Being Lucky Enough to Replicate Len

Starting law school as a former foster youth who was also a single parent felt like an impossible endeavor. Professors who saw my potential transformed the impossible into an exquisite picture of success. Professor Leonard S. Rubinowitz, better known as “Len,” was one of those professors. While he has just announced his retirement after over 50 years of researching and teaching at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, I’ve come to realize that the gifts he provided to his countless students will expand well beyond this moment. The belief that Len had in the full scope of my potential is one such gift that will cycle through many generations of law students to come.

I’ll never forget when Len told me that I should consider a career in academia. When he first shared this insight, I almost laughed in disbelief. My goal in attending law school was simple. Providing for my family was the reason why I chose this path. I intended to do so through a career as a transactional lawyer which seemed to be the best path forward given the degree in finance that I had already procured. Being an academic also entailed a deeper relationship with the law that I didn’t think I could access. At the time, I viewed the law as being a means to an end. There was a distinct separation between me and it. Many aspects of the law were not designed through the lens of someone with my background. Thinking critically about what the law should be seemed to be reserved for those who had the luxury of pontificating complicated theories and schools of thought. Homogenous groups developed the law while I simply endured and managed it.

After practicing at a large law firm for a few years, the seed that Len planted while I was a law student started to sprout. My goal of being a transactional lawyer had solidified. I had even been recruited for highly coveted in-house positions with prominent hedge fund advisers. Despite these seemingly golden opportunities, my mind was aching to be fully utilized in ways that I did not know how to satiate.  Reaching out to Len for advice was the only solution that I could then muster. He happily agreed to meet me for lunch, where he gently reiterated that I should consider transitioning into academia. He then shared a long list of fellowship opportunities that could provide a launching pad into this field.

Yet, this time was different. I actually listened to him which was unusual given my typical state of stubborn willfulness.  I spent the next year applying to fellowships across the country. Len, of course, provided me with a glowing letter of recommendation. After months of waiting, I finally received the singular “yes” that completely transformed my career trajectory. I was accepted into the esteemed Hastie Fellowship Program at the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison, WI.

As a law professor, I have the extraordinary privilege of combining every aspect of my identity in thinking about what the law should be. I spent my pre-tenure years scrutinizing regulatory solutions to the increasing publicness of private funds resulting from financial innovation, retailization, and systemic risk.  I have since expanded my research by using a range of theoretical frameworks to explore how racism can similarly threaten financial stability in ways that should be recognized by regulators. I am now working on a book project entitled Markets for Black Pain: Law and Marginalization as a Commodity which is under contract with Cambridge University Press. It ventures to create an entirely new “Markets for Black Pain” theory which asserts that the private sector commodifies Black Pain in ways that generate additional harms that repeatedly cycle through our communities. I am likewise expanding my earlier research on private funds by creating new theories to deconstruct the ways in which private fund frameworks have grown so omnipresent, that they have heavily influenced both the structure and function of the government. Each of these projects reflects my unique perspectives as a Black woman who experienced foster care and chronic poverty—who is likewise an expert within investment funds and corporate law. It goes without saying that while academia is far from perfect, the thirst that I had to satiate the depths of my innovative intellect has officially been quenched.

In terms of my role as an educator and mentor, I frequently meet students who are experiencing similar circumstances that I did as a law student. They are unaware of the full scope of their intellect. They have existed in spaces that never gave them permission to be great. They are primarily driven by surviving as opposed to envisioning spaces where they can unequivocally thrive. During these moments, I always remember Len. I replicate the belief that he had in my potential, even when I couldn’t see it for myself. I joyfully share with these students that their brilliance deserves to be unleashed. Reorienting their self-perception towards a space of unapologetic confidence remains the ultimate goal. Although I can never fully know the impact of my words, I find comfort in knowing that I’ve been lucky to have the privilege of replicating Len.

Thank you, Len, for always making space for us despite the time that I now know it required. Thank you for creating a classroom environment that was truly inclusive in terms of soliciting knowledge from those of us whose intellect was all too often neglected by marginalizing systems. Thank you for bolstering my relationship with the law in immeasurable ways that I am still in the process of discovering. And thank you for providing an example of what it means to create legacy within the intricate realm of academia.