The Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity
American Bar Association
Volume 1, Number 2
Summer 2010
Value Proposition for Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession
By Arin N. Reeves, JPI Editorial Board Chair
I
f you listen to any conversation on
diversity and inclusion in the legal
profession these days, you will
inevitably hear a discussion on the business
case for diversity and inclusion. Although
our profession has talked about the business
case for diversity and inclusion frequently,
we have not talked about the topic clearly
or cohesively. In fact, we have overused
and misused the phrase “business case” so
much that there is, in fact, a strong business
case to be made for ceasing to use the term
in the future.
The business case for diversity was
originally used to assert that advancing
diversity and inclusion was not simply a
morally or civically responsible endeavor.
Diversity was good for business, and
we needed to make the argument that
it was good for business because we
wanted people who cared about business
to also care about diversity. The phrase,
unfortunately, mutated into a quid pro
quo proposition where if one organization
delivered diversity, another organization
would reciprocate with business.
This quid pro quo business case
catalyzed some change, but it also created
an environment where organizations that
needed to deliver diversity needed to be
continued on page 4
JPI Editorial Board Members:
Arin N. Reeves
Hon. Michael B. Hyman
Marvin E. Johnson
Kenneth G. Standard
Making Connections to Strengthen ABA Diversity
By I.S Leevy Johnson, Center Chair
S
Through much of its work, the Diversity
Center facilitates connections and builds
collaborative opportunities among ABA
entities and between the ABA and diversityrelated organizations in the legal profession.
The Diversity Center’s recent “connecting”
accomplishments include:
work focuses on diversity matters. The
April 2010 event brought together over
40 representatives from national, state,
local, and specialty bars. A consistent
message expressed by the participants was
their expectation that the ABA—through
its Diversity Center—would fulfill the
role of “Centralized Diversity Resource.”
We are striving to meet this expectation
through various services, including our
ever-expanding Website. As a result of
the Forum, the Bar Diversity Professionals
Network was created and the Diversity
Center continues to play an integral role in
its development.
Diversity at Bar Associations
In conjunction with the State Bar of
California, the ABA Diversity Center
conducted the first Diversity Directors’
Forum for bar association staff whose
Goal III Collaborations
The recently released ABA presidential
report on “Diversity in the Legal
Profession: The Next Steps” features a
special set of recommendations targeted
ince the ABA Board of Governors
restructured the Center for Racial
and Ethnic Diversity in February
2007, it has evolved into a fully functional
resource that groups both within and
external to the ABA turn to for assistance
with their diversity efforts.
In This Issue
Value Proposition for Diversity...........1
Making Connections ..........................1
Pipeline Primer...................................2
Countering the Downturn . .................3
Pipeline Council Offers Expertise .......3
What It Takes .....................................4
Stop Teen Violence..............................6
Research Corner.................................6
to the ABA. The first recommendation to
the ABA is to “establish an Associationwide diversity plan.” The Diversity Center
has coordinated a collaborative effort with
the other Goal III entities (Commission
on Mental and Physical Disability Law,
Commission on Sexual Orientation and
Gender Identity, and Commission on
Women in the Profession) to complete
a draft diversity plan for review by the
respective entities at the ABA Annual
Meeting.
In May 2010, the Diversity Center
coordinated the Goal III entities to develop
a strategic advocacy approach that would
insure that diversity is fairly represented in
the ABA’s redesigned website. Our efforts
were successful, and corresponding changes
were made to the proposed new ABA
website.
The Education Pipeline to the Legal Profession – A Primer and Guide
By Sarah Redfield
The following is an excerpt from a white paper prepared by Sarah Redfield and members of the Education Committee of the
ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline. The full paper is accessible at the Pipeline Council’s website:
http://new.abanet.org/centers/diversity/Pages/Pipeline.aspx.
L
eaders of the legal profession have
listed increased diversity among
lawyers and judges as a high priority.
Unfortunately, diversity by and large
remains a goal and not an accomplishment.
While there are many contributing factors
to the stagnant numbers of diverse lawyers,
the small number of diverse students in the
educational pipeline to the legal profession
is paramount. It is critically important that
we increase opportunities for people of
color to attend law school and enter the
legal profession.
To address the growing interest in
pipeline diversity, the ABA Council
for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the
Educational Pipeline offers resources to
assist in understanding the key issues,
fostering collaboration, and identifying
successful strategies and solutions. This
brief guide presents a summary of data on
pipeline diversity and offers suggestions
for further work and strategies for success.
Salient Background
The bar is hugely out of sync with the
population now and will continue to grow
further apart. The population is predicted
to reach majority-minority in 2042 and the
Caucasian population (non-Hispanic) to be
at 46% by 2050. This disparity posits an
adverse impact on the ability of the legal
profession to serve as the guardian of the
rule of law in this country.
the ABA Commission on Diversity’s
Miles to Go report concluded: “Minority
representation in the legal profession is
significantly lower than in most other
professions…; Minority entry into the
profession has slowed considerably since
1995…; The distribution of minority
lawyers still differs significantly from
that of whites…; Minority representation
in upper-level jobs remains miniscule,
especially in the for-profit sector…;
Progress has been especially slow for
minority women in the profession…;
Minorities in general continue to face
significant obstacles to “full and equal”
participation in the profession.” The
corresponding 2004 Report is virtually
verbatim.
The bar cannot increase its diversity if
the diversity of law school admissions does
not change.
Law school admissions for AfricanAmerican/Black, Hispanic, and American
Indian/Alaskan Native students are flat
or decreasing. While African-American/
Black admissions have shown an actual
decrease, the larger gap will concern
Hispanic students, whose admission
numbers are now limited and whose growth
in the population is increasing significantly.
In the most recent six-year period for
which data are available, nearly two-thirds
of all African-American/Black applicants
and half of all Hispanic applicants have
Since at least 1986, when the ABA Task
Force on Minorities in the Legal Profession been denied admission by every ABAapproved law school
published its
to which they have
report, the bar has
The bar cannot increase
applied, compared to
been committed
its diversity if the diversity just one-third of all
to increasing its
Caucasian applicants.
diversity. That
of law school admissions
This has occurred despite
report concluded,
does not change.
improvements in the
“An objective
entering credentials of
assessment leads
these applicants, an increase in the number
to the inevitable conclusion that the legal
of law schools and the number of available
profession remains largely segregated…”
first-year law school seats, and an increase
and called on the bar for further action.
in both overall law school enrollment and
Results since are limited at best: In 2000,
ABA Diversity Voice
2
the enrollment of other minority groups.
The pipeline to law school leaks and
narrows so severely that, under current
operating assumptions and approaches,
there are insufficient numbers of qualified
(again, under current norms) applicants to
approach the diversity of the population
by 2028—the twenty-five year window
Justice O’Connor offers in Grutter. To
say that current law school admissions
cannot achieve this is an understatement,
making parity—as the bar itself has said—
unforeseeable.
What Education Research Tells Us
More so than other sources, education data
crystallize the enormity of the challenges
we face. While the research is clear,
identifying what to do with the information
and how best to respond is a less precise
endeavor.
The achievement gap between Caucasian
and Asian students and African-American/
Black, Hispanic, and American Indian/
Alaskan Native students, starts early, is
large, and remains essentially unchanging.
For academic subjects of particular interest
to the legal community, the numbers of
underrepresented minorities performing
below basic are disturbing and not
improving. By way of illustration, on
average African-American/Black seventeen
year olds read at the level of thirteen-yearold Caucasian students. The numbers for
writing, history, and civics show similar
patterns for underrepresented minorities.
The education research highlights
the importance of the new 3Rs—rigor,
relevance, and relationships. The new 3Rs
are less available on almost every measure
to students in high minority/low income
schools, resulting in a system that places
students at risk. Underrepresented minority
students have fewer qualified teachers,
fewer counselors, and fewer opportunities
for rigorous course work. Fewer
underrepresented minority students
continued on page 5
Center for Racial & Ethnic Diversity
Countering the Economic Downturn
By Fred W. Alvarez, Commission Chair
S
ince the ABA 2010 Midyear
Meeting the Commission on
Racial and Ethnic Diversity
in the Profession has been looking at
existing research from sources such as
PricewaterhouseCoopers, the Hispanic
National Bar Association, the ABA
Commission on Women, and the National
Association for Law Placement to track
how the economic downturn is impacting
diversity efforts. This, along with other
information, is being used to guide and
develop programming initiatives that assist
the development and success of minority
lawyers in the legal profession. Current
initiatives include:
• Development of CLE programs
addressing law firm deferral programs
and the impact of such programs on
diverse lawyers and communities during
the ABA’s Annual meeting;
• Development of a joint venture with the
Minority Corporate Counsel Association,
ABA Bar Services, and other internal
and external entities to encourage bar
associations to adopt unpaid or paid legal
fellowship programs for underemployed/
unemployed minority lawyers;
• Development of a diversity initiative
focusing on the JAG corps. The goal is to
increase hiring, retention and promotion
of minority lawyers in high ranking
positions within the JAG Corp of the
various military branches;
• The Commission’s Minority Counsel
Program, which recently met for its
Spring meeting in Chicago, is targeting
laterals, senior associates and junior
partners by developing a “business
development” series. The goal is to equip
minority lawyers with the tools, skills
and networking opportunities needed to
develop their own rolodex of clients and
increase their value within their firms and
the larger legal market;
• Retooling the ABA’s National Conference
for the Minority Lawyer. This annual
CLE conference is jointly sponsored
by the Commission, the ABA Business
Law Section and the ABA Section of
Litigation, as well as bar associations.
Programming is designed for minority
law students and minority lawyers in
practice ten years or less. For the next
conference, Commission leadership
has proposed: 1) A focus on career
advancement in light of the current
economic environment; and 2) Convening
representatives from the national minority
bar associations to identify ways to
address the professional challenges of
their minority constituencies.
Pipeline Council Offers Expertise and Leadership—
Co-hosts LCLD Conference
By Ruthe C. Ashley, Pipeline Council Chair
“A Study and Assessment of the State of
n Spring 2010, the Leadership Council
the Legal Pipeline,” followed by a panel
on Legal Diversity (LCLD) approached
response with Lee Arbetman (Executive
the ABA Council for Racial and
Director, Street Law, Inc.), Cassandra
Ethnic Diversity in the Educational
Ogden (Executive Director, Council on
Pipeline (Pipeline Council) requesting
Legal Education Opportunity), Kent Lollis
assistance and expertise in convening a
(Executive Director, Diversity Initiatives,
pipeline working session, with the goal of
Law School Admission Council), Alex
helping the LCLD to identify how it may
Acosta (Dean, Florida International
best put its resources to work on pipeline
diversity issues. As a result, on July 22, the University College of Law), Francis Burch
(DLA Piper Global Board of Directors)
Pipeline Council, together with the LCLD,
and Teri McClure (Senior Vice President,
hosted some 65 participants for a dayGeneral Counsel and Corporate Secretary,
long, invitation-only pipeline conference
UPS LLP).
featuring two keynote speakers, two panel
presentations, and lively discussion on
The luncheon keynote address was given
increasing diversity among students in the
by James O’Neal (Executive Director and
educational pipeline to the legal profession.
Co-founder, Legal Outreach). The final
panel presented a strategies discussion
The conference brought together
featuring Christopher Johnson (Incoming
a select group of legal professionals,
Chair, Pipeline Council and Director, the
including managing partners, general
Thomas M. Cooley Law School’s L.L.M.
counsels, academicians, and law school
program in Corporate Law and Finance),
deans. Presenters included Professor
Mary Snapp (Incoming Chair, MCCA
Conrad Johnson, Columbia University,
Board of Directors), Sarah Redfield
who framed the day’s discussion with
I
ABA Diversity Voice
3
(Chair, ABA Pipeline Council Education
Committee and Professor, Franklin Pierce
Law Center) and JoAnne Epps (Dean,
Temple University Beasley School of Law).
As you may know, the ABA Pipeline
Council is charged with increasing
knowledge and understanding of the vital
importance of the educational pipeline
to the diversity of the legal profession.
Essential to this work is our ability to
collaborate with key stakeholders, to
develop strategies and to coordinate efforts
to increase diversity in the educational
pipeline.
The LCLD is an organization of
corporate chief legal officers and law firm
managing partners dedicated to creating a
truly diverse legal profession. Former ABA
President Robert Grey Jr. is the executive
director. The joint conference with the
LCLD was a unique opportunity for
meaningful discussion on pipeline diversity
with high-ranking leadership in the legal
profession who are change-makers.
Center for Racial & Ethnic Diversity
What It Takes
Editor’s Note: The ABA Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity has co-sponsored its first book with ABA Publishing: What It Takes: How Women
of Color Can Thrive Within the Practice of Law, by Monica R. Parker. Besides helping to promote an up-and-coming diverse author, our cosponsorship of this book will also generate revenue for the Diversity Center. For both of these reasons—and because it’s a worthwhile, practical
resource—check out the book and buy several copies for the young lawyers in your life. The following is an excerpt from What It Takes.
M
will lobby for you. When you start your
career, it may feel like you have so little
control. Take advantage of the things over
which you do have control.
Do good work
Every single lawyer I talked to preached
about the importance of doing good work
and doing it in a timely fashion. If you do
good work, partners will remember you the
next time a juicy project rolls around and
If you do good work, when you make
mistakes, because you will make mistakes,
that good work gives you a cushion, a
margin for error. A partner is more likely
to say, “Well, Sally, has always done a
good job for me before. Everybody makes
mistakes.” Versus “Every time I give Sally
a project there are always errors.” That’s
ake no mistake. We’re going to
get into who you should network
with, the importance of building
relationships, joining committees, and
things like that. BUT it is, has been, and
always will be about the work.
when you become “Sally who?” the next
time there’s a good project.
So we get it. Do good work. No task is too
small.
The primary question on your mind is
how do you get good work? Yes, yes, we
know how to get the crappy projects. (Just
wait for someone to stop by your office
with them.) But how do you get the good
stuff?
It all starts before you’re even a summer
associate. …
Value Proposition
continued from page 1
constantly reminded, prodded, and pushed
into delivering results. Once the reminding,
prodding and pushing faded, so did the
diversity efforts. Quid pro quo does work,
but it is limited in its effectiveness because
it requires an intense amount of constant
effort from the organizations that are asking
for the diversity and because it prioritizes
hiring over retention.
A value proposition for diversity and
inclusion moves beyond the business case
for diversity and articulates why diversity
and inclusion are good for the organization
in ways that the organization would want
to reach for them without reminding and
pushing and prodding. Where the business
case pushed organizations toward diversity,
the value proposition pulls organizations
toward diversity and inclusion. It is the
difference between forcing and persuading.
So, how do we articulate the value
proposition for diversity and inclusion in
the legal profession? By nature of the fact
that different people value different things,
value propositions need to be flexible to
account for context and specific concerns.
The following components, however,
should generally be included in value
propositions for diversity and inclusion in
the legal profession:
1. Local, national and global demographics
are changing rapidly. Voices that
represent what our future will look like
are necessary at the table today in order
ABA Diversity Voice
for us to make the best decisions for our
organizations. A solid representation
of diverse perspectives is necessary
for survival and for competitive
advantage, regardless of your industry
and regardless of your clients. (Bendick
and Egan Economic Consultants)
2. Groups comprised of diverse perspectives
engage in a more thoughtful deliberation
of facts, and they arrive at better and
more accurate conclusions. Diverse
groups make better and smarter
decisions than homogeneous groups.
(The Wisdom of Crowds by James
Surowiecki; American Psychological
Association)
3. Effective leadership requires the ability
to seek diverse perspectives and integrate
those diverse perspectives into leadership
decisions. A lack of diversity in your
organization disables your leaders
from leading effectively. (Blink by
Malcolm Gladwell)
4. Diverse and inclusive organizations are
so much more attractive to the younger
generation of professionals that a diverse
organization spends far less in recruiting
and hiring the best and the brightest of
the new talent. Diverse and inclusive
workplaces become “workplaces of
choice” for all talent, not just diverse
talent. (The Athens Group)
5. The workplace initiatives that sustain
diversity and inclusion in the workplace
4
actually work to retain all top talent in
the workplace. Diversity efforts benefit
everyone because inclusion includes
everyone.
6. And, yes, your clients want organizations
that have all of the above because your
clients want you to have productive teams
that are maximizing their productivity
because they are in inclusive work
environments. So, diverse and inclusive
organizations are more attractive to
their current and potential clients
because clients want the best that is out
there.
7. Even in the public sector where clients
do not often get to choose who represents
them, your ability to be excellent is
dependent on the multitude of diverse
perspectives you can lean on to inform
your own perspective and decisions.
The value proposition for diversity
is far more complex than the current
business case for diversity. That said, the
value proposition for diversity is also far
more effective in getting us to sustainable
diversity than the current business case for
diversity.
Dr. Arin N. Reeves chairs the ABA
Diversity Center’s Joint Publishing
Initiative (JPI) editorial board. She is the
founder of The Athens Group, a Chicagobased consulting firm specializing in
diversity and inclusion strategies for
organizations.
Center for Racial & Ethnic Diversity
Pipeline Primer
continued from page 2
participate in gifted programs or take AP
courses; and more are tracked into general
curricula (compared to academic).
Underrepresented minorities are often
less well advised, and less likely to attend
college. Those who do attend college are
more likely to need remediation and thus
more likely to drop out. In general terms,
their comparative college GPAs will be
lower, as will their LSAT scores.
Improving the equitable availability
of rigorous and relevant curriculum
and relationship support can narrow the
achievement gap and repair the pipeline so
that a larger pool of students approaches
the law school gates. Improving the
availability of these new 3Rs is consonant
with the existing strengths of the law
community
The “New 3Rs”
The Gates Foundation has been a key
voice in articulating the “New 3Rs.” It is
readily apparent that the legal profession is
uniquely positioned to fully embrace and
promote this doctrine.
• Results: sometimes listed as a fourth R,
suggesting the need to measure, evaluate,
and re-inform pipeline work based on the
data. This is an area where the work of
the law community (and others) has been
limited.
What Do Successful Pipeline
Programs Have In Common?
There are many pipeline programs in
the legal community—hundreds list
themselves in the online ABA/LSAC
Pipeline Diversity Directory (http://new.
abanet.org/PipelineDiversity/Pages/
DirectoryHome.aspx). Successful
pipeline programs share a number of
common features. While by no means an
exhaustive list, these characteristics are key
components of success.
Recognize the education reality
and the depth of the issues dividing
underrepresented minorities (AfricanAmerican/Black, Hispanic, and Native
American students) from their Caucasian
and Asian peers.
Have clear and stated diversity goals.
• Advocate a laser-focused approach to
the pipeline while highlighting the leaks
in the pipeline and acknowledging their
impact on the future diversity of the
profession. Use the powerful voice of the
legal profession to make clear that real
change in the diversity of the profession
depends on the future educational
outcomes of today’s first graders.
• Seek out those pipeline programs that
have demonstrated records, recognize
their achievements, and advocate for their
replication. These programs should, as
much as possible, impact all points of the
pipeline, from early education, to middle
and high school, and beyond.
• Provide funding, in kind donations, or
other supports for proven programs.
• Adopt schools and partner with them on
a long-term basis.
• Look to other professions as inspiration
and potential partners on pipeline
diversity efforts.
Professor Sarah Redfield chairs the
Education Committee of the ABA Council
for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the
Educational Pipeline. Among her
publications, she has recently authored
Diversity Realized: Putting the Walk with
the Talk for Diversity in the Pipeline to the
Legal Profession (Vandeplas 2009).
• Relationships: “all students need adult
mentors who know them, look out for
them, and push them to achieve.” The
legal community has a great capacity—
and indeed has already shown this
in some of its programs—to provide
intellectual capital and human resources
to establish and support relationships with
students as mentors, teachers, internship
supervisors, and the like.
Involved with students in intense or
extended ways.
Focus on the significance of high
expectations and aspirations and
incorporate the new 3Rs.
Call for Nominations
• Relevance: “courses and projects must
spark student interest and relate clearly
to their lives in today’s rapidly changing
world.” One look at the newspaper,
the Supreme Court’s docket, or today’s
TV listings shows that the law offers
engaging relevant subject matter.
Track their participants and their results,
using their data to form and re-inform their
work.
For more information, please visit:
http://new.abanet.org/centers/
diversity/PagesRaymondPandSadie
TMAlexanderAward.aspx
• Rigor: “all students need the chance
to succeed at challenging classes, such
as algebra, writing, and chemistry.”
The law’s curricula and established
teaching methodology—its “signature
pedagogy”—by definition promotes rigor
and sustains high expectations.
ABA Diversity Voice
Involve more than one segment of the
pipeline—high school students with law
students, with law firms.
Emphasize and value partnerships.
How the Bar Can Help
The organized bar can be powerful
advocates for strengthening the educational
pipeline to the legal profession. The legal
profession has a natural affinity with many
of the pressing issues of the educational
pipeline and is ideally suited to be a
powerful change agent. Below are a few
practical steps the bar can take:
5
Deadline: Friday, October 1, 2010
The ABA Council for Racial and
Ethnic Diversity in the Educational
Pipeline presents the Alexander
Award to recognize exemplary
leadership in pipeline work by an
individual or organization.
The award honors those
demonstrating success working
along the educational pipeline in a
collaborative approach involving
more than one segment of the
continuum from kindergarten to
high school to college to law school
to the practice.
Center for Racial & Ethnic Diversity
“Stop Teen Violence: Time to Deliver”
ABA Coalition on Racial & Ethnic Justice Town Hall Meetings
By David A. Perkins, COREJ Chair
Y
outh between the ages of 10 and
24 continue to face various public
health crises. A little known fact is
that youth violence has become one of the
major public health issues. Youth violence
is the second leading cause of death for
youth of color in America between the ages
of 10 and 24. Due to these startling facts
and statistics, the ABA Coalition on Racial
& Ethnic Justice (COREJ) surmised that
it was imperative that new models for
addressing violence among youth of color
was key to resolving these problems.
To address the underlying problems and
issues, COREJ decided to hold a series of
three Town Hall meetings in conjunction
with national civil rights organizations,
community based organizations, the
interfaith community, youth centered
organizations nation-wide, and national,
state and local bar associations and bar
associations of color, and entities that had
implemented programs and projects on
youth violence.
COREJ has conducted two of the Town
Halls and is preparing for the third. The
meetings address the growing concerns of
this country from both an intergenerational
and multi-professional perspective. The
goals of the Town Hall meetings are to:
(1) organize and coordinate on a
local and national level the experts
and organizations that are currently
involved in developing strategies to
stop teen violence;
(2) assist in developing a national plan of
action for all cities that are grappling
with the problems of teen violence;
and
(3) publish and distribute a directory
and resource guide of the best
practices and proposed projects and
programs that address the problem of
how to stop teen violence.
The first in the series of Town Hall
meetings was held in Chicago on
November 20, 2009. It was an extremely
successful event that attracted over 250
participants. Information regarding the
Chicago Town Hall is available on COREJ’s
website: http://new.abanet.org/centers/
diversity/Pages/SocialJustice.aspx.
The second Town Hall meeting was held
in Detroit on May 3, 2010, at YouthVille
Detroit. The Keynote Speaker was Dennis
W. Archer (former Mayor of Detroit, past
President of the ABA and former Michigan
Supreme Court Justice). The Detroit
Town Hall was exceedingly successful. It
attracted over 350 participants and over half
of them were youth of color.
During the ABA Annual Meeting in San
Francisco, COREJ will sponsor its final
Town Hall meeting on Saturday, August
7, 2010, from 2-5 p.m. at the Golden Gate
University Law School.
Additional information about the Resource
Guide, may be obtained from Rachel
Patrick, Staff Director, ABA Coalition on
Racial & Ethnic Justice, 321 N. Clark
Street, 17th Floor, Chicago, IL 60654,
312//988-5408, [email protected].
Research Corner - ABA Next Steps Report
In April 2010, the ABA released its Presidential Report on Diversity in the Legal Profession: The Next Steps. It is accessible from the
ABA Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity’s website: http://new.abanet.org/centers/diversity. The following is an excerpt from the
chapter “Trends, Disappointments and New Directions” in The Next Steps report.
I
n examining the state of diversity in the
legal profession, we have asked, listened
to, probed, and embraced what hundreds
of people have told us. Those voices—
representing diverse experiences working to
create a more inclusive profession—often
expressed common themes.
From the numerous meetings, conference
calls, panel presentations, round table
discussions, and personal or phone
conversations, trends began to emerge.
Shared disappointments in past diversity
efforts and outcomes surfaced, as well.
Encouragingly, the findings also reveal
some paths that are charting new directions
for the profession’s diversity journey.
Trends
• Relatively well-established diversity
ABA Diversity Voice
bar associations have now accumulated
enough resources to institutionalize their
programmatic work. Conversely, relatively
newer diversity organizations operate on
shoestring budgets, over-rely on individual
charismatic volunteer leaders, or find it
difficult to access collaborations with
majority bar associations.
Disappointments
• All pertinent stakeholders agree that it is
crucial to establish quantitative measures
with which we can assess our progress
and assign accountability. However, we
must define these quantitative measures
in a sophisticated manner that takes
into account the multidimensionality
and locality of identities. Moreover,
quantitative measures alone are
6
insufficient if they are not coupled
with qualitative data drawn from
direct communication with applicants,
employees, and clients.
New Directions
• Understanding diversity work as ongoing
and evolving rather than static allows for a
different approach to programming which
may circumvent diversity fatigue. Even as
some forms of exclusion are ameliorated,
others will persist, and new forms will
emerge. If we understand equal access
and inclusion as tasks uniquely charged
to the legal profession throughout U.S.
culture and history, diversity work is less
likely to be viewed as incriminating and
hostile, and more likely to be viewed as a
core function of the profession itself.
Center for Racial & Ethnic Diversity