In June 2016, the American Bar Association Board of Governors announced they would adopt changes to its CLE policy to further Goal III of the ABA Mission & Goals: “To Eliminate Bias and Enhance Diversity.”

The new policy, which went into effect March 1, sets minimum diversity requirements for any ABA-produced or sponsored CLE panel program with three or more panel participants (including the moderator). Panels of three or four speakers must have at least one diverse participant (reflecting diversity of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability). Panels of five to eight speakers must have at least two diverse participants, and panels of more than nine must have three.

It is no secret that the legal profession has a problem with diversity. Even though most BigLaw firms have diversity programs or committees, 74 percent of partners at major law firms are still white and male. When women and minorities do make it to the most elite firms, surveys show they leave BigLaw at troubling rates, and these numbers are still below pre-recession levels. The number of female and minority attorneys overall has increased, but if that is not reflected at the highest levels of the profession, the legal industry as a whole will suffer.

As the new ABA policy acknowledges, CLE providers have a significant role to play in changing the face of the profession. Most attorneys in the country are subject to mandatory CLE requirements and will watch an average of 10 hours of CLE programming every year. In a very real way, when attorneys attend CLE programs they see the face of the profession. It is our responsibility to make sure that face is no longer overwhelmingly white, straight, cisgender and male.

Additionally, producing diverse CLE is a benefit not only for the attendees but for attorneys who can use the opportunity to hone their expertise. Diversity standards in CLE means that faculty recruiters must reach beyond the usual candidates to recruit qualified, highly skilled attorneys who also reflect the true diversity of the profession.

At Lawline, we are in the process of adopting our own diversity requirements, effective Jan. 1, 2018. All our programming, including curricula and bundles, will reflect these goals. As Nixon Peabody Managing Partner Andrew Glincher said in a recent Forbes article, “We’re not doing this because there’s a moral obligation to do it. It makes us better and it makes our teams better.” Pursuing diversity can only improve our programs and our company, and it will create a better experience for the attorneys who rely on us for their CLE needs.

In addition to enacting diversity goals in its CLE programming, in early February the ABA adopted a resolution revising its model rule on MCLE to recommend one hour of programming on diversity and inclusion every three years. Currently, only three states require attorneys to take CLE on Elimination of Bias (in Oregon, these programs are categorized as “Access to Justice” credits), but it is likely that more states will adopt this requirement in response to the new ABA model rule.

Until then, Lawline accredits our Elimination of Bias programs as Ethics or General credits in many states. Sonja A. called the course “Implicit Bias: The Bias You Don’t Think You Have…But You Do,” a “candid and engaging discussion of implicit/unconscious bias—a topic relevant to all. Understanding our biases, whether preferential or unfavorable, better equips us to reflect on how unintentional factors may impact our decisions in the workplace and elsewhere.” We couldn’t agree more.

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