And the Law Our Annual Listing of the Top Women Attorneys in the Metro
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WOMEN and the Law Our annual listing of the top women attorneys in the metro. B-METRO.COM 61 Yawanna McDonald The Talk: Women & The Law Women attorneys, convened by Campbell Guin’s Yawanna McDonald, talk about the job, the culture and the impact of being a woman in court. The Participants estates. Her practice also includes probate vannah, Georgia, is the founder and own- Yawanna McDonald is a partner at and estate administration services. Mc- er of the Hazzard Law Firm, LLC. She Campbell Guin in the firm’s Business Donald’s prior technical background and graduated from Georgia Southern Uni- Torts, Corporate Litigation, and Trial experiences allow her to quickly grasp her versity with a Bachelor of Science degree practice. McDonald’s practice focuses clients’ objectives and uniquely approach in Political Science and a double minor in on the areas of commercial and business each client matter. Before attending law English and Fashion Merchandising. She litigation, trust and estate litigation, and school, McDonald worked as an environ- pursued her legal dreams and graduated other general litigation matters represent- mental consultant where she focused on from Miles Law School in 2009. After ing both plaintiffs and defendants. In her aiding her clients in achieving environ- working at several law firms, Hazzard went trust and estate litigation practice, McDon- mental compliance. on to lay the foundation for her own firm. ald represents small to multi-million dollar Wakisha E. Hazzard, a native of Sa- She has a boutique law firm in the down- 62 B-METRO.COM Kimberly Bell Wakisha Hazzard Photos by Beau Gustafson town Birmingham area where she litigates from Vanderbilt University Law School Her practice areas include adoptions, serious crimes, handles personal injury and previously worked as a consultant for business litigation, custody, divorce, fami- cases, corporate law matters, and business IBM. She also attended Spelman College ly law and mediation litigation, guardian- formation. Hazzard has appeared on Law and the University of Michigan, Ann Ar- ships and conservatorships, mediation, Call and gives free advice to assist others bor. prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, with legal issues. A Birmingham native, Christen But- will contest and estate/trust litigation. Outside of the courtroom, Hazzard is ler of Dominick, Feld Hyde, PC is a 2014 Liz Young is a founding partner of is a member of the Junior League of Bir- graduate of Cumberland School of Law Dummier Young LLC with offices in Bir- mingham and volunteers at the YWCA. and a 2010 graduate of Mississippi State mingham and Gardendale where her firm Hazzard has a passion for helping children University. While attending Mississippi specializes in criminal defense while also and promotiong literacy. Servant leader- State University, she was a Presidential serving individuals in need of estate plan- ship sums up her role as an attorney. Scholarship recipient and a member of the ning and probate litigation. Kimberly Bell has a diverse practice Alpha Beta Chi Honor Society. Young has a solid foundation in the at Balch & Bingham, LLP that includes legal field having started her career in law litigation, intellectual property work, con- The ABA reports that enforcement over a decade ago. Criminal tract review, and regulatory compliance. nationwide, 85% of lawyers are defense is one of her main practice areas With regard to her litigation practice, Bell Caucasian, 5% African-Ameri- because of her unique insight into the has experience with product liability and can and 5% Hispanic; 64% are arrest and investigation process. Young is casualty litigation, health care litigation, male. experienced in a broad spectrum of felony real estate and title litigation, and insur- and misdemeanor criminal cases in state ance coverage issues. While Bell mostly In Alabama, out of 18,000+ and municipal courts. She was awarded works on civil litigation matters, she has a attorneys, 91.6% are Caucasian the Top 10 Under 40 by the National background in computer science and com- and 6.9% African-American; Academy of Criminal Defense Attorneys puter engineering and enjoys diving into 67.7% are male. in 2015. intellectual property issues. Bell graduated The Advantage of Women positive things in the community togeth- Liz Young: “She is totally right. The er. It’s great to be around women who are criminal sector has historically been domi- going through similar experiences and to nated by men. And even now we have that support each other.” core group of 50 to 55 year old and older Liz Young: “I think there is definitely men who make up most of the criminal de- a camaraderie among female lawyers. I re- fense bar. Frankly for us sometimes, I feel member what it was like when women law- like it’s an advantage because you’re com- yers came up to me to help. They would ing in as a fresh face; not the normal man say, ‘I’ll show you exactly what to do.’ I’m that the prosecutor is used to dealing with seeing that more and more and I feel like all the time. We have a different approach we’re really coming together and pulling with people. We start off a little more each other through the profession.” non-confrontational, and then if we need to go there, we go there. I definitely think Mentoring it has challenges, but I love the advantages Christen Butler: “My mentors, De- Christen Butler of being female.” nise Pomeroy and Sam Kok, have each Wakisha Hazzard: “I think women are practiced for 30 years. If it wasn’t for The Setup more compassionate in the practice of law them, I wouldn’t have grown as fast as I Yawanna McDonald: “I invited these with great listening skills. We bring great have. There are certain conversations I’ve ladies to talk about these topics because listening skills, multitasking and attention had with them that I wouldn’t have been I wanted to get people who I respect that to detail.” comfortable having with a man. For exam- are in the thick of this journey. Some of Christen Butler: “And I am going to ple, if I have a kid going on a field trip I us have kids, some of us don’t have kids. say we bring glitter. You have to have grit can check in with other women attorneys Some of us are solo practitioners, and and you have to have gumption. But when and ask them what they think. And they some of us are in big firms. We do defense you throw that glitter in there, that’s an ex- say, ‘Go be with your baby.’ It helps to have work, plaintiff work, and criminal work. tra. You can’t quite put a name to it but it a woman who’s been practicing a while, I thought it would be a good blend and changes the culture of a firm. I am the only who will look at me and say it’s okay. It’s a good representation of women here in African-American in my firm, but we have okay to be a mom. It’s okay to be a wife. If Birmingham that are doing well and repre- a lot of female shareholders. That racial or your health is at risk, it’s okay to take time senting clients very well in whatever prac- gender difference bring a uniqueness to for your health.” tice area it may be. Whether in a large firm any room that we step into, something that Yawanna McDonald: “I’m the only fe- or small one, there are a lot of women wouldn’t be there without us.” male in our Birmingham office, so I work who can go toe-to-toe with anybody.” Kimberly Bell: “We bring different closely with Andy Campbell, our manag- perspectives and life experiences. Our ing partner. I’ll tell him if I have to be at Ratio of Women Attorneys values are different in the way we balance a ballgame or if my child is sick, and he’s Christen Butler: “In each practice our time. We get it done so that we can do very supportive. I look to Andy for his area you see different ratios of women. things outside of work. I have two kids and experience and advice, but I’ve also been I’m a litigator at Dominick Feld Hyde and a husband, which is a lot to balance, but able to reach out to women outside the we do estate litigation and corporate litiga- that perspective can help.” firm to give me some advice.” tion, but we also have some family-owned Wakisha Hazzard: “On a lighter note, Wakisha Hazzard: “I am from Savan- businesses as clients. And that sometimes we bring a great sense of fashion.” nah, Georgia, and when I moved here I leads to domestic litigation. When I do Christen Butler: “I once heard a wom- wanted to purposefully find a mentor. So I domestic work, I see a lot more female at- an judge say, ‘When you show up in court, called Yawanna, and then a couple of judg- torneys.” you need to make sure I don’t see your es took me under their wings. They were Wakisha Hazzard: “I may be the only toes, your tatas, or your thighs.’ I want you very influential and very helpful. So I have one in private practice here. I do a good bit to take notice of the argument I’m mak- different mentors and they include both of criminal work. Although women attor- ing, not the way I’m dressed.” men and women because everyone brings neys practice in the field of criminal law, it a different perspective.” is still saturated with a lot more men.