Introduction
The Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (“Institute”)
is a not-for-profit organization that, through educational programs, research
and publications, will address the lack of diversity and inclusion that
continues to challenge the legal profession and undermine its credibility
within the justice system.
Mission and Vision
The mission and vision of the institute is to provide integrated,
multifaceted, common sense programming and practical strategies aimed at
facilitating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession that is reflective
of the society which it serves, represents and counsels. This will be
accomplished by:
1. Providing
practical, real world programming and strategies to successfully achieve
diversity and inclusion goals; and,
2. Educating
lawyers as to the value and importance of diversity and inclusion within the
legal profession and society in general.
The Institute develops, presents and implements programs,
research and strategies to address the fundamental and historic challenges to
diversity and inclusion with which the legal profession continues to grapple in
its quest to achieve greater diversity and inclusion.
The Institute offers an innovative perspective and approach
to legal diversity and inclusion efforts, focusing on collaborative and
practical strategies. Working
cooperatively with all relevant stakeholders, including bar associations, law
schools, corporate law departments, law firms of all sizes, and government
agencies, the Institute addresses diversity in all its manifestations –
race/ethnicity, gender, nationality, disabilities, LGBT, religion, geography,
generation, etc. – appreciating different needs and recognizing the different
strategies and resources that are integral to facilitating the level of collaboration
and partnership needed to achieve success in its mission. Through the active
participation of lawyers, judges and law students from a broad range of
perspectives and its comprehensive and multifaceted approach, the Institute intends
to lower, and eventually remove the barriers that have hindered diversity and
inclusion efforts in the past.
The Need for the Institute
The lack of diversity and inclusion within the legal
profession continues to challenge the very profession entrusted with the operation
of the justice system and the representation of the diverse population that
comprises current American society. The absence of diversity and inclusion has
the potential to undermine the legitimacy of a system of justice for a diverse
society.
Historically, diversity within the legal profession has been
approached in a fragmented way by certain bar associations, proactive
corporations recognizing business imperatives, and large law firms responding
to the diversity mandates of corporate clients, among other things. While some
progress has been made, meaningful diversity in the legal profession remains a
largely unfulfilled aspiration. The reasons are many, but largely subsumed
under the following:
·
Complexity of the challenges;
·
Limited perspective on the part of leaders;
·
Failure to engage all the facets of the profession;
·
Segmented or compartmentalized approaches; and,
·
Inability to marshal adequate resources.
Recognizing that previous and ongoing efforts to address the
lack of diversity within the legal profession have not achieved desired levels
of success, the Institute aims to pursue a different and more innovative
approach to addressing these issues.
How the Institute Differs
From Pre-Existing Organizations and Efforts
The Institute’s model is the next logical progression in
decades of efforts to diversify the legal profession. The Institute, however,
differs significantly from pre-existing organizations by:
1. Advancing
and achieving diversity and inclusion within the legal profession is the primary
mission of the Institute – the Institute will not be forced to choose among a
variety of important and compelling objectives. Many worthy organizations
direct some effort to addressing the lack of diversity in the legal profession.
For the Institute, this will be the focus of the organization.
2. Promoting
a comprehensive, integrated and multifaceted approach to its mission rather
than making it specific to a particular practice area or practice setting
within the profession – while some practice areas or practice settings may lend
themselves to diversity and inclusion efforts more readily, isolated instances
of success, while inspiring, are more likely to remain status quo or even lose
ground in the face of an overwhelmingly non-diverse profession rather than
permeate other parts of the profession.
3. Implementing
initiatives and activities directed toward the goal of diversifying the entire
legal profession – for many organizations within the legal profession,
diversity and inclusion efforts focus less upon the profession and more on the
organization itself. The Institute’s focus is not upon its own diversity or
that of its leadership or membership but rather to help lead the profession toward
a long-desired goal.
4. Drawing
a broad-based constituency, as opposed to a particular racial or ethnic group,
gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or other defining attribute or
characteristic. The Institute recognizes and appreciates that the wide variety
of different historical experiences, cultures, religious beliefs, social
perspectives, etc. contribute to the challenge of diversifying the legal
profession. It is keenly aware that there is no one-size-fits-all program or
strategy that can satisfactorily address all of these challenges. Yet it also
recognizes that while there is tremendous diversity within diversity, there is much
that can and should be learned by all members of the legal profession if we are
to have any hope of achieving meaningful and impactful goals where diversity
and inclusion are concerned. The Institute believes that an integral part of
its future success lies in its ability to appreciate the different resources
and strategies that may be brought to bear to advance diversity and inclusion
within different facets of the broader profession. The Institute will respect
those differences while seeking opportunities to pool resources and create
synergistic opportunities that will facilitate progress.
5. Bringing
together a broad coalition of stakeholders from all facets of the legal
profession who will have a defined role in the Institute’s operations – the
Institute will be unique in its determination to address diversity beyond the
traditional venues of corporate law departments, large law firms, minority- and
women-owned firms, and bar associations by actively seeking to engage all these
facets of the profession as well as government agencies, law schools, and the
judiciary in coordinated efforts.
6. Offering
programming designed to engage individuals or groups who historically have been
excluded from diversity and inclusion efforts, except in the most limited ways,
from the quest to diversify the legal profession. The Institute plans to
actively engage and direct its programming to include all who value diversity
and inclusion and want to work to promote the same at all levels of the
profession.
Indeed, for anyone who has been following the legal
profession’s efforts to diversify itself, the Institute is the next logical
progression beyond what heretofore has been available.
Conclusion
The legal profession has been tackling the lack of diversity
and inclusion within itself for more than two decades. There is diversity
burnout and frustration that progress has been slower than might be expected in
a profession that is characterized by achievement. The Institute represents the
modern and logical progression of diversity and inclusion initiatives spanning
several decades. It hopes to be a model and principle resource guiding those efforts
in the 21st Century inasmuch as it will house the knowledge,
experience and resources required to build upon the lessons of the past, better
prepare for the future, and achieve meaningful diversity and inclusion within
the legal profession.
