As a child, he first confronted discrimination when he saw a beach sign reading “No Blacks, No Jews, No Dogs Allowed,” sparking early conversations about hatred and division. That moment shaped his understanding of injustice. Today, he notes that discrimination persists but is harder to prove without overt signs, making legal work more complex. Instead of obvious evidence, lawyers must connect subtle, intricate facts—an effort that is challenging but deeply rewarding when they succeed.
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It’s hard to know what the seminal factors were in your life that lead you on a certain path. But I know for me, uh, one very vivid moment in my life which stands out was when I was six years old, and I was, uh, walking on the beach in the Jersey Shore with my parents, and we came upon a sign that said, “No blacks, no Jews, no dogs allowed.” And I remember that moment because it was the first time I spoke with my
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parents about issues that concern separation and division in society and hatred and discrimination that that sign evoked. And in certain respects, when you look back on that time, you think, you know, you knew where the battle lines were drawn. Today, it’s a lot more difficult to know where the battle lines are drawn. You don’t typically find signs like that, no blacks, no Jews, no dogs allowed anywhere because those signs aren’t allowed. But you nonetheless
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still have virulent antisemitism, race discrimination, gender discrimination, and our jobs, therefore, are a lot more difficult. If you had that sign as exhibit A that you could bring into court and show a jury, you pretty much win the case going away. But if you don’t have that sign and you have to connect the dots in a very complex story, your job is so much harder, and that’s what makes our job hard, but ultimately really rewarding when we win.
