Editor's Note: This is the first installment in Law.com's series of roundtable discussions on racism in the legal profession, in which our aim is to facilitate honest—and often difficult—conversations with the ultimate goal of helping to make progress toward a more inclusive and diverse legal industry. Our first conversation focuses on the "sustained trauma" caused by microaggressions toward Black attorneys in the workplace.

On a recent Wednesday, Miami-based L.A. Law Firm owner and principal Loreal A. Arscott faced an early-morning dilemma as she prepared for a hearing.

 And it had nothing to do with the facts of the case.