Focus on Pipeline
The number of diverse attorneys will decrease even
further if the current supply (pipeline) of diverse applicants to law
schools continues to decline.
The Law School Admission Council reports that applications to law
schools by minority students have declined overall in the past two years (www.lsacnet.org). The legal
profession is currently one of the least diverse of all professions (see Facts
& Figures below) and pipeline issues will cause the legal profession to
fall further behind.
The Pipeline Working Group of the Deans' Diversity Council, chaired by
Cathy Havener Greer (cgreer@warllc.com) and Dan Vigil (dvigil@law.du.edu),
is studying pipeline issues as well as engaging in activities in
the community designed to encourage diverse students to become
attorneys.
Pipeline Activities: On Saturday, February 4th, Denver-area
attorneys Jack Patten, Siddhartha Rathod, Michelle Martinez, Meshach Rhoades,
and Monica Marquez, as well as DU 2L Anthony Epps, participated in
interactive workshops with diverse high school students from over 80 high
schools in Colorado at the State High
School Diversity Conference at Cherry Creek High School.
If you are interested in volunteering to speak to diverse elementary
and middle-school students in the
Scholarship
A scholarship for the
registration fee for the 2008 Chris
Miranda Advocacy Institute has been established by U.S. Magistrate Judge
Kristen Mix, former Co-Chair
of the Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group. To apply to attend the
institute – a two day NITA event on March
7-8. Eligible attorneys: Any diverse attorney (as defined in the
Preamble to the Pledge which can be found at www.cptd.org) with an interest in
litigation and trial work. Application shall include: A completed
NITA Application, a statement in 250 words or less regarding the
applicant's qualifications for receipt of this honor, and a copy of the
applicant's firm-generated biography or professional resume. The application
deadline is February 13th. Applications and inquiries should be
sent to Aaron Bradford, Pledge Co-Chair, at abradford@pjckn.com.
Pledge
to Diversity Legal Group Awards Scholarship
at
State High School
Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group Co-Chair Aaron Bradford
(Pryor Johnson Carney Karr & Nixon) presented a scholarship check to a
high school student at the State High School Diversity Conference on February
4th at
2008
Rocky Mountain Legal Diversity
Founded
by the Campaign for Inclusive Excellence and Patton
Boggs LLP, the conference will focus on the concept of
inclusiveness in the legal profession.
Conference
Highlights:
Miguel Rivera, Associate General
Counsel at Wal-Mart, will speak about the Call to
Action at the Luncheon Plenary Session.
Verna Myers, a
national consultant and expert on legal inclusiveness, will teach
participants how to create an inclusive organization.
Philip Harris, an African-American
partner at Jenner & Block in
Dr. Jesús Treviño, Associate Provost at
the University of Denver, Center for Multicultural Excellence, will
conduct an interactive session to educate participants about hidden issues
that act as barriers to progress in diversity and inclusiveness.
Participants will gain an understanding of how to create an inclusive
legal organization. Davis Graham &
Stubbs LLP, Holland & Hart LLP,
Arnold & Porter, and Baker &
Hostetler are
also top sponsors of this event. For more information on sponsorship
opportunities, please click here. Register at www.blacktie-colorado.com.
Congratulations to CHBA President Joe Ramirez and volunteers for a
successful annual banquet on Saturday, January 26, 2008, at the Westin Tabor
Center Hotel in
Legal Diversity in the News
Facts & Figures:
According to 2000 U.S. Census statistics, minorities accounted for 9.7% of
all attorneys nationally. Here in