Hard work. It’s a phrase Jamie Wright never once used when we spoke with her recently. Yet everything she says and does proves that she’s one of the hardest workers in the Los Angeles legal field.
The millennial minority’s strong work ethic is nothing new. Wright’s been laser-focused and committed to her dream ever since her Dad told her to follow it. He grew up in Mississippi during a time when African Americans were used to hearing what dreams they should and shouldn’t follow – from people with ulterior motives.
Wright wasn’t always a legal eagle, though, having originally planned to be a doctor. But when her organic chemistry class at UC Berkeley “weeded her out,” she remembered her Dad. He’d gotten into law school years earlier, but he couldn’t afford the tuition. It was her turn now. She grabbed hold and hasn’t let go since.
She switched her major to History, and went to work for the political campaign of Berkeley Mayor Tom Bates. Her dedication (and yes, hard work) earned her a place on the City of Berkeley’s Peace and Justice Commission – at the tender age of 19.
Armed with her undergrad degree, Wright headed straight to UC’s Hastings College of Law. There she racked up awards, prestigious memberships, and academic scholarships while serving as President of the Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity and working as a federal judicial extern in U.S. District Court. During this time, she also served as Competitions Co-Chair for the Western Regional Black Law Students Association and honed her commercial legal chops with internships at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.
