I’m on a mission to help overwhelmed Christian women lawyers and women lawyers of color achieve peace and satisfaction with their professional life (including the Bar exam!), personal life, and spiritual life using Biblical principles, research-backed methodologies, and practical real-world experience. I do this through my blog, resources, membership community, and one-on-one and group coaching programs.
Hello! I’m Roberta. I am an attorney, life coach for lawyers, speaker, trainer, and, most of all, a beloved child of God and beloved follower of Jesus Christ. My life has been so positively transformed through the redemption and salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ, and I want to help others discover their God-given purpose and walk confidently in it!
Do you wonder what you are meant to do in your life and career?
I used to wonder that too before I got clarity on what God created me to do in a way only I can do it. At first, I didn’t think law school was for me because I knew it would be difficult and I was a first-generation American and first-generation college student. I figured, “hey, my parents don’t have any degrees but I was able to make it this far — I’m already making them happy and going higher in my education than they did. Why put myself through years of even more difficult schooling if I don’t have to? A bachelor’s degree is enough to help people.” But God was calling me to do the very thing I had thought about but decided not to do because I feared the required hard work and commitment, and believed the stereotype that lawyers were for “the big guys” and not “the little guy.” I didn’t know any lawyers in real life, so my perceptions were based off of what I saw on TV and in movies.
But God showed me how lawyers can advance his Kingdom here on earth through the pursuit of justice, mercy, and peace by directing me to Proverbs 31:8-9:
8 Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
for the rights of all who are destitute.
9 Speak up and judge fairly;
defend the rights of the poor and needy.
And in 2011, my junior year of college at the University of Florida (Go Gators!), I began my journey of applying to law school. I started law school in 2012 at The George Washington University Law School in Washington, DC, and graduated with my Juris Doctor in 2015 (pictured right). I have been working as a full-time attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice since entering on duty through the Attorney General’s Honors Program in 2015. I have supervised 10+ legal interns, served in a team lead capacity on a team of 10 attorneys, conducted dozens of interviews for both intern and attorney positions, and consistently received outstanding performance evaluations. I am also the current chair of the Attorney Recruitment and Professional Development Committee of the DOJ Association of Black Attorneys.
While in law school, I was a member of the Moot Court Board and competed in multiple moot court competitions, even making the semi-finals in one and winning first place in another; served as Senior Notes Editor of the International Law in Domestic Courts Journal; interned at the U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in addition to nonprofit organizations; represented clients in D.C. Superior Court as a student attorney through the GW Law Family Justice Litigation Clinic; worked at a mid-size law firm for a year; helped students in the Legal Research and Writing Program with their legal writing and argumentation as a Writing Fellow in the GW Law Writing Center; served as a research assistant and Westlaw Student Representative, and a few other accomplishments.
I even earned the highest scores on the assignments in my legal research and writing class after I was told I would probably have difficulty with legal writing because of my background in public relations and journalism.
All by the grace of God.
I didn’t know all the answers or breeze straight through, though. The above highlight reel does not include what was happening backstage. I had difficulties and life challenges while in law school, too many to list all of them here. I didn’t make the moot court team the first time I tried out. My computer crashed during my torts final Spring 1L year and I got a few grades that hurt my GPA at the end of 1L. I worked 3 jobs 1L summer while taking a summer class to raise my GPA (this blog post is inspired by that time) and worked at a law firm all through 3L year. I passed the Maryland Bar exam on the first try but scored three points short on the multi-choice portion to be able to waive in to the DC Bar — so I was studying for a new bar exam while working full-time and looking for a new job (you can read about my experience with that and tips for others studying for the Bar exam while working full-time here). Thankfully, I also passed the DC Bar on the first try and earned a UBE score high enough to waive into any of the UBE jurisdictions nationwide! Glory to God! Moreover, this experience led to me starting the Grace for the Grind™ movement (having God’s grace for the professional grind) and the Grace for the Grind™ Career Mastermind, a free private online community and mobile app for Christian women lawyers, law students, and young professionals.
So you see, the setbacks were really to set me up to have a great testimony of God’s grace and provision to share and encourage others (maybe you!) who may think they have too many obstacles to overcome to succeed.
“But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9.
So why should you read what I have to say? Why should you work with me? Because I have been there. I have been confused, discouraged, overwhelmed, passed over, and set back. But with God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, I have overcome these challenges and gained clarity, encouragement, balance, achievement, and progress in my purpose to help other young lawyers, law students, and pre-law students navigate life as a Christian (from being a new Christian to a “seasoned saint”) in the legal profession.
And I can help you do the same.
Even if you are not a Christian, if you are even the least bit curious to see how someone could be so positively transformed by their relationship with Jesus (and practical real-world teachings), I invite you to read my blog, check out my free resources, and sign up for my one-on-one and group Bar exam coaching programs. In addition to my life experience and results in my own life (and others I’ve helped), I also have formal training as a certified Christian life coach with the Destiny Training Academy, as a certified leadership coach, speaker, and trainer with the John Maxwell Team, and as a certified Maxwell Method DISC Behavioral Analysis Consultant.
I pray you are blessed and find revelation here. I look forward to hearing from you, and invite you to learn more about becoming Blessed & Barred®! 🙂
