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“You don’t want to be touched or ignored in the workplace,” she says. “You want to be treated as educated and equal to your male counter- parts.”
But law school and the early career that followed felt too similar to that TV newsroom.
“If you’re a young woman, even as a professional, you’re not treated the same as your male counterparts,” Meyer says, explaining that in her rst job, practicing personal injury law, her 40-something male boss gave her the littlest desk (in his o ce) and a salary to match.
“I asked for a raise, and you would have thought I was asking to ar- gue a $50 million jury trial,” she says. “In her early days as a family law attorney, some of the male attorneys at the rm were horrible. I would respond, ‘How would you feel if someone said that to your daughter?’”
Another realization, “ is is not why I went to law school,” prompt- ed Meyer to leave that rm to go into practice with her then-husband. ere, she shi ed her focus to domestic violence work, including in- tra-partner domestic violence, which was new at the time. She part- nered with a woman at a shelter who helped victims (usually women) obtain restraining orders.
“ at was where I found my calling. Helping somebody with lit- tle self-esteem, who had been abused for years, get on their feet and become a stronger person,” explains Meyer of the satisfaction of her newly discovered passion.
And that family law attorney who made the sexual comments? He reappeared in her life when she interviewed for membership at a country club and he was one of the board members charged with reviewing her application.
“I made a tongue-in-cheek joke that when we’re against each other I always beat him,” she laughs, adding that, yes, she did get into the club although he refused to speak to her again.
With understanding for the age he grew up in but also conscious of her own experience, Meyer resolved to create a safe work environment for other professionals. Meyer, Olson, Lowy & Meyers LLP was born. She says the rm has exceeded all expectations.
“I created my own rm in 2000, and the goal was to have a primar- ily all-female rm,” she says. “You could be yourself. It didn’t matter what you looked like or where you came from, you were treated with respect.”
Dana Lowy, who has worked with Meyer for nearly 25 years, loves her loyalty and passion.
“A er 25 years, I continue to be amazed at how lucky I am to have Lisa in my life as my friend and business partner,” Lowy says.
True to her mission to help women feel secure in the workplace, Meyer and the rm have mentored young female students, including her niece (dubbed by a client as “ e Devil Wears Prada”), every sum- mer as interns since its inception.
“We take them to court and expose them to clients and the system,” Meyer says. “It’s nice to introduce these women to what the real world is like.”
She calls on her own experience at the TV station and the PI rm to deal with the men she’s up against.
“I’ve been at this for over 35 years,” she says, adding that she teaches the women about “letting men know you’re not going to take abuse from them, and they don’t always like that but my goal is not to make friends but to win for my clients.”
Open to All
But the rm isn’t exclusively female anymore. Seven of its 20-plus at- torneys under the four partners are male, including Meyer’s son, Eric.
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · LOS ANGELES · VOL. 5 NO. 4 14