I’ve known I wanted to be a lawyer since 1984. I had two small kids to raise, sporadic child support and an absent ex-husband. In 1978, I’d gotten a college degree but back then I didn’t take college very seriously. If I had a plan, it was to get married, have kids and be a “wife and mother.”

My grades from college were terrible and I remember thinking that if I had to go back and start over again with another college degree, I’d never be able to do it, so in 1989 I got my first job as a legal secretary. I tried to get into law school, but because of my grades, got turned down. In 1991 I became a paralegal and in 1993, I started going to evening classes at the University of Maryland University College (UMUC) in College Park, Maryland. I finished my second college degree in Legal Studies in 1994. This time my grades were great.
I tried to get into law school and once again, got turned down. By this time, I was managing law firms and working as a paralegal in Rockville, Maryland. I worked at small firms so I could learn from my work. I did legal research, wrote legal papers and learned how a law office works. It was a great part of my education and has helped me be a better lawyer.
I went back to school and in 1998 I got a Master’s Degree in Administration from UMUC, again with great grades. Now I was sure I’d get into law school. I applied, and again I got turned down. I was about to give up altogether when I met an alumnus from the University of Baltimore School of Law. With his help I was accepted in 1998. During law school, I kept working for Rockville lawyers as a law clerk. I graduated in 2001 and the following year was admitted to the Maryland Bar.
I started my practice, part-time out of my spare bedroom, while working as a contract law clerk at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C. Before long, I was too busy with my practice to work part-time. I found an office and worked as a sole practitioner until May of 2003 when I went to work with at a law firm in Chevy Chase, Maryland. I re-established my solo practice in August 1994 and have been in my own practice since then. I’ve worked long and hard to become a lawyer and I’m thankful every day for being able to do the work I do.