{"id":1276,"date":"2017-04-05T16:26:38","date_gmt":"2017-04-05T20:26:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/?p=458973"},"modified":"2017-04-05T16:26:38","modified_gmt":"2017-04-05T20:26:38","slug":"futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/","title":{"rendered":"‘FutureLaw’ Promises To Be Very Male And Very White"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"whiteEach year, Stanford Law School hosts an event called CodeX FutureLaw Conference<\/a>. According to their website, the purpose for the event is to \u201cspend a day with the community that is shaping the future of law.\u201d<\/p>\n

If we buy into CodeX’s vision of the future of law, it promises to be very white and very male.<\/p>\n

When I attended the event last year, I noticed the overwhelming lack of diversity in terms of the people planning the event<\/a>\u00a0and the lack of diversity of speakers.<\/p>\n

I was displeased\u00a0when I saw a panel last year for a \u201cfuture mock trial\u201d for a hypothetical legaltech issue where everyone \u2014 both the judges and the counsel for the companies \u2014 were all white men.<\/p>\n

I reached out to the organizers who did find a female speaker for the panel, but the issue of\u00a0diversity still exists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Let me be clear, I believe in the core mission of CodeX. We absolutely need to be intentional about fostering meaningful dialogue on\u00a0the rapidly changing landscape of our industry.<\/p>\n

However, I find it incredibly disturbing that these conversations are continuing to be so siloed.<\/p>\n

Here’s the\u00a0data concerning the people behind CodeX:<\/p>\n

Directors: 2 Male \/ 0 Female
\nAffiliated Faculty: 8 Male \/ 1 Female
\nFellows: 24 Male \/ 4 Female
\n[Source link<\/a>]<\/p>\n

The speakers this year:<\/p>\n

20 Male \/ 11 Female
\n[Source link<\/a>]<\/p>\n

Overall, women make up only 35% of the speakers and there’s one panel with six people,\u00a0ALL men!<\/strong>\u00a0Will the faculty of those responsible for shaping our future only consist of 13% women?<\/p>\n

Is this truly the \u201cfuture\u201d of our profession?<\/p>\n

Each time I see a panel of speakers consisting of all men or a majority of men, it’s a reminder that we have a\u00a0long<\/em> way to go before we can achieve meaningful diversity and inclusion.<\/p>\n

To be sure, law isn’t the only field suffering from the all white male panel. There’s even a Tumblr<\/a> page called, “Congrats, you have an all male panel!“<\/em><\/p>\n

I am not an expert on diversity. What I have is the lived experience of being an Asian female lawyer, of having attended too many conferences where I am both a racial and gendered minority.<\/p>\n

Whenever I see yet another all white male panel, or all white Board of Directors<\/a>, I do what I must \u2014 point it out.<\/p>\n

While I will often see women talking about the lack of gender diversity, or people of color talking about lack of racial diversity, what I don’t see a lot of is a productive conversation about\u00a0ways of increasing diversity<\/strong> that is\u00a0not<\/strong> about checking the boxes. In fact, there’s something very unsavory about being invited to an event simply because \u201cwe’re trying to bump up\u00a0the number of women attendees.\u201d This goes counter to\u00a0why<\/em> diversity matters. It’s about recognizing that diversity means bringing a set of life experiences, which will mean you have a different way of looking at a problem.<\/p>\n

I recently saw the following on August<\/a>, a consulting firm’s website:<\/p>\n

We Do Not Speak At Any Conference Or On Any Panel That Does Not Include Women.<\/p>\n

If you are looking for women to speak at your conference or to join your panel, we’ve created a fantastic (and constantly growing) list of over 60 amazing and brilliant female leaders and speakers for you to invite.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Here’s the thing: Diversity and inclusion issues will necessarily need to include those segments of the population that are often\u00a0unseen<\/em> and\u00a0unheard<\/em>. However, this cannot be an\u00a0effort only designated to women and POC.<\/p>\n

Imagine if every cisgender white male committed to stop speaking on all white panels or serving on all white boards. How long do you suppose all white panels would last?<\/p>\n

I found the statement to be both radical and refreshing. It’s a way to show that you’re not just saying you care about diversity because it’s good PR. To turn down events, to say \u201cno\u201d to all male panels, is practicing what it means to be a good ally.<\/p>\n

It’s a tangible action.\u00a0Here’s another suggestion:\u00a0When registering for a legal conference, pay attention to the speakers. Contact the organizers and point out the lack of diversity.<\/p>\n

Let’s hope that the future of law isn’t made up of a majority of white men.\u00a0Maybe we’ll all just be replaced by AI anyway.<\/p>\n

What are your thoughts on ways to increase diversity and inclusion at legal conferences? Drop me an email at smile@theanxiouslawyer.com<\/a> or over on Twitter<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\n

\"JeenaJeena Cho<\/a> is the author of The Anxious Lawyer: An 8-Week Guide to a Joyful and Satisfying Law Practice Through Mindfulness and Meditation<\/a> (affiliate link). She regularly speaks and offers training on mindfulness and meditation. You can reach her at\u00a0hello@jeenacho.com<\/a> or @jeena_cho<\/a> on Twitter.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When registering for a legal conference, pay attention to the speakers. Contact the organizers and point out the lack of diversity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":854,"featured_media":442115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1243,575],"tags":[1438,140,128,698,1380,1371,1140,7,574],"class_list":["post-1276","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-minority-issues","category-womens-issues","tag-codex","tag-conferences-symposia","tag-diversity","tag-diversity-and-inclusion","tag-futurelaw","tag-jeena-cho","tag-minority-issues","tag-technology","tag-womens-issues"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n'FutureLaw' Promises To Be Very Male And Very White - Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"'FutureLaw' Promises To Be Very Male And Very White - Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When registering for a legal conference, pay attention to the speakers. Contact the organizers and point out the lack of diversity.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-04-05T20:26:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jeena Cho\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jeena Cho\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/\",\"name\":\"'FutureLaw' Promises To Be Very Male And Very White - Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-04-05T20:26:38+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-04-05T20:26:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#\/schema\/person\/372436d59fd292eb4cc9832df50adbf0\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"\",\"contentUrl\":\"\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"‘FutureLaw’ Promises To Be Very Male And Very White\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/\",\"name\":\"Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event\",\"description\":\"A Legal Tech Adoption Guide For Perplexed Lawyers\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#\/schema\/person\/372436d59fd292eb4cc9832df50adbf0\",\"name\":\"Jeena Cho\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09d1634167e8d1f82ad39d23aaa4e5ce03fd2869d8783d34743f0322dff555af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09d1634167e8d1f82ad39d23aaa4e5ce03fd2869d8783d34743f0322dff555af?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jeena Cho\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/author\/jeenacho\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"'FutureLaw' Promises To Be Very Male And Very White - Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"'FutureLaw' Promises To Be Very Male And Very White - Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event","og_description":"When registering for a legal conference, pay attention to the speakers. Contact the organizers and point out the lack of diversity.","og_url":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/","og_site_name":"Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event","article_published_time":"2017-04-05T20:26:38+00:00","author":"Jeena Cho","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jeena Cho","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/","url":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/","name":"'FutureLaw' Promises To Be Very Male And Very White - Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"","datePublished":"2017-04-05T20:26:38+00:00","dateModified":"2017-04-05T20:26:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#\/schema\/person\/372436d59fd292eb4cc9832df50adbf0"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#primaryimage","url":"","contentUrl":""},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/2017\/04\/05\/futurelaw-promises-to-be-very-male-and-very-white\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"‘FutureLaw’ Promises To Be Very Male And Very White"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#website","url":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/","name":"Above The Law's Legal Tech Non-Event","description":"A Legal Tech Adoption Guide For Perplexed Lawyers","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#\/schema\/person\/372436d59fd292eb4cc9832df50adbf0","name":"Jeena Cho","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09d1634167e8d1f82ad39d23aaa4e5ce03fd2869d8783d34743f0322dff555af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/09d1634167e8d1f82ad39d23aaa4e5ce03fd2869d8783d34743f0322dff555af?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jeena Cho"},"url":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/author\/jeenacho\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/854"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1276"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1276\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1276"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1276"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abovethelaw.com\/legal-innovation-center\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1276"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}