Sonya Palmer:
It is late evening, the phone rings. Andrea Edney answers, heart pounding.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
I was on a ballot with two other people, two men, who were very seasoned, well-respected attorneys from other parts of the world.
Sonya Palmer:
On the other end, news that changes her life and changes history.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
I was in total shock that I won.
Sonya Palmer:
She's been elected president of the American Board of Trial Advocates, ABOTA, one of the most prestigious trial lawyer organizations in the country. And by winning, she's become the first African American woman to hold that position.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
The first word that came to my mind is just how grateful I was to represent not only African American women, but women and people in general.
Sonya Palmer:
But this phone call is about more than a title. It's a call to stand in a new kind of power and to share it with others. Welcome to LawHer, where we shine a light on the boldest and brightest women in the legal industry. This season we explore how they own power faster and keep it longer. I'm Sonya Palmer, host and SVP of operations Rankings. Let's begin.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
So I grew up in a small town in the Mississippi Delta. I'm the youngest of 14 children. I have eight sisters and five brothers. When I became 10 years old, my mom and dad decided to become foster parents to about 11 additional children to the 14 of us, and they ended up adopting two of those children. We understand the importance of giving back because that was instilled in us at a very young age.
Sonya Palmer:
Andrea's phone call moment might feel like destiny, but that drive to lead rooted in service began long ago in the Delta. Imagine a crowded house full of voices and footsteps where self-reliance and community care go hand in hand. Andrea may have been the baby of the family, but she learned early what it means to step up.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
I always saw myself as someone who could hold leadership spots, and I think that may have come from actually being the baby of the family. My sisters and my brothers call me bossy. I've been the one that try to be in charge of things, making things happen with the family. I continue to do that today. I like to step in and just get it done. I've seen myself in those leadership roles from the very beginning.
I grew up without any mentors really to look up to in the legal profession, but I watched a lot of TV, Perry Mason and shows like that, as I was growing up and I really saw myself standing there and doing what they were doing. It was just a distant dream at the time. My favorite teacher in high school was my English teacher, Mary Davis, and she really saw in me the ability to pursue that dream, and she would often encourage me. I spent a lot of time with her being my mentor and really getting all of the wonderful accolades that she would give me about my writing and my love for reading. She would just really say that those are the things that would make you just an excellent attorney.
Sonya Palmer:
Choosing a path is one thing, living it is another. According to the American Bar Association, women now make up over half of US law students. Yet, Black women remain a much smaller faction of that total. For Andrea, being one of the only handful meant forging her own road, even when it felt like no one understood her journey. Law school can test anyone's resolve, but for a young mother juggling class schedules and bedtime routines, it's a whole different crucible.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
When I started law school, I had been out of undergraduate school for four years. I had a four-year-old son at the time that I started law school, so that was a challenge of course. I would often take my son to study sessions and Saturday library sessions and that kind of thing, so he kind of grew up around me during my law school time. I treated law school like a job. Eight o'clock I was there because I was responsible for dropping my son off at daycare and responsible for picking him up. I was one of very few African American students in my first-year law school class. But I had wonderful professors who had an open door policy at Mississippi College, and once I was accepted into law school, I made a pledge that if I ever had the opportunity to go I was going to do what it takes to really be successful.
Sonya Palmer:
Through grit and determination, Andrea made the most of every opportunity. One of her professors, Judge Leslie Southwick, opened the door to her first big break.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
Judge Leslie Southwick, who is now a Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals judge for the United States, encouraged me to apply for clerkship with him when he was on the Court of Appeals of the state of Mississippi. I was a law student. He just said, "Apply." And I did, he interviewed me, and he hired me on the spot. And so that really started my career.
When I was a young, young attorney, back in 1988, when I joined a law firm in Jackson, it was one of the largest law firms in Jackson at the time, it was predominantly white, I had a mentor and a judge that I had worked with when I was a law student who joined the firm about the time that I did. He had opportunities to go to trial and he offered me an opportunity to go with him. I recall sitting for that first trial and being told, "You're going to take this witness, that witness. You're going to do the opening statement." That really opened so many doors for me, just being thrown in.
Sonya Palmer:
Early on, Andrea found herself one of only a handful of Black women in the courtroom, and she wasn't alone. Back in 2015, the ABA showed that women made up just 24% of lead counsel in surveyed trials. And a decade later, we still don't have a comprehensive nationwide update, but many women in law report that parity is far from reality. For Andrea, every time she took the lead on a case, she opened the door a little wider for those behind her. And then came the ABOTA, the prestigious circle of top trial lawyers from both defense and plaintiff sides.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
I served last year as a president. I'm now the immediate past president for ABOTA. But it meant that attorneys from around the country who were the top attorneys defense and the plaintiff side felt like I was worthy of holding that position. It was really an opportunity of a lifetime. I was in total shock that I won. The first word that came to my mind is just how grateful I was. And I know that my family and my sons were so very excited and proud, and my parents would've been as well.
Sonya Palmer:
But not everyone recognized the depth of this milestone. Even with all her credentials and hard work, Andrea soon realized she'd have to justify her leadership role, even at home.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
Coming from a large law firm practice that had to suffer for a year, the unexpected would be the effort and the continuous challenge I've had to make people locally realize the importance of that opportunity. It was not a challenge for members of ABOTA around the country, all of the judges and the attorneys that I met, but it was pretty much a shock for me to have to justify the wonderful opportunity I had on the local level.
Every opportunity you get, you need to make sure that you include people who otherwise would not have an opportunity. It is your responsibility to make sure that you are not the only person in those positions in the future. The way that you do that is you name people and you follow up, and you make sure that those names are included in opportunities that you were given.
Sonya Palmer:
This is where Andrea's leadership crystallizes. It's not about her seat at the table, it's about pulling up more chairs. In a profession where women, and especially Black women, remain underrepresented, Andrea refuses to go it alone.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
I believe in not just being the first of anything, but the one that started the beginning of others following you. And so I think we have to be honest about our shortcomings, and so you have to really embrace your fears and just take advantage of every opportunity you have to network. And follow up. It is your responsibility to follow up with mentors and champions to make sure you keep that connection going.
You get to a certain point in your career where the biases become your strength. You take those things, you use them to your advantage. Use them as teachable moments not only for the person who is biased, but also for yourself. You can't let biases keep you from persevering. I am the chairperson of the D&I committee here at the firm. Every day we're trying to make sure people understand biases, those that are blatant and those that are subtle. It happens every single day. You just got to make sure that you are strong enough to endure. You've got to not shy away from opportunities to continue to learn and to do better.
Sonya Palmer:
That's the hallmark of Andrea's leadership, turning obstacles into fuel, addressing ignorance head on, and inspiring others to do the same. True inclusion isn't a quick fix, it's a commitment you wake up to every day from the office to the courtroom.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
I have young people coming behind me who are looking at me like I looked at others who opened doors for me. Looking at my two granddaughters who look up to me, one day I hope will be better than anything I could have dreamed of being, that's what motivates me.
Sonya Palmer:
A quiet house in the Mississippi Delta, a bold dream, a late night phone call announcing a historic presidency, and a determination to blaze the trail for others, Andrea Edney reminds us that the power isn't given, it's built, and it's strengthened each time we reach back to lift someone else up. Thank you for listening to LawHer. If Andrea's journey spoke to you, please subscribe and share this episode with someone who needs to hear it. Until next time, this is Sonya Palmer. Let's hold open the doors we walk through.
Andrea La’verne Edney:
But for someone naming my name and saying, "I want La'Verne to be a part of this trial too," I think it's very important. But for clients saying, "I want a certain number of women. I want to see women in front of the jury. I want to see a woman in front of a judge. I want a woman to be included," that's not discrimination. That's saying, "I want the best team available for this case."
