Rosa Morales
This Is My Story.
I was born in the Dominican Republic, where I lived in a wooden house with a tin roof until the age of seven.
My father moved to the United States for work when I was about three years old, and my mom followed a few years later. My siblings and I were separated from our parents for a year before joining them, which was very tough for us at such a young age. Corona, Queens is where I grew up, went to school, learned to speak English, met many of my cousins for the first time—and where my dreams took off.
I feel incredibly proud of my work and level of responsibility here. This is exactly what I wanted and needed to reach the next level of my career.
Meet Rosa
Rosa M. Morales is a counsel in Crowell & Moring’s Antitrust & Competition Group in the firm’s New York office. Rosa’s practice focuses on all aspects of antitrust law, including litigation, counseling, mergers and acquisitions, and recovery actions.
As a child, I always spoke up for the underdog. I was that kid who always had something to say about the fairness or unfairness of things. People always told me, “You should be a lawyer one day.” So it was no surprise to anyone that I became one years later, and my propensity to speak for the underdog has not wavered.
Despite having grown up with little means and few role models, I somehow managed to attract the better angels around me. These angels became my mentors, who guided me and helped to forge a path to my success by introducing me to the right people and directing me to the few resources available to kids where I grew up.
Different Experiences, Different Challenges
These special supporters truly wanted me to succeed and helped guide the way. My fourth-grade teacher, David Bekier, the son of a Holocaust survivor who truly understood what it meant to start over from nothing, saw my true potential and encouraged me to use my talents in a way that would support my goals. My high school guidance counselor, Judy Stern, advocated for me during a very challenging period in my life when I did not think I would make it and ensured that I got a real shot at getting the education I deserved. Without her, I might not have gotten the opportunities I needed. And I excelled at every step of the way, never squandering opportunity, never taking any chance for granted. I was laser-focused on making it.
But it was not until I attended Barnard College in the 1990s that I began to experience what it felt like to be the only person or one of very few people of color in a classroom. Many of my peers had also graduated from well-known New England prep schools, and their parents were lawyers, doctors, and engineers. I was different. I also quickly became aware that my challenges would be different than theirs, that I would be perceived and treated differently in the world, that “making it” would somehow be harder for me. This awareness hardened my determination to excel, be better and work even harder. And this grit later led me to Fordham Law School.
Before my first summer program after my first year of law school, I had never experienced working in a law firm before. And Big Law was an even bigger wake-up call. It was largely homogeneous, with few role models and not much institutional support for diverse attorneys like myself to thrive. I worked at another AmLaw 100 law firm before starting my own practice after the 2008 recession hit. After a couple of years of serving as outside counsel to small companies and startups, I joined an antitrust litigation boutique, where I remained for seven years before landing at Crowell.
Right Place, Right Path
I joined Crowell because of Juan Arteaga and Chahira Solh. It was important to me to see that one of the co-heads of the New York antitrust group is Latino, and the managing partner of the firm’s OC office is a woman. At Crowell, people of color and women are represented in leadership. It was also important to me to see the firm’s unequivocal public statements about standing up to injustice during a time of painful racial reckoning in our country. This is a place that took a stand and spoke out, unafraid and proud. The decision to join the firm was easy. Crowell simply walked the talk, and still does.
I came to Crowell to be challenged, grow, and be promoted. Since Day One, I have received the sponsorship and support that I need to achieve those goals. And from the start, I have managed teams of associates through large-scale, sophisticated antitrust matters and counseled clients on complex issues, responsibilities that are setting me up for success and advancement. I feel incredibly proud of my work and level of responsibility here. This is exactly what I wanted and needed to reach the next level of my career.