GBJ Feature

Fueling the Pipeline: State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program’s 15th Annual CLE and Luncheon by Marian Cover Dockery

aw professors, general counsels, attorneys

and educators who are working to diversify Lthe profession and enhance educational opportunities for at-risk youth convened at the Bar

Center in September to discuss the importance of fuel- ing the pipeline in law schools, firms and corporations with minorities and women and how communications may negatively impact employees in the workplace. Photos by Don Morgan Law School Deans Panel Marian Dockery, Charles Huddleston, vice-chair and partner, Arnall Golden Gregory, present Justice Robert Benham with an appreciation Robin Rone, director of the American Bar gift following his keynote luncheon address compliments of Macy’s, Inc. Association Office of Diversity Initiatives, moderated the first panel, which included Dean Daisy Hurst Floyd Mercer’s BALSA chapter has won national awards for of School of Law, Dean Rebecca sponsoring mentoring programs and UGA’s BALSA White of the School of Law, chapter is, according to White, “…the most effective Assistant Dean Katherine Brokaw of Emory Law recruiting device for the school.” These law schools dig School, Dean Richardson Lynn of John Marshall Law deep into the pipeline by whetting the appetites of high School and Dean Steven Kaminshine of Georgia State school students for a career in law. University College of Law. Mercer has a modest pipeline effort where high Despite the national statistics reporting more than a school students meet faculty and law students. GSU 10 percent decline in minorities (African-Americans has joined other organizations to present a new and Hispanics) enrolled in law schools, according to pipeline project, “Justice Benham’s Boot Camp,” a White, Georgia’s law schools have one of the largest three-week program that offers instruction to minor- concentrations of African-American law students in ity high school students who are taught by GSU’s law the country. professors. The objective is to get students excited Mercer, UGA and GSU all rely heavily on their about the law and encourage them to pursue law Black American Law Student Association (BALSA) school in the future. (A full description of the pro- chapters to attract future students. Floyd reported that gram is detailed later in this article.)

52 Georgia Bar Journal Percentages of Minorities and Women scores of applicants. Admitting at Georgia Law Schools For the Year 2007-08 students with low LSAT scores, e.g. the low 140s, hurts the accredi- tation chances of law schools. Law School Percent Percent Percent When the ABA inspects law Minorities African-American Women schools every seven years, num- Emory 40 13 50 bers of minority students in many cases decline. John Marshall, a pro- GSU 25 n/a 50 visional law school and now ABA John Marshall 29.9 18.9 50.8 accredited, has traditionally recruited minorities with lower Mercer+ 17 11 48 scores because the first tier schools UGA+ 22 14.1 46 successfully recruit from the same +Mercer is located in Macon and UGA is located in Athens. limited pool of minorities with the higher LSAT scores. Lynn also stat- ed that law schools must walk a In law schools where early exits Among the challenges the law fine line between satisfying the are not an exception, retaining stu- schools face despite their success in ABA and recruiting a diverse pop- dents is of paramount importance. recruiting diverse student popula- ulation of students. Minority orientation programs, tions are: early mentoring, summer academic Decline of Women Applicants enrichment programs for any stu- ■ Recruiting more minority and Despite the schools’ success dent who may be “at risk,” diversity women faculty recruiting minority students and training for all students and ongoing ■ Creating a more inviting envi- their past success recruiting academic support programs are ronment for minority and women, the majority of the deans among the programs offered by women students on the panel reported an alarming these schools to lower attrition rates ■ Securing funds to create valu- trend—the decline of female appli- of students. To promote retention of able academic assistance pro- cants. Although the percentage of all students, including minorities, grams women at Georgia’s law schools is UGA offers an “Early Start ■ Changing a widely publicized almost half of the total law student Program” to expose students to the ranking system that does not population, these numbers still law school experience and to pro- take into account diversity in reflect a slight decline from previ- vide instruction on writing, briefing the student body (U.S. News & ous years. cases and Constitutional Law. World Report) Mercer took a novel approach by ■ Addressing issues of accredita- Continued Push for Diversity recruiting and enrolling a critical tion by the American Bar Emory will continue to push for mass of five talented Hampton Association (ABA) which pres- diversity through its recruitment University minority graduates. The sure law schools to select stu- fairs, diverse admissions staff and relationship with the school goes dents with higher LSAT scores its Office of Diversity and beyond recruiting Hampton stu- that adversely impact the num- Community Initiatives. dents. Mercer annually funds the ber of minority students An effective diversity program Hampton Deans Scholarship, a full enrolled requires money, and a recent $1 scholarship for one graduate of this million gift to historically black college. Lynn, who has in the past served School of Law will fund scholar- According to Brokaw, Emory on accreditation teams, reported ships aimed at increasing and sus- Law School has long enjoyed a how the ABA accreditation rules taining diversity at the law school. high percentage of minority enroll- impacted John Marshall’s minority In response to the declining ment. Students come from all over enrollment. According to Lynn, numbers of women applicants, the United States because although the number of minority Emory’s Spring 2007 conference is a huge draw. Brokaw also students at his law school “No More Early Exits” created a reported that the percentage of increased, the percentage of forum for female law students, minority enrollment has increased minorities actually declined from practicing attorneys and Emory from 18 percent in 1995 to 40 per- 52 percent (44 percent African- law professors to address the exo- cent in 2007. The traditional 90 per- American) to 46.5 percent (18.9 dus of women from the profession cent bar exam passage rate of percent African-American) since and strategies to preserve the tal- Emory students has actually 2000 because the ABA accredita- ent pool. increased to 96 percent with the tion process includes reviewing the Georgia law schools’ commit- rise in minority enrollment. admission figures, namely LSAT ment to fueling the pipeline pro-

December 2007 53 vides the state’s law firms of the Gate City Bar, with a diverse recruitment reported that less than 7 pool from which to draw percent of law degrees first year associates. The law conferred are to African- school deans emphasized Americans. Further, the that the next step is for the percentage of African- law firms to recruit, hire, Americans enrolled in law develop and retain their tal- school has reached a 13- ent in order to successfully year low. diversify the workforce. Justice Benham, who has worked with law The Solution school students for many Starts Here years, launched this three- week program in coopera- The second panel at the tion with the Gate City Bar, annual diversity CLE pro- Clark Atlanta University gram consisted of State Bar and Georgia State Uni- of Georgia members in pri- versity School of Law, vate practice and an Atlanta Dean Steven Kaminshine, Robin Rone, Dean Daisy Hurst Floyd, Marian which provided space for middle school principal. Cover Dockery, Dean Rebecca White, Dean Richardson Lynn and the camp’s program as These panelists generously Assistant Dean Katherine Brokaw pose after the dean’s roundtable. well as instructors. volunteer their time, talent The program’s curricu- and resources to support the aca- led his students to achieve the lum was intense. Daily classes demic preparation of middle, high highest scores in school history, included “Lawyer for the Day;” school and college students. Glen including two students who critical thinking taught by law Fagan, associate with Constangy, achieved the highest score possi- instructors and trial attorneys; the Brooks & Smith, LLC, and a volun- ble. Socratic method; trial technique; teer with the Truancy Intervention The school’s teaching philoso- and legal research. Every after- Project, moderated. phy is to: noon, students attended more classes, visited courts and law South Atlanta School for ■ Teach students to solve com- firms and spoke with judges, part- Law and Social Justice plex, multi-step problems that ners and public defenders. The Peter McKnight, principal of the require students to draw from third week of the program, law South Atlanta School for Law and multiple disciplines firms hosted paid internships for Social Justice, began his career ■ Use research-based engaging further exposure to a career in law. with Teach for America. McKnight instructional strategies According to Franklin, students said that the mission of his school ■ Hire a dynamic faculty and who completed the program want is to prepare students for college staff to return next year and are excited and to develop leaders for positive ■ Offer themed elective courses about becoming lawyers. change. Students have a core cur- supported by partnerships riculum of math, English, science with local law schools and The Boys & Girls Club and social studies and are instruct- social justice organizations of Metro Atlanta ed in critical reading, logical rea- The Boys & Girls Club College soning, persuasive writing and In the future, McKnight hopes Bound Program of Metro Atlanta is public speaking. Each neighbor- that these theme schools will designed to help participants grad- hood school has at least 100 stu- increase academic performance uate from high school and pursue dents and any student can apply. for all students, promote greater college. Seventy percent of these Although many of these students community involvement and pro- children are “at risk” and more are behind academically, through vide more authentic experiences than 80 percent are minorities. quality instruction, high expecta- for students. According to Brent Wilson, partner tions and relationships with com- at Elarbee, Thompson, Sapp & munity organizations, committed Justice Benham’s Law Camp Wilson and member of the Metro teachers work to accomplish the Justice Robert Benham’s Law Atlanta Board of Directors, the key school’s mission. Before becoming Camp was created in 2007 to to the program’s success is parental principal, McKnight taught geom- address the low percentage of law involvement. The program requires etry, calculus and advanced place- degrees conferred to minority stu- parents to sign a contract where ment (AP) calculus. In his first year dents. Harold Franklin Jr., partner they agree to get their children to teaching AP calculus, McKnight at King & Spalding and president the program on time and bring

54 Georgia Bar Journal them to scheduled interviews. The Members of the State Bar of For example, Macy’s general cus- program also offers mentoring and Georgia who are not committed to a tomer base is located in the most assistance for parents by connecting mentoring program are encouraged diverse major cities in the United them to other resources to help to volunteer and support these pro- States according to Hawthorne. improve their quality of life and grams in any way they can. Likewise, Gaston reported that providing advice on securing finan- Comcast’s operations are located in cial aid for their college-bound stu- Corporate General 20 of the biggest urban areas and its dents. The more than 80 percent Counsel customer base is diversified; and high school graduation rate of par- Lewis of Coca-Cola, the largest dis- ticipants underscores the success of A diverse panel of general coun- tributor of nonalcoholic beverages, this program. sels spoke about their companies’ and a company where 70 percent of commitment to diversity. The its revenues are derived outside of Programs for Future panel included Teri Plummer the United States, said that its cus- Law Students McClure, senior vice president of tomers represent every ethnicity, College students who aspire to compliance, general counsel and nationality and race. Given the attend law school may require extra secretary, UPS; Robin Sangston, diversity of the customers they help to reach that goal. Law school vice-president and general counsel, serve, these companies must be boot camps popping up all over the Cox Communications; Meredith concerned about diversity. country satisfy that need. St. John’s Mays, vice-president and general Policies to hire and retain Pipeline Project in Jamaica, N.Y., counsel, AT&T-Georgia; Douglas diverse employees by tying com- serves college minority and majori- Gaston, senior vice-president, pensation directly to a manager’s ty students of the City University of Comcast Cable; and John Lewis Jr., diversity efforts have proven suc- New York system who are first gen- senior managing counsel-litigation cessful for Coke. According to eration college attendees, financial- of Coca-Cola’s Global Legal Lewis, 20 percent of management ly challenged and have at least a 3.0 Center. William Hawthorne, vice- compensation is impacted by GPA. Professors from St. John’s president of diversity strategies diversity efforts. Lewis quipped, Law School teach students writing, and legal affairs, Macy’s, Inc., mod- “That which gets measured, gets critical thinking, test-taking tech- erated the panel. done.” The results of such policies niques, LSAT preparation and oral Why is diversity critical for these are impressive. In 2003, 18 percent advocacy to prepare them for the corporations? One factor is that the of Coke employees were people of rigors of law school. companies serve diverse customers. color but today, 34 percent are

(Top left) Glenn Fagan, Constangy, Brooks & Smith, moderator of the panel, “The Solution Starts Here” and panelists Harold E. Franklin Jr., partner, King & Spalding, and Peter McKnight, principal of The South Atlanta School for Law & Social Justice listen to Brent Wilson, partner at Elarbee, Thompson Hines & Sapp. (Top right) Charles Forlidas, Bryan Cavan, Katherine Drolett, David Eldridge, Tamika Nordstrom and Luke Curtis are from the firm of Miller & Martin PLLC, which continually supports the Georgia Diversity Program. (Bottom left) John Lewis Jr., Meredith Mays, Robin Sangston, Teri Plummer McClure, Douglas Gaston and William Hawthorne pose after the presentation of the Corporate Initiatives Panel. (Bottom right) John Latham (far right) responds to an audience question as (left to right) Kwame Benjamin, Allegra Lawrence-Hardy and Gerry Williams looks on.

56 Georgia Bar Journal minorities. The company’s minori- ty representation in the manage- N D L ment ranks has also increased from Norwitch Document Laboratory 8.3 percent in 2003 to 21 percent in Forgeries - Handwriting - Alterations - Typewriting 2007. And although a discrimina- Ink Exams - Medical Record Examinations - “Xerox” Forgeries tion lawsuit filed years ago against the company served as a catalyst F. Harley Norwitch - Government Examiner, Retired for change, the continued commit- Court Qualified Scientist - 27 years. Expert testimony given in ment from top management fuels a excess of three hundred times including Federal and Off-shore diverse culture. Pipeline recruitment efforts at 1 17026 Hamlin Boulevard, Loxahatchee, Florida 33470 Cox Communications include the www.questioneddocuments.com hiring of 11 minority summer Telephone: (561) 333-7804 Facsimile: (561) 795-3692 interns in its law department. Sangston reported that three interns secured permanent posi- tions with the company’s outside counsel as a result of Cox’s refer- ral calls and recommendations. During their internships, students met the chief executive officer, vice presidents and human resources; found role models and received valuable mentoring that will benefit them in the future. Companies in the last 10 years have encouraged their outside counsel to diversify. According to Hawthorne, a mere 4 percent of partners working at major law firms are minorities. But the com- panies still expect firms to make the effort and Mays said AT&T-GA will give firms a stern talk if diverse attorneys are not given these opportunities. McClure reported that she sees a lot of “win- dow dressing” but Gaston said the bottom-line is: “Who shows up to handle the lawsuit?” Another important component for corporations’ diversity initia- tives includes working with minor- ity-owned businesses. According to Gaston, Comcast committed a 70 percent increase in spending with these entities, but McClure added that women and minority firms should not expect to automatically get work because they are minority and woman owned, but need to learn the company’s business and build a relationship with in-house counsel. According to Mays, AT&T- GA looks for specific skill sets and expertise from its outside firms. She advised small minority and women owned firms to consider partnering

December 2007 57 with big firms to break into the busi- is a critical component to retaining attorneys. Williams explained that ness. When asked how do minori- new diverse attorneys because the many of their women and minori- ties and women-owned firms get success of those diverse partners ty partners succeed because they work, Mays responded, “It’s a encourages future success for new had pre-existing relationships marathon not a sprint!” associates. with clients when they joined the Initiatives in place to help retain firm, a formula for success. Also, Law Firm Partners minorities at Sutherland include Hunton is not experiencing a high Although Georgia law schools diversity training for the firm’s attrition rate of minorities and are successfully graduating diverse partners, a four-person diversity women, another testament to a lawyers, not all of those attorneys staff and a firm-wide diversity supportive work environment for necessarily wish to stay in Georgia. committee. More importantly, a diverse attorneys. Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, partner partner’s performance regarding In the case of Sutherland, fueling at Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, diversity is a key part of the com- the pipeline has become a major John Latham, partner at Alston & pensation process according to firm initiative. Bird, and Gerry Williams, partner Lawrence-Hardy. To help retain The Sutherland Boot Camp, at Hunton & Williams, were mem- attorneys, every Sutherland lawyer founded by Lawrence-Hardy, pro- bers of this panel. Moderator Kwame Benjamin, senior associate of Seyfarth Shaw opened the panel with the question, “What is the business case for diver- sity?” Lawrence-Hardy responded that Sutherland’s clients are asking for diversity, but that is not the biggest reason. The goal of having the best talent, the best brain power and maximizing the firm’s business development opportunities are among Sutherland’s reasons for diversifying its firm. Latham said his firm is commit- ted to diversity because “it’s sim- ply the right thing to do.” Since the issue of diversity is with the white males and not the diverse partners, Latham stated that it makes good sense for a white male to be in charge of the diversity program. The commitment for diversity Anita Wallace Thomas, Debra Schwartz, Judge Janis Gordon, Julie Seaman, Lisa Chang and Jay must start from the top in any firm Cook pose after their participation on the Communications in the Workplace panel. or company and at all the firms represented at the Diversity has a career plan advisor, a diversi- vides scholarships and instruction Program’s CLE seminar, diversity ty committee mentor and a mentor for students who seek legal educa- is promoted by the managing part- from his/her affinity group. tion. Partners volunteer to teach ner and the executive committee. Recruitment efforts start early at oral advocacy skills, writing skills Components of Alston’s diversi- Sutherland where first-year law and other subjects to prepare stu- ty initiatives include a steering students are targeted for intern- dents for law school. committee comprised of senior ships and, this past summer 28 attorneys and staff, a coordinator, a associates were hired, 10 of whom The Imus Factor: newsletter and a substantial budg- were women or minorities. Communications in et for diversity. Alston’s diverse Historically Hunton & Williams partners are “home grown,” that is hired female lawyers when no the Workplace the firm has successfully recruited other firm in Richmond, Va., The final panel, moderated by and retained women and minori- would do so, and the firm has a Anita Wallace Thomas, member, ties who have advanced to partner- reputation in the legal community Nelson Mullins Riley Scarborough, ship, which is a major achievement. for creating a culture that is con- addressed the issue of communica- Having role models in a major firm ducive to the success of diverse tions in the workplace: what is con-

58 Georgia Bar Journal sidered appropriate and why the the job and anything that causes law still has not changed behavior at embarrassment is off limits. SOUTH work. Answering these questions Through powerful images from were panelists Lisa Chang, employ- the media, our society is bombard- GEORGIA ADR ment discrimination expert and solo ed with racism and sexism, and all practitioner; Judge Janis Gordon, of these “isms” are institutional- SERVICE, LLC DeKalb County Court; Debra ized, powerfully affecting our Schwartz, partner, Thompson, thought patterns. We subcon- MEDIATION and Rollins & Schwartz; Julie Seaman, sciously, or consciously, buy into ARBITRATION of personal assistant professor, Emory School of opinions, ideas and beliefs, no mat- injury, wrongful death, Law; and Jay Cook, partner, Cook, ter how discriminatory or inappro- Noell, Tolley & Bates. priate. Seaman, who teaches a sem- commercial, real estate and Speech is not always illegal, and inar on hate speech, explained how other complex litigation Chang, an expert in employment an “implicit bias test” confirmed cases. Visit our website for discrimination, presented several that regardless of one’s race or sex, fee schedules and unreported court cases where we all unconsciously make certain biographies of our panel, judges ruled on whether a violation biased conclusions. Further, brain comprised of experienced of the law had occurred. Chang research proves that biased speech outlined that courts consider the and inappropriate communica- Middle and South Georgia context, the tone and the historical tions does affect the performance trial lawyers. context in which the defendant’s and behavior of people. comments are made. Chang report- Thomas did not take lightly to a CHARLES R. ADAMS, III – Fort Valley ed that in one 11th Circuit court partner calling her “girlfriend.” THOMAS C. ALEXANDER – Macon case, the plaintiff’s supervisor told Her question for the panel was, MANLEY F. BROWN – Macon her she looked like Dolly and “she “What does one do to discourage JERRY A. BUCHANAN – Columbus would bust out of her blouse.” employees from communicating JOHN D. CAREY – Macon (Henderson v. Waffle House) this way?” An attorney in the audi- WADE H. COLEMAN – Valdosta Although the court did not find sex ence had an even tougher question: JOHN A. DRAUGHON, SR. – Macon discrimination, this was certainly “How do you address inappropri- JAMES L. ELLIOTT – Valdosta offensive and inappropriate speech. ate comments with a colleague BENJAMIN M. GARLAND – Macon And where African-Americans without jeopardizing your career?” ROBERT R. GUNN, II – Macon were called “boy” by their supervi- Cook, immediate past president of JANE M. JORDAN – Macon sors in another case, no violation of the State Bar of Georgia, empha- JEROME L. KAPLAN – Macon the law was found. Thus, offensive sized that although some incidents STANLEY M. KARSMAN – Savannah speech is not always considered are too egregious to overlook and BERT KING – Gray illegal speech, no matter how out- must be litigated, others are not. HUBERT C. LOVEIN, JR. – Macon rageous. However, employees do Cook attributed many insensitive MICHAEL S. MEYER VON BREMEN – Albany often deal with subtle unconscious comments to ignorance. Cook said S. E. (TREY) MOODY, III – Perry comments that are equally offen- the solution is direct communica- PHILIP R. TAYLOR – St. Simons Island sive. Schwartz added that employ- tions with the individual. Consider RONALD C. THOMASON – Macon ees also often contend with subtle who the person is and take steps to CRAIG A. WEBSTER – Tifton nonverbal communications. Giving teach them. Education, training, HON. TOMMY DAY WILCOX, JR. – Macon the Asian associate a back office job patience and learning to be gra- F. BRADFORD WILSON, JR. – Macon “number crunching” or simply cious with others are critical if we being condescending to a peer who are to get beyond this problem. ROBERT R. GUNN, II, is a woman or minority can be just MANAGING PARTNER as devastating. Marian Cover What steps should a manager Dockery is an attorney Rachel D. McDaniel, take when an employee engages in with a background in Scheduling Coordinator inappropriate behavior or uses employment discrimi- 240 THIRD STREET inappropriate speech? Gordan nation and the execu- MACON, GEORGIA 31201 advised not to embarrass the tive director of the (800) 863-9873 or employee, but first to educate them State Bar of Georgia Diversity and give a warning. If an employee Program. For more information on (478) 746-4524 continues the behavior, more seri- the Diversity Program, go to FAX (478) 745-2026 ous disciplinary action should fol- www.gabar.org/programs/ www.southgeorgiaADR.com low. Behavior outside the work- georgia_diversity_program/. place is not always acceptable on

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