Partnership Awards for Diversity Efforts to be Presented at ABA Annual Meeting

HICAGO, Aug. 2, 2004 – The Houston Bar Association, the King County Bar Association and Bar Foundation, the New York State Bar Association and the Minnesota State Bar Association and Minority Bar Summit will receive 2004 ABA Partnership Awards to recognize their diversity efforts. Each bar association developed a program to meet the goals of increasing the participation of lawyers of color in the organized bar and attracting students of color to the legal profession.

The awards will be presented at the joint luncheon of the National Conference of Bar Presidents/National Association of Bar Executives/National Conference of Bar Foundations during the ABA Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Aug. 5-10. The luncheon is scheduled for Friday, Aug. 6, at 12:20 p.m. at the Atlanta Marriott Marquis, in the Marquis Ballroom II, Convention Level.

Justice Robert Benham of the Georgia Supreme Court will be the keynote speaker at the luncheon.

Allan B. Head, Cary, N.C., chair of the ABA Standing Committee on Bar Activities and Services, will present the awards. The standing committee administers the Partnership Awards program, which is cosponsored by the Hispanic National Bar Association, the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the National Bar Association and the National Native American Bar Association.

A brief description of the awards recipients’ diversity programs follows:

* Houston Bar Association – Summer Minority Law Clerk And Mentor Program

The Houston Bar Association Summer Minority Law Clerk and Mentor Program was established in 1996 by the HBA’s Minority Opportunities in the Legal Profession Committee to provide opportunities for minority first year law students to gain exposure to the legal community by practicing in law firms, corporate legal departments and government agencies. The program was designed not only to provide income and experience to minority students, but also to place them in an environment where they will receive mentoring and guidance. Approximately 35 different law firms, corporate legal departments and government agencies have participated in the program through the years.

* King County (Seattle) Bar Association and King County Bar Foundation – The Future of the Law Institute

The purpose of the Future of the Law Institute is to increase the pool of lawyers of color by introducing high school students to the law, both substantively and as potential career options. The FLI offers a concentrated program, supplemented by continuing mentorship, to encourage high school students of color and those from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue careers in the legal profession. The program involves a broad spectrum of the legal community, including six bar associations of color, two area law schools and five of the major law firms in Seattle. Other partners include six area high schools, the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, and a corporate partner, Starbucks Corporation.

* Minnesota State Bar Association and the Minnesota Minority Bar Summit – www.MnLegalDiversity.org

The purpose of MnLegalDiversity.org is to showcase a vibrant Minnesota community of diverse practitioners and law students across the spectrum of practice areas. The Web site profiles individuals and the reasons they decided to practice or study law in Minnesota, and presents a unique view of what Minnesota has to offer to legal professionals and law students, including information about communities, organizations, activities, entertainment, weather, housing, transportation and other aspects of relocating.

Representatives from about 10 Minnesota minority bar organizations planned the project over a 13-month period, launching the Web site in April 2004.

* New York State Bar Association – Diversity and Leadership Development Initiatives

Five initiatives were undertaken to enhance diversity within the state bar. A Diversity and Leadership Development Committee was created to spearhead broad-based initiatives; seats on the Executives Committee and in the House of Delegates were designated for minority lawyers in January 2004; a statement of diversity was adopted; an Ambassador Program was established in the bar’s Business Law Section “to provide a more welcoming environment for new members and minority attorneys”; and a “Celebrating Diversity in the Bar” networking reception was organized for the 2004 NYSBA annual meeting in collaboration with 14 minority bar associations.

In addition to the Partnership Awards, Keith A. Birkes, Jefferson City, executive director of the Missouri Bar Association, will receive the Bolton Award for Professional Excellence to recognize his contributions to NABE, the organized bar and the legal profession. Birkes has served as executive director since 1985. The Bolton Award recognizes congeniality, character, camaraderie and cooperation, and recipients are distinguished by their willingness to share time, expertise and talent with their NABE colleagues and their dedication to NABE. It is the highest honor given by the bar executives.

Also at the luncheon, the South Carolina Bar Foundation will be presented with the 2004 NCBF Award for Bar Foundation Excellence in Public Service Programming for its “Heirs Property Preservation Program.” The award recognizes a bar foundation’s innovation and imagination in developing programs that respond to problems in society in the legal arena, which often provide models to other foundations to duplicate in their local areas.

The South Carolina Bar project is funded by a grant from the Ford Foundation and is a collaborative effort with the Community Foundation Serving Coastal South Carolina. The Heirs Property Preservation program provides legal education and mediation services, and fosters community empowerment to assist low-income property owners and heirs in low country South Carolina. Other services include literacy workshops, pro bono legal services, seminars and legislative guidance.

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law in a democratic society.