Diverse Attorneys of Color

DIVERSE ATTORNEYS OF COLOR

Macon Bolling Allen became the first licensed African-American attorney in the United States in 1844. * DIVERSE ATTORNEYS OF COLOR

We have been blessed and honored to work in an industry that purportedly supports diversity, inclusion, and identity recruitment; but our experiences verify the reality that more often than not our industry pushes back with a vengeance when we work to place diverse attorneys of color. The community in which we seek attorney placements seemingly embraces “identity recruitment.” Unfortunately, their “identity recruitment” does not set the same parameters as our goals as recruiters who proudly cater to the recruitment, placement, and retention of diverse attorneys of color.

Our current United States President touts the fact that the economy is “strong;” and that African American unemployment is at an all-time low. Upon closer examination, it is evident that the new low rate attributed to African Americans is significantly above the general unemployment rate. A more telling statistic can be found in the income gap between black and other households. It remains significant. A review of current differences in the income rate of African Americans today is higher than it was more than seventeen years ago, in 2000. Today the median African American household earns a whopping 35.5% less than other median households.

These statistics are real; yet “white” women continue to be the primary beneficiaries of the diversity incentives in law firms. Opportunities for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, and some in the LBGTQ community, have increased steadily over time; but it is obvious to us that “white” women are the primary beneficiaries of the diversity and inclusion movement. Moreover, we must sadly admit that in general, these women are simply more acceptable to the majority of law firms. A close inspection of law firm affinity groups clearly evidences and puts a spotlight on the reality that these groups have morphed into “women groups,” with memberships that primarily consist of “white” women. An example can be found in a well-healed diversity website. The website’s “diversity” is not diverse at all. It is no more than a publicity tool and platform for some women. The “diversity team” pictured on the website consists exclusively of “white” women.

Another example can be found in a lawsuit filed earlier this year against one of the nation’s largest law firms specializing in defending employers against employment discrimination lawsuits. It’s ironic that the law firm has itself been sued for practicing gender discrimination against its female shareholders. This “discrimination” lawsuit is a lawsuit brought by women who managed to reach the top echelon in one of the most renowned and purportedly “anti-discrimination” law firms in the United States. Our research indicates the top echelon of both this law firm; and others similarly situated, is virtually devoid of African Americans and other attorneys of color. As African Americans and attorney recruiters with a focus on the placement, hiring, and retention of diverse attorneys of color; we know that African American and other diverse attorneys of color have intentionally, deliberately, and systematically been excluded from the shareholder level at top law firms in the United States. It’s the worst-kept secret in our industry.

From Susan B. Anthony and the suffrage movement, to Gloria Steinem and the feminist movement, to the current movements “lean in” and “me too;” the primary beneficiaries have been “white” women. Black females have been left behind or pushed aside. We cannot pretend that this situation is by accident; or that it is unintentional.

While we have seen numerous good meaning diversity and inclusion programs over the years; what we now see is that many programs have broadened the pie and in doing so have diluted the space of the people the groups were established to assist. We acknowledge the fairly recent addition of African American “diversity” officers and/or directors in major law firms; but we unfortunately question the amount of power these individuals yield in the actual recruitment, placement, and retention of African American and other diverse attorneys of color at their firms; and we generally have not seen significant increases in the numbers of African American and other diverse attorneys of color among the ranks of law firms having employed these figureheads. The percentage of black female equity partners in the Am 100 United States law firms is now .056.

In honor of the civil rights movement, our goal and express focus here is in the pulling the cover off the horrible, but well-kept secret that attorneys in major law firms are most certainly aware (they need only look around their office environments); but may avoid acknowledging.

The reality is that each step of the way for more freedom in this nation for African Americans was brought by blood, sweat and tears. Those at the forefront of the civil rights movement are not the same group we now see primarily benefitting from the sacrifices made by civil rights forerunners. In a post-racial and open society, the issues outlined here should no longer exist.

So, where do we go now? We contend that it is imperative that those in prominent law firm positions not pull up the ladder once they reach levels of success. The Urban Dictionary says it best: When someone gets something, but only for themselves, while leaving the rest of the group waiting for a kind gesture that never comes...as in, man gets on the boat and pulls the ladder up while the rest stand on the jetty in confusion at this selfish act with no way to board.

Today, there simply is no honor in comfortably being “the lonely only.”

We bring these issues to the forefront because our nation soon will become a “minority majority;” and will require an in-sync legal community. Corporate legal departments want to see a truly diverse team. A truly diverse team must contain African American and other people of color at all levels. Parity in the legal world is paramount in each phase of “making America great.” Now, our collective efforts must set the dye and the path for the next generation of attorneys. We can begin by straightening out our issues of conscious and unconscious bias. In other words, let’s stop acting as if racism is not real in our world today. Let’s recognize that graduates from traditionally African American law schools are subject to the same state bar exams white lawyers must take and pass. Let’s acknowledge and champion the herculean efforts necessary for many African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans to simply be in a position to attend law school. Let’s reward these efforts by embracing their culture and mentoring them until they are in a position to mentor others. In other words, let’s be human.

* Born in Indiana in 1816, Macon Bolling Allen is best known as the first African-Ameri- can man to be licensed as a lawyer in the United States. He eventually landed work as a schoolteacher. Heading east, Allen moved to Portland, Maine, in the early 1840s. There he studied law in the offices of two different attorneys, according to J. Clay Smith Jr.'s Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer, 1844-1944. Allen was rejected on his first attempt to become licensed in Maine. In 1844, Allen became the first African Ameri- can to be admitted to the Maine bar. While he passed the bar in Maine, Allen never practiced law there. He moved to Massachusetts in 1845 and was admitted to the bar there that same year. Allen has the distinction of being the first African-American man to be licensed by the state of Massachusetts. In the late 1840s, he continued to break new ground when he was appointed the justice of the peace for Middlesex County. Allen is believed to have been the first African-American member of the country's judiciary. Allen moved to Charleston, South Carolina, in 1868. At this time, the South was going through reconstruction following the Civil War. He was admitted to the bar in South Carolina and eventually earned another judicial post there. In the late 1870s, Allen relocated to Wash- ington, D.C. He went to work for the Land and Improvement Association as an attorney. Allen died in Washington in October 1894, at the age of 78.

Macon Bolling Allen Biography Biography.com website https://www.biography.com/people/macon-bolling-allen-21342461

Ron Jordan (Carter White & Shaw Diverse Attorney Recruiters) - Ron Jordan has been a successful diverse attorney recruiter for 27 years. He specializes in the placement of high level attorneys of color and groups in top law firms nationwide.

Sheila Owsley (Charlotte’sLaw LLC Diverse Attorney Recruiters) - Sheila Owsley brings thirty years of experience as a labor and employment attorney at several top law firms. She brings this experience to fruition as an attorney recruiter with a proud and specific mission to recruit, place, and insure the retention of African American and other attorneys of color in top law firms nationwide.