[ COLUMBIA, S.C., July 2010] A nine week old baby girl, a husband on the road in the Arena Football League and stacks upon stacks of case files in the office where Aisha Taylor practices law at Collins & Lacy, P.C; this is the life of the former track and field star turned attorney.
Aisha knew she wanted to be a lawyer at the age of 13. “I always thought that lawyers were assertive, aggressive and powerful.” Those are all traits Aisha honed during undergrad at the University of South Carolina where she was a captain of the 2002 NCAA National Championship Women’s Track & Field Team and a four-year SEC Scholar Athlete.
Aisha continued her education at the USC School of Law, and her honors continued too. There Aisha received the CALI Award for Race, Education and the Constitution in 2005. She was a semi-finalist in the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition, and she served as President of the Sports & Entertainment Law Society and Secretary the Black Law Students Association.
Aisha married Henry Taylor, a former USC football standout who went pro. He’s currently playing arena football for the Jacksonville Sharks in Florida. Not having a husband around to help out all the time would seem challenging to most new moms, but not Aisha.
“When football season ends and Henry comes home, it is weird at first. Juggling our schedules is what we know.” Aisha says she lucky to have family near to help.
Aisha’s life doesn’t come with the glitz and glamour you see on television shows like Boston Legal or LA Law, far from it. Aisha deals with diapers and depositions.
“This is the hardest thing I have ever done,” she says. Like many new moms, Aisha finds that even the most prepared young women have no idea how difficult and time consuming a baby can be. When adding her robust law practice on top of her mothering, Aisha says, “I’m still trying to figure it out. I thought it was difficult getting out the door before Leah, but now we are on her time.”
Aisha says if Leah doesn’t get up until eight, then it’s the baby’s breakfast and off to work. “I’m fortunate that the people here at Collins & Lacy are allowing me to have a flexible schedule right now.” Aisha is currently sleeping about three hours a night, but she says that’s not a huge change since she’s used to only getting about five hours of shut-eye a night anyway.
Aisha is no wall flower. When you see her in action, there’s no doubt she loves what she does. To some, talking about workers’ compensation claims may seem like a real snoozer. Not Aisha. When she talks to you about settling claims or making her case in court, she could be talking about the final cuts on Dancing with the Stars. “ It’s nice to protect the interests of South Carolina’s business community,” Aisha says.
When asked if any other little Taylors are in her future, this super- organized new mom says she’s thinking March of 2013. “It’s a good time of year. You can get out and exercise after you have the baby.”
“Right now,” Aisha says, “it’s back to winning cases then, going home to kiss my little girl.”
