that relate to the work as possible. I have relied on my litigation work even in the policy work so I think there are transferrable skills to public interest work from more traditional legal positions like judicial clerkships.
As Avocate is a mentorship organization, and you have been such a generous mentor in our organization (thank you for that!), are there any mentors in your career that you’d like to highlight here?
I have many mentors who have supported me throughout the years, and they are mostly through the Hispanic Bar Association of DC and in professional contexts. I would be remiss to name anyone for fear of not naming others, but I will name one who has passed away suddenly in 2021– Fernando Rivero. He was a lion of a person and very dedicated to public service and mentorship. He touched many lives and I reflect on his lessons often.