Taft law partner reflects on race
When Janica Pierce Tucker was named partner-in-charge of the Columbus office of Taft, Stettinius & Hollister in January, she made history as the first Black woman to lead a local law office.
The Cincinnati-based Taft operates 11 offices with more than 600 attorneys. Pierce Tucker leads the local team of more than 70.
The 43-year-old specializes in employment law after starting her career with Frank A. Ray, who became a mentor. Ray’s firm merged with Chester Willcox & Saxbe in 2006, which in turn merged with Taft in 2012. Pierce Tucker was named a Taft partner in 2015, becoming one of a handful of Black women law partners in Columbus. Tucker recently shared her story with Columbus CEO.
When did you decide to become a lawyer?
Tucker: When I graduated from law school, my grandmother gave me something I wrote in the first grade about what you wanted to be when you grew up. And I wrote “lawyer.” I have no idea why I wrote that, but every time someone asked me that question, I would say lawyer.
Why is diversity in a law firm important?
Tucker: When you have to give advice to clients on a variety of topics, if you don’t have diversity of thought in the process, that’s a disservice to the client. And where does that diversity of thought come from? From different people.
How diverse is the Columbus office of Taft?
Tucker: We have a good number of women, but we definitely have room to grow in terms of attorneys of color.