Minority Issues
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Minority Issues
For Minorities In The Law, What Does 'Political Correctness' Mean?
When will we all begin to view the fight for equality and diversity as something other than a zero-sum game? -
Books, Minority Issues
Yale Law Professors' Triple Package: The Key To Success For Minorities In The Legal Profession?
Thoughts from columnist Renwei Chung on Amy Chua and Jed Rubenfeld's controversial, bestselling book. - Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
ChatGPT ushers in the age of generative AI – even for law firms. -
Minority Issues, Racism
For Minority Law Students, Black History Month Is More Than Just A Tribute To The Past
Discrimination is not a ghost of the past, it is an issue that haunts our society today.
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Biglaw
Tell Me Something Good
Why weren't the lawyers at this conference telling both sides of the story when it came to life in law firms? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.18.15
* Could it be? Did Justice Clarence Thomas ask a question during oral arguments at SCOTUS? No, but he did ask a question at Yale Law during a presentation, noting that he doesn’t ask “irrelevant, useless questions” at the high court. [Legal Times]
* Per NALP, gains were made by women and minorities in law firms for the first time in years, but be careful, because Jim Leipold is watching you: “Individual law firms should not be allowed to hide behind the national figures.” [National Law Journal]
* Meet Judge Robert C. Brack of the District Court of New Mexico, who recently earned quite the accolade. Judge Brack has sentenced more defendants than any other federal judge in the past five years. He won’t be celebrating his achievement. [WSJ Law Blog]
* This Georgetown Law professor, who happens to be the cofounder of one of the country’s largest litigation finance firms, wants to see a law firm IPO, but others wonder if lawyers would be able to ethically practice while reporting to shareholders. [Washington Post]
* A Chadbourne & Park employee has been banned from ever working for another law firm again following his theft of $15,360 from C&P’s coffers. Not to worry, no client money was pilfered from the firm — the cash was taken from an open office account. [Am Law Daily]
* If you haven’t heard, David Lat wrote a book called Supreme Ambitions (affiliate link), and “[w]riting the novel was almost therapeutic for [him] in a way” — he’s “kind of over” the fact that his résumé doesn’t include a SCOTUS clerkship. [Chicago Daily Law Bulletin]
* Martha Africa, name partner of Major Lindsey & Africa, RIP. [San Francisco Chronicle]
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Law Schools, Minority Issues
Framing The Grammys, Education, And Biglaw With A Racial Equity Lens
We all have a moral obligation to disrupt the status quo rather than enable the existing discriminatory education system. -
Law Schools, Minority Issues
When 'Diversity' Means Helping Low-Ranked Schools Take Advantage Of Students
What's wrong with black people? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.11.15
* Today’s inspirational human being: An ordained minister in Alabama was arrested after offering to perform a same-sex marriage inside a probate judge’s office. She says she’ll do it again, even though she knows she’ll likely be rearrested for doing so. [USA Today]
* Meanwhile, Judge Callie V.S. Granade will hear arguments on whether she must order Alabama judges to issue marriage license to gay couples. Granade is the one who ruled the state’s ban was unconstitutional in the first place. [New York Times]
* Per Major Lindsey & Africa’s 2014 Partner Compensation Survey, women partners have finally beaten men when it comes to law firm compensation. Wait, no, that’s not true, it’s just an “anomaly,” and “[t]hese women might be outliers.” [The Careerist]
* Blank Rome’s ex-chairman donated $5M to Villanova Law to establish an ethics and compliance center. You’re a few years too late, pal. The school could’ve used an ethics and compliance center to avert its admissions scandal. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* “The legal profession can benefit from more diversity. Should those students only attend low-ranked law schools? Absolutely not.” As we mentioned previously, law school diversity has improved, but only at the bottom. [National Law Journal]
- Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Biglaw, Minority Issues, Racism
Implicit Bias: The Silent Killer Of Diversity In The Legal Profession
Unconscious racial bias is a major problem within the legal profession. What can lawyers and law firms do about it? -
In-House Counsel
The Road Not Taken: This Is What I Talk About When I Talk About Diversity
Even worker-ants can create an environment where the benefits of diversity can take root. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.03.15
* You know that televised Supreme Court oral arguments are a technological advance that is far away from happening when even Elena Kagan, the youngest justice on the high court, is “very conflicted” about the idea. [Legal Times]
* “Legal jujitsu. Lethal jujitsu.” Meet William “Hale” Kelly. He’s a second-year law student at Florida A&M by day, and an MMA fighter by night (i.e., he was punched in the head so many times he thought law school was a good idea). [Orlando Sentinel]
* For the fourth year in a row, Skadden snagged the top spot in the Acritas Biglaw brand index. The firm’s competition — Jones Day, Baker & McKenzie, Kirkland & Ellis, and DLA Piper — is getting closer to overthrowing the ranking’s leader. [Am Law Daily]
* Justice in the United States costs a pretty penny, and it’s obvious from the Department of Justice’s proposed 2016 budget of $28.7 billion. It’s too bad the White House set the DOJ’s budget at about $13.7 billion lower than that. [WSJ Law Blog]
* “At none of these top law schools do Black enrollments reach 9 percent.” Diversity may be lacking at some of the nation’s top law schools, but minority students who are interested in law may find welcoming homes at lower-ranked schools. [U.S. News]
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Biglaw, Minority Issues, Women's Issues
Tech Industry Leaders Are Beginning To Accept The Diversity Challenge; U.S. Law Partners Should Do The Same
Which law firms will take the lead on promoting diversity in the legal profession? -
Minority Issues, Money, Women's Issues
If You're A Woman Asking For A Raise, Your Boss Will Think You're A Bitch
Ever wonder why there's a gender wage gap? It's because of tired stereotypes like these.
Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
Is The Future Of Law Distributed? Lessons From The Tech Adoption Curve
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
Sponsored
The Business Case For AI At Your Law Firm
Navigating Financial Success by Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Maximizing Firm Performance
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Litigatrix, Minority Issues, Women's Issues
What Minorities And Women Can Learn From Michele Roberts, Leading Litigatrix Turned NBA Union Chief
How did Michele Roberts become such an influential figure in the legal profession, and what lessons does her inspiring career offer? -
Canada, Minority Issues, Racism
The View From Up North: Driving While Black
Does getting one gun off the street justify that police are three times more likely to stop blacks than whites in Toronto? -
Biglaw, Minority Issues
Can Millennials Disrupt The Biglaw Status Quo Bias Toward Diversity?
When it comes to diversity in the legal profession, the status quo is our enemy. How can we best deal with this reality? -
Minority Issues, Racism
How Racially Tolerant Is The Legal Profession In Our Post-Racial Society?
The legal profession must strive to be more racially tolerant if it aspires to be as diverse as the country it serves. -
Affirmative Action, Law Professors, Minority Issues, Supreme Court
'Affirmative Action' In Law: The Four-Letter Phrase
How come law professors avoid speaking about affirmative action? How come we as a society can't civilly debate the merits of affirmative action? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.02.15
* In his year-end report, Chief Justice Roberts wrote about the high court’s belated adoption of the latest technological advances, but promised SCOTUS briefs and filings would be online… next year. [New York Times]
* It’s been recommended that J. Michael Farren, the former White House lawyer who attempted to murder his ex-wife — a former Skadden Arps attorney — be disbarred in D.C. Apparently the bar considers a conviction for something like this a big no-no. [Legal Times]
* Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s terrorism trial for his involvement in the Boston Marathon bombings will begin in Boston on January 5, despite his legal team’s best efforts to avoid the inevitable. At least fangirls won’t have to travel to admire him. [Bloomberg]
* Here’s one law prof’s thoughts on Harvard Law’s lame response to sexual assault complaints: “I believe … that Harvard University will be deeply shamed at the role it played in simply caving to the government’s position.” Well then. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Remember the Idaho prosecutor who recited the lyrics to “Dixie” during closing arguments at a black man’s trial? The defendant’s conviction was overturned because the prosecutor “inject[ed] the risk of racial prejudice into the case.” [NBC News]
* “People asked me what I want as an epitaph: He tried.” Mario Cuomo, the three-term New York governor and Willkie Farr alumnus who was once considered to replace Supreme Court Justice Byron White, has passed away. RIP. [New York Times]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 12.30.14
* An African-American Cleary Gottlieb project attorney is suing, claiming that the firm discriminated against him when he was fired. He alleges that white lawyers kept their jobs, but he lost his because he was black. [Legal Times]
* For law deans, hindsight is 180: This D.C.-area school “aggressively” raised tuition when everyone decided to go to law school to ride out the recession, and now its dean is admitting that doing so was a “mistake.” [Washington Post]
* “I want to bring blind justice to the Michigan Supreme Court.” Come New Year’s Day, Richard Bernstein — who has been legally blind since birth — will do just that when he’s sworn in to serve on the state’s highest court. Congratulations! [WSJ Law Blog]
* It’s important to learn the skill of entrepreneurship as part of today’s legal education since you never know when you’ll be forced to open your own practice because you can’t get someone else to give you a job. [Law Admissions Lowdown / U.S. News]
* Associate bonuses aren’t the only charitable causes Biglaw firms are willing to throw money at in a given year. In fact, some firms dole out millions upon millions of dollars for the purpose of doing good and supporting their communities. [Am Law Daily]