MIP’s Diverse Perspectives is a blog feature to spotlight a member from North Carolina’s community of diverse attorneys and legal professionals. Members have the opportunity to share a personal perspective through a brief set of interview questions.

This month’s perspective is courtesy of LaToya Powell, Assistant Legal Counsel, North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, Raleigh.

What law school did you attend and what was your graduation year?

The University of North Carolina School of Law, 2005.

What inspired or prompted you to become an attorney?

I’m not one of those people who always knew that I wanted to be a lawyer. I didn’t decide to apply to law school until my junior year in college. However, as a criminology major, I knew that I wanted to work with at-risk youth or pursue a career in juvenile justice. I grew up in a small, rural town where poverty and crime was prevalent in the black community. As a result, I had many friends and family members who ended up in the juvenile or criminal justice system at a young age, mostly due to social and environmental factors that contribute to delinquency. So, I wanted to be a part of the solution. During my junior year, I got a part-time job working for an attorney, and that was when I began to realize the power and influence that a law degree can provide. Fast forward to today, and I am now an attorney specializing in juvenile justice law, which has been the focus of my law career for the past 16 years. In my role as assistant legal counsel for the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts, I have the opportunity to influence juvenile justice policy and legislation, advise court officials, and collaborate with other youth serving agencies. It truly is a blessing to have a career that I greatly enjoy and that has a meaningful impact on the community.

Please describe a barrier or obstacle you have overcome in your professional career.

I’ve definitely experienced microaggressions and even blatant racism in my law career. For example, I’ve been in meetings where I was the only black person or the only female in the room, and my opinions were either ignored or later repeated by a white man, who got credit for the idea, as if I hadn’t already stated it. In a previous job, I had a white female colleague ask me if it would be okay for her to use the “N-word” in her summary of an appellate decision in which that word appeared. In that same office, another white female colleague told me that I was biased for using the word “disproportionate” in reference to the impact of the school-to-prison pipeline on black youth, despite the overwhelming research that proves this point. I could go on and on. As a young attorney, I didn’t know how to directly address these kinds of microaggressions without creating conflict. I still struggle in these situations, but I now understand how important it is to address it when it happens.

Do you have a message of encouragement for others who may have experienced similar challenges or adversity as a diverse attorney?

As a diverse attorney, you likely will have an experience that is racially insensitive or discriminatory, at some point in your career. When it happens, don’t be afraid to speak up about it. You are your best advocate. The more you use your voice, the more confident you will become in addressing adversity when it happens.

LaToya Powell is an Assistant Legal Counsel in the Office of General Counsel at the North Carolina Administrative Office of the Courts where she advises judicial officials and their staff primarily on juvenile delinquency matters. She is also an Adjunct Professor at Campbell University School of Law. Prior to joining the NCAOC, she was an Assistant Professor of Public Law and Government at the UNC School of Government where she focused on juvenile law. Prior to becoming a law professor, she handled juvenile delinquency appeals as an Assistant Attorney General in the Appellate Section of the North Carolina Department of Justice and worked as a juvenile prosecutor in the Johnston County District Attorney’s Office. She is an active member of the North Carolina Bar Association and is the co-chair of the Minorities in the Profession Committee and former chair of the Juvenile Justice and Children’s Rights Section. She is a graduate of North Carolina State University and The University of North Carolina School of Law and is admitted to the North Carolina State Bar and U.S. Supreme Court Bar. She lives in Cary with her husband and son and enjoys running marathons as a hobby.

June 16, 2021/by NCBA MIP