Big Sean (Photo by Richard Bord/Getty Images for Cannes Lions)
“With all the drive in the world, swear you still need gas / Look, think about it, close your eyes, dream about it / Tell your team about it, go make million dollar schemes about it / Success is on the way, I feel it in the distance / Used to look up at the stars / And be like, ‘Ain’t too much that’s different’ / I be shining, they be shining, get your one shot, don’t you miss it / What you know about waking up every day like you on a mission?” — Big Sean
Last month, the State Bar of Texas hosted its 80th Annual Meeting in Austin. In a Thursday morning session, Toni Nguyen (Holland and Knight LLP Attorney in Austin), Britney E. Harrison (GoransonBain Ausley Family Law Attorney in Dallas), and Hon. Beau Miller (190th Civil District Court Judge in Houston) hosted a discussion titled, “Moving the Needle: Examining the Progress Made in Diversifying the Legal Profession.”
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About halfway through the presentation, Nguyen prompted the panel with the following question: “Can we effectively advance diversity and inclusion efforts in today’s political climate?”
When I heard this question, I thought of when I lived in Dallas where a veteran killed five police officers in 2016 — the deadliest attack for law enforcement officers in the United States since Sept. 11, 2001 — only a couple blocks away from Dealey Plaza and a few miles from where I lived at the time.
I was also reminded of Austin serial bombings in March 2018 when a series of several bombs targeted minority neighborhoods and terrorized the city — killing two individuals, and injuring five others. The bomber would detonate a bomb inside his vehicle in Round Rock while the Austin Police Department SWAT team swarmed him — another violent episode occurring only a few miles from where I lived at the time.
During the panel, Hon. Miller spoke of the need for more diversity in the courtroom – as too often opposing counsels constitute one homogeneous group. He spoke of his fanship of Suits and discussed the need for representation in the profession.
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Miller touted the Harris County Young Lawyers in the Courtroom Program, which encourages litigants and counsel to be mindful of opportunities for young lawyers to “stand up” and speak at hearings.
And was inspired by the recent election of 17 African-American women to the bench, bringing the total number of African-American women judges in Harris County to a record 19: Judge Shannon Baldwin, Judge Lucia Bates, Judge Ronnisha Bowman, Judge Sharon M. Burney, Judge Dedra Davis, Judge Linda Marie Dunson, Judge Toria J. Finch, Judge Ramona Franklin, Judge Lori Chambers Gray, Judge Angela Graves-Harrington, Judge Cassandra Y. Holleman, Judge Erica Hughes, Judge Maria T. Jackson, Judge Tonya Jones, Judge Latosha Lewis Payne, Judge Michelle Moore, Judge Sandra Peake, Judge Germaine Tanner and Judge LaShawn A. Williams, as named by NPR.
Toni Nguyen presented several charts of compelling diversity data for the State Bar of Texas, whose growth has outpaced the national average, and referenced Sandra Yamata’s quote “The Legal profession would benefit greatly from better data on the demographics of practicing lawyers. Gathering such data requires a sustained commitment by the entire profession, including bar associations, employers, law schools and public service groups”
Britney Harrison spoke specifically about the Network of Empowered Women’s NEW Rountdtable in Dallas, which was created with the purpose to help women with business development, marketing, networking, and opportunities. In other words, its express mission is to empower women to grab a seat at the table.
The panel went on to discuss several other diversity initiatives in the state, such as the Texas Minority Counsel Program (TMCP), Texas Minority Attorney Program (TMAP), LeadershipSBOT, Minority Attorneys at the Podium (“MAP”) Project, Diversity in the Profession Committee Scholarship, Pipeline Program, and Ten Minute Mentor Program.
At the end of the discussion, all the panelists affirmatively answered the question — “Can we effectively advance diversity and inclusion efforts in today’s political climate?” They acknowledged we have a long way to go, but have made some notable progress in recent times.
Even in these turbulent political times, it is important to remember the legacies we have all inherited and our duty to fight injustice.
Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at [email protected], follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.