Every lawyer, no matter whom they represent, is trying to help someone, whether it's a person, a corporation, a government entity, or a small or big business. To me, lawyering is the height of service - and being involved in this profession is a gift.

Success is its own reward, but failure is a great teacher too, and not to be feared.

A surplus of effort could overcome a deficit of confidence.

I strive never to forget the real world consequences of my decisions on individuals, businesses and government.

When you come from a background like mine, where you're entering worlds that are so different than your own, you have to be afraid.

One thing has not changed: to doubt the worth of minority students' achievement when they succeed is really only to present another face of the prejudice that would deny them a chance to even try. It is the same prejudice that insists all those destined for success must be cast from the same mold as those who have succeeded before them, a view that experience has already proven a fallacy.

I've never had my dexterity called into question, but I think if that was ever the case, I could acquit myself by tossing a ball back and forth horizontally between my hands.