Today we’d like to introduce you to Lucy Nkechinyelumka Chukwurah.
Hi Lucy Nkechinyelumka, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Lucy Nkechinyelumka Hilda Chukwurah….longtime and good friends call me Kechi…some who call me Lucy, or know me only as Lucy, maybe more recent in friendship or acquaintanceship. I start with my name because it tells my story. I was born in Lagos Nigeria to Victor and Omaa Chukwurah. I was raised by my grandparents, on both sides, until I was nine while my parents were in the US getting graduate degrees. I am the oldest of four daughters born of my parents.
I and my immediate younger sister, moved to the states in 1986, shortly after the Challenger exploded… a vivid memory…We lived in Bronx, NY for some months, then onto Storrs, CT, where my mother was a PH.D. student. We would eventually move to Bridgeport, CT where I finished middle school and attended high school at Central High School (Magnet Component). I graduated high school in 1995 and went to the University of Oklahoma on full scholarship as a National Scholar.
At OU, I became an enthusiastic football fan (BOOMER! SOONER!) and was honored to be initiated into membership in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Although I was recruited to study biomedical engineering, I ended up graduating with a double major in Psychology and Sociology after my major was dropped from the curriculum. After graduating, I spent a year working for OU’s Vice President and Provost, Nancy Mergler.
I decided to apply and was accepted into law school in memory of my uncle, a graduate of Tulane Law School, who died unexpectedly. He was and is a major influence in my life. He taught me to walk my own path.
I matriculated at Thurgood Marshall School of Law (TMSL) on the campus of Texas Southern University in August of 2001. I graduated from TMSL, cum laude, in 2004. I began work with a Fortune 50 company on employment class actions. I would go on to work on the Deepwater Horizon class actions as well. I eventually started thinking of work for myself, fully, and after some fits and starts, opened up my solo practice in 2016.
Since then I have represented individuals before administrative agencies advocating for unemployment benefits to arguing before US District Courts for high profile individuals such as Young Jeezy.
I still manage my firm, NLC LAW GROUP, and hope to transitioning from litigation matters to transactional matters.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not smooth…
Struggling with being an immigrant, a black attorney, a female attorney…and everything that goes with it.
What matters most to you? Why?
Education. It is the greatest equalizer.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: nlclawgroup.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_lucylaw_
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/nlclawgroup
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/nlclawgroup
- Other: gavelandscales.com
Image Credits
Lucy Nkechinyelumka Chukwurah
