During the month of March, Strauss Troy is celebrating Women’s History Month by highlighting several of its female attorneys. We sat down with them to get their thoughts on important topics such as the importance of Women’s History Month, breaking down barriers faced by women in the industry, advice they’d give to other women in the field, and who inspires them.
Today we are highlighting Margaret E. Cunningham. Margie is a Shareholder at Strauss Troy focusing her practice on Commercial Real Estate and Title in the Cincinnati office.
Q: What does Women’s History Month mean to you?
A: As a female professional who comes from a long line of strong women, I am forever grateful to the women who have paved the way for me and my female colleagues. Their history is our foundation and I am honored to be able to acknowledge their trials and tribulations; to celebrate and thank them for everything they have done.
Q: How are you helping women through your practice group at Strauss Troy?
A: I am helping women through my practice group by providing them with the representation, information and empowerment needed for peace of mind as they pursue their dreams. I work to allow them to stay true to themselves by handling the legal aspects of any given transaction with a full understanding of where they are and where they intend to go. I love being able to tell them that there is a way to accomplish that goal, that they are right to stand strong on a particular issue, but most importantly, cheering them on as they do.
Q: What advice would you give to women in your field?
A: Never give up, never believe that you are not up to the task. You may not fit the mold of what was once thought to be the “norm”, but that is what makes you great. Not only are you paving the way for the next generation, you are breaking down boundaries for women fighting unknown/unacknowledged batters to continue a legacy that started long before you.
Q: How are you breaking barriers faced by women in your field?
A: I am breaking down barriers by being my authentic self, but more importantly by encouraging, empowering and supporting my female colleagues. I feel strongly that a woman’s unique approach to her professional endeavors is one to be celebrated, respected and encouraged. This is why I celebrate the women (and men) who understand the secret superpower a woman can bring to the table when given the opportunity to be herself and work within her parameters.
Q: Who is a woman that inspires you, and why?
A: All strong women inspire me. Even the ones who are not always so nice about it, because I respect their unflinching ability to stay true to who they are and to fight for what they believe. After all, without these characteristics, so many glass ceilings would have never even been approached, much less shattered. If I were to choose just one woman, the easy thing to do would be to choose one of the women in my family who have made me who made me who I am today – my grandmother who escaped from Prague during WWII or my mother who grew up wanting to go to law school, who put her career on the back burner to support her husband’s legal career; and who, upon seeing her marriage breakdown, chose to pursue that career and show her daughters (ages 3 and 5) what they were capable of. However, I choose a woman who is unknown to me. The woman who was first in my grandfather’s law school class at the University of Kentucky, the only student to graduate with a grade higher than him but who was never offered a position at a law firm higher than legal secretary. Every time I think of the injustice of her unrecognized ability and the strength and tenacity it must have taken to do what she did – I am inspired – because I know that it is because of women like her that I am where I am today.
To learn more about Margie, visit her page on our website: https://www.strausstroy.com/attorneys/mecunningham/