Can I be a lawyer in the States even if I have an accent?

Hi,

My name is Sergei. I came here to the US when I was 16 and now I'm in university thinking of career paths. My gpa is decent ,good enough for all the professional schools.
I was thinking of maybe becoming a lawyer but I have a thick Russian accent. I'm understood by all but the first question they usually ask is "Are you Russian?" My writing is pretty good. I'm kinda like the writer Joseph Conrad who had excellent English writing skills but a heavy Polish accent.
Do you think I could become a semi successful lawyer here in the States? Will I be treated seriously by people? Or should I just forget about it and choose some other career? Do you think accent elimination classes would rid me of the accent I have?

You can certainly do it as long as you're understandable. A European accent can be a plus in North America. It gives an air of sophistication. It's almost as good as a posh British accent.

Serge, why SURE you could be a successful lawyer with an accent; why not?

Of course, your English skills are going to have to be top-notch. Otherwise, how would you be able to catch people in inconsistencies, and word things exactly a certain way in order to affect witnesses? You will have to know as much about the complexities of the language as you can.

You may take accent reduction classes if you want to. (Nowadays, accent reduction is emphasized rather than accent elimination, which is seen in many quarters as impossible.) But I would say don't sweat the accent unless people have a hard time understanding you.

<<I was thinking of maybe becoming a lawyer but I have a thick Russian accent.>>

You can always choose some area that doesn't require a whole lot of courtroom appearance, but instead emphasizes specialized legal knowledge: real estate, intellectual property, estate planning, taxes, etc. In these areas, a foreign accent may impress your clients, if they think you are a hard-working immigrant trying to get ahead.

Anything is possible and some cities are sure to have a lot of russian immigrants who would love to have a russian lawyer and probaly would not mind your accent