Gloria Allred Used the Soft Sell to Persuade Her Daughter to Attend Law School
CBS News legal analyst Lisa Bloom recalls a time when she was happy as a college English major and thinking of graduate school to avoid joining the real world of work.
Her mother, Gloria Allred, offered lukewarm praise for the idea, Bloom writes for Huffpost College. “Oh, grad school?” Allred said. “There’s nothing wrong with that. I guess that could work for you.”
Allred was smart enough to use the soft sell, Bloom recalls. It started with a suggestion: “Hey, just for fun, why don’t you take the LSAT? It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
After Bloom did well on the test, Allred had another suggestion. “Just apply to law schools,” she said. “It doesn’t have to mean anything. You don’t have to accept.” And when the acceptance letters came, Allred advised: “Just accept at all the top schools. You can always withdraw later if you don’t feel like going.”
Three years later, Bloom was a law school graduate, and 25 years later, she’s still practicing law. “OK, fine: Thanks, Mom,” she writes.
