ABA Presidential Commission Report Calls for More Nuanced Diversity

Discussion of diversity in the legal profession must grow more nuanced than it is now in order to support progress, according to “Diversity in the Legal Profession: The Next Steps,” a report formally issued during the American Bar Association 2010 Midyear Meeting in Orlando, Fla., by the ABA Presidential Initiative Commission on Diversity that was created by President Carolyn B. Lamm of Washington, D.C.

Diversity approaches, according to the study, need to be inclusive, not pigeon-holing lawyers into affinity groups by discrete racial and ethnic categories, gender, sexual orientation or disability.  At the same time, barriers may differ by practice setting, meaning the strategies to increase diversity cannot be one-size-fits-all, the study suggests.

Viewing legal profession diversity in a broader context, both in a continuum to expand the pipeline from preschool to post‑graduate education and in the context of collaborating with other professions, is among next steps outlined.

“Building a more diverse profession is not a quick-fix, short-term goal.  It is an ongoing campaign, one in which the ABA has been engaged for decades,” said Lamm, citing an association aim “to see a bench that reflects our population and a profession in which all lawyers have the opportunity to achieve all of which they are capable.

Presidential Initiative Commission on Diversity Chair Ellen F. Rosenblum called advancing diversity the greatest single challenge to the legal profession.

Commission Chair Ellen F. Rosenblum, a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals, called advancing diversity the single greatest challenge to the profession, while also telling ABANow diversity is a fluid process, constantly changing as society evolves.

The report asserts four broad rationales for diversity:

• Lawyers and judges have a unique responsibility for sustaining democracy
• The profession must be diverse to thrive in a global and domestically inclusive business environment
• Diversity is critical if the profession wishes to maintain a societal leadership role
• Changing demographics in society compel the profession to change its own demographics

Based on testimony gathered in regional hearings, surveys, roundtable discussions and a national summit convened by Immediate Past President H. Thomas Wells Jr. of Birmingham, Ala., the report identifies trends and emerging issues, cites disappointments and points to new directions.  The report’s recommendations are directed at law schools and academia, law firms and corporate law departments, government and the judiciary and bar associations.

Initial presentation of “Diversity in the Legal Profession: The Next Steps” will take during a session Friday, Feb. 5, from 3:30 – 5 p.m. at the Walt Disney World Dolphin.

The full report is accessible by clicking here.