Lawyer Narissa Morris presses on despite challenges
Caribbean L 14 ife, Feb. 22–28, 2019 BQ
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By Nelson A. King
Despite numerous challenges
within and without the
legal profession, Queens-based,
Vincentian-born attorney Narissa
Morris is determined to
press on.
“Quite often I have a conflict,
in that I may have appearances
in different courts, so I
would need coverage on such
occasions,” Morris, a sole
practitioner, with just a secretary,
in legal practice on Merrick
Boulevard in Laurelton,
Queens, told Caribbean Life in
an exclusive interview.
“I have developed a relationship
with a colleague, who
would cover for me,” she added.
“So, it’s not as difficult now.”
Additionally, Morris said she
has “the responsibility for everything
in the office.
“So, sometimes, I have very
long hours, especially when
there is a deadline to meet,” the
Brooklyn Law School graduate
continued.
She said scheduling a vacation
can also be challenging,
stating that she can “only
have one week away from the
office.”
Morris said she has also
encountered biases, because of
her race (she’s Black), being a
female and coming from the
Caribbean.
In law school, for example,
she said “they sent those
of us from the Caribbean for
‘language courses’, with one
of the professors; and, when I
asked why, they told me it was
because English was not our
first language.
“If it’s one thing I had was
superior language skills,” Morris
affirmed, adding: “The five
of us went, because you take
help wherever you can find it.”
She said she has encountered
other biases while practicing
law, but stated that “it is
changing.”
She said the New York State
Bar Association Bar has instituted
mandatory diversity
courses for all attorneys.
Morris, who also has training
in accounting, said that,
when she first decided to
become a solo legal practitioner,
she taught business courses,
as an adjunct lecturer, on week
days, at New York City Technical
College, City University of
New York (CUNY), so she would
have “some steady income.”
But, she said, while she
“absolutely loved it,” she had
to give it up, because “traveling
to Brooklyn became too time
consuming.”
She, however, said she “may
go back to it (teaching) eventually.”
But, despite the challenges
— and being “a perennial optimist”
— Morris said she works
hard to get the best results for
her clients.
“I know I’ve done well when
I have a satisfied client,” she
said. “It’s even better when persons
who were on the other
side seek me out to represent
them on another matter.
“I have been able to make a
decent living,” she added.
Morris said that, during the
most recent financial crisis in
New York, many lawyers in private
practice, with whom she
was acquainted, were forced to
work for larger corporations or
companies.
But, she said, her office
remained open, stating that
she “managed to survive.”
“I am always thankful, and
I’m a perennial optimist,”
she asserted. “As long as I’m
healthy, I’ll be fine.
“There are some persons
in the Vincentian community
who believed in me from day
one,” Morris added. “When you
have a community like that,
you will succeed. Now, I work
mostly from referrals.”
The daughter of two former
school principals in St. Vincent
and the Grenadines, Morris
said she was “born into a family
dedicated to education.”
She said she started attending
elementary school, with
her parents, at three years old
and entered secondary school,
at the St. Vincent Girls High
School, considered one of the
elite secondary schools for girls
in the nation, when she was 9.
Narissa Morris, Esq. Narissa Morris
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