For many navigating the labyrinth of a flourishing legal profession, the idea of reputation is held in high reverence. However, Aliza Shatzman, lawyer and founder of a nonprofit advocating for transparency and accountability within the judiciary, offers a different perspective. Twenty months ago, on congressional testifying support of the Judiciary Accountability Act, she left her law firm job, embracing a path that some might consider contrary to the reputation orthodoxy.
Shatzman launched a nonprofit to redress the injustices she experienced as a law student and clerk. She argues that addressing the harrowing silence surrounding judicial clerkships and the mistreatment of clerks is not only necessary but overdue. The support her organization has received from across the legal profession and even judges, she says, indicates a hunger for dialogue around accountability and changes in the courts. Her project’s main initiative is the Centralized Clerkships Database, aimed at democratising information about judges as managers and the experiences of clerkships.
In her view, the legal profession is awash with advice that perpetuates a cautious, reluctance-to-change atmosphere. She points to phrases such as “your reputation is everything,” “don’t rock the boat,” and “don’t make waves,” as contributors to this culture. Shatzman critiques this state, highlighting the disquieting power imbalances, failures to train and supervise subordinates, and the lack of transparency, diversity, equity, and accountability as failings internal to the legal profession.
Shatzman strongly opposes the unwillingness of the legal community to champion change and question the undue power conferred on a select few. She cites her own experiences tackling the taboos entrenched within the legal community and challenging the status quo. The messages she originally perceived as damaging her reputation have triggered a nationwide clerkship transparency movement.
With ongoing work with law students, she encourages them to demand better from their law school career services offices and veer away from conformity. She calls this culture, which pressures students to hide their authentic selves to blend in, a subtle threat against questioning the status quo.
She concludes by urging a shift in legal culture from one bound by fear of stepping out of line, to one that celebrates transparent conversations about the workplace. She expresses hope for a future where law students and novice attorneys challenge the culture of conformity from within, forcing the profession to change alongside. In Shatzman’s view, voices raised for change can alter the culture, demanding a reimagining of what “reputation” truly stands for.
The original piece can be found at Aliza Shatzman’s piece for ‘Above the Law’, Actually, Your Reputation Isn’t Everything.