HCBA Lawyer Magazine Vol. 29, No. 2 | Page 26

neWs flash: diVersity efforts are still needed in the legal profession
Diversity committee
Chairs: Marsha M. Moses – Law Offices of Kubicki Draper and Abraham Shakfeh – Shakfeh Law, LLC
training materials and
leadership courses
focused on how
individual lawyers can
M
any recent articles
have highlighted
the continued need
for diversity and
inclusion efforts within the legal
profession. Mainstream and legal
publications alike recognize that
although diversity efforts in the
legal field have made some progress,
the hiring and promotion of those
attorneys lag far behind the influx
of women and people of color into
the field. These groups continue to
face barriers across the spectrum.
The American Bar Association
recently issued a joint report from
the Commission on Women in
the Profession and the Minority
Corporate Counsel Association
titled, “You Can’t Change What
You Can’t See: Interrupting Racial
and Gender Bias in the Legal
Profession.” The report details the
bias women and minority lawyers
continue to endure. It offers two
toolkits, one for law firms and
the other for in-house counsel
departments, to interrupt bias in
all aspects of hiring, assignments,
performance evaluations,
compensation, and sponsorship.
Although the study confirms
that more women and minorities
are in high stakes workplaces that
hold prestige, the roles they play
are limited. For example, women
of color reported experiencing the
highest level of bias at 63 percent;
67 percent said they were held to
24
overcome barriers in
the workplace are “only
half of the equation.”
© Can Stock Photo / 4774344sean
higher standards than their
colleagues; and 70 percent said
they received less pay than their
colleagues with similar experience
and seniority. The report suggests
using metrics to encourage fairness
in all facets of employment. It
also emphasizes that although an
organization’s initial efforts may not
succeed, it should continue to use
different methods to gain success.
Michele Coleman Mayes, the
former chair of the Commission,
and a keynote speaker at the
HCBA’s Diversity Luncheon several
years ago, originally envisioned
the study. She recognizes that
although efforts targeted at helping
individual lawyers overcome
barriers in the workplace are
helpful, they are “only half of the
equation.” Rather than putting
weight on the individual, she
encourages organizations to look
at their practices and implement
concrete measures that disrupt
bias. Notably, Hillarie Bass, the
immediate past president of the
ABA and speaker at last year’s
HCBA Diversity Luncheon, is
taking her own firms steps in that
direction: she is leaving a career
in BigLaw to establish a non-profit
organization dedicated to tackling
issues facing women and minorities
in the workplace.
On a local stage, the HCBA
Diversity Committee actively seeks
to interrupt bias and promote
diversity and inclusion. And the
HCBA believes in partnering with
programs that share in that vision.
The Diversity Access Pipeline
(DAP) is a new initiative in Tampa
Bay that tackles this issue head-on.
DAP seeks to promote diversity,
create access, and feed the pipeline
— one student at a time. The pilot
program, executed through the
George Edgecomb Bar Association,
identifies diverse law students for
vigorous training in leadership,
mentoring, lawyer wellness, legal
writing, and other essential skills
for success. DAP also partners
with Bar associations, including the
St. Petersburg Bar Association and
the HCBA, to create leadership
opportunities and mentoring
relationships, and it provides a
$1,500 bar preparation scholarship
at the end of the program. For more
information on
DAP, visit www.
DiversityAccess
Pipeline.com.
Author: Sumayya
Saleh - Office of
the Public Defender,
Thirteenth Judicial
Circuit of Florida
NOV - DEC 2018
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HCBA LAWYER