By: Joy Stoney
I am Joy Stoney, attorney and owner of Stoney Law Firm, LLC. I prepared for work in the male dominated field of law my entire life. I grew up in the country so my playmates were cousins, and those cousins just happened to be male. I spent the majority of my summer breaks running through the woods, climbing trees, and playing every sport imaginable. As the only girl in my play group, two things became readily apparent: first, no one wanted to play with dolls, (only Tonka dump trucks), and second whatever game we were going to play, you had to be tough. Tough enough to run and keep up with the boys, jump as high as they did, and throw as far as they could. It is what I was used to and that type of training and mentality forged the person I am today. My competitive nature was revealed during that time and has carried me throughout my life.
There were a number of pivotal moments that forged the entrepreneurial attorney I am today. I can’t remember the exact age the idea of becoming a lawyer forged in my mind, but I was very young. In between all of the running and climbing in trees I was a voracious reader and I definitely credit my mom for the numerous trips to the library. My parents were raised on the sea islands of Charleston and I remember my mom taking my grandmother to a lawyer’s office when I was a child. As I grew older I came to understand they were dealing with issues surrounding family property on Wadmalaw Island, SC where my mother grew up. This experience certainly made an impression on me and I’d like to think it’s one of the reasons I was inspired to become an attorney.
I surprised myself by going to a woman’s college for undergraduate studies. As a tomboy it was a foregone conclusion I would attend a co-ed university, at least in my mind. When I arrived on campus, female-led student leadership roles were the norm. I held student leadership roles alongside my male counterparts in high school, but my college experience was another level. There was an expectation for all students to participate in extracurricular activities in some way. We were student body presidents, chemistry and math majors, and captains of every sport on campus. Although I was never shy, I saw many of my classmates who entered college very uncertain of themselves blossom into capable and outspoken women. Running for office, or pursuing a traditional male-dominated major was no longer an anomaly. There was no need to “act like a boy” to keep up with the pack because we were all capable of doing as well as our male counterparts. When I was recruited for the Model League debate team my sophomore year, we began competing against Ivy League colleges and other notable institutions throughout the country. I realized our debate team’s reputation preceded us. A rich legacy of intelligent, capable and well-prepared women who dominated and routinely won competitions was the norm and was expected. These experiences reinforced my belief that women are very capable of performing in whatever field they decide to pursue.
Law school was no different as at least 50% of the student body was female. Women routinely excelled, graduating and practicing alongside their male counterparts. As I began to practice law, I have encountered situations where assumptions were made about my role in a case. I was the legal assistant or paralegal instead of the lead attorney. Earlier in my career these assumptions came with the territory but have decreased over the years. My ability to have compassion for my clients and advocate effectively for them in court has always had a much greater impact on their cases than my gender.
The female trailblazers who practiced law in the early days as the lone female attorney in the room, paved the way for attorneys like myself to practice. These women needed to assimilate; to run as fast, jump as high, and throw as hard as they could, just to be accepted by their peers. Because of their sacrifices, I can practice as an attorney whose gender is an asset. My intuition, compassion, and ingenuity, coupled with my legal education has made a difference in the lives of the individuals and families that I serve. While there is still room for improvement to retain female legal talent long term, I believe there is no better time for a female practicing attorney. The skill sets we bring to the profession, our perspective and unique problem solving skills, and the level of service we bring to our clients make women a vital part of the legal community. More and more we celebrate our uniqueness and our clients thank us for the results every day for it.