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| Why "Progress Proves Elusive for the Legal Profession" |
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 As pointed out by Karen Sloan today in a LAW.COM (and National Law Journal) article, the legal profession's progress in the area of diversity has seemingly been stagnant (or slow at best). Sloan's article notes that thus far, progress has been on the surface level, and that too much emphasis has been placed on numbers (numbers that are often inflated and that don't provide a clear breakdown of equity partners vs. non-equity partners, vs. associates). The article also notes the importance of mentoring, and that lacking partner mentors for associates to look up to, associates tend to leave.Of course this is a multi-faceted issue. However, JD Diversity contends (and is founded on the premise that) diversity will never truly be realized within the profession unless there's an open and honest dialogue about minorities' experiences within the legal workplace. Unfortunately, the closest we ever seem to come to the type of candidness needed to forge progress is confined to legal complaints--like that filed against Mayer Brown by Venus Springs in May of 2009. In the complaint Ms. Springs noted issues like "assignment to an office away from her peers, [lack of] customary clerical, paralegal, and associate assistance, [lesser] training, [and] exclusion from client lunches." However, elsewhere such honesty is woefully lacking. The conclusion we've drawn is that people (especially minorities) are afraid to be truthful about their experiences, as they seek to avoid adverse ramifications to their legal careers. Therefore, such problems, rarely being brought to light, are never rectified. JD Diversity seeks to quell such fears by encouraging associates and partners alike to be honest about the true barriers to diversity progress in the legal profession. Let's talk about it.
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