Minority Report New Jersey’s statewide diversity is not reflected in the legal field
Stewart, 41, is a
The judge was an older man, and was skeptical about an argument I presented on behalf of my client, said Stewart. But instead of citing a point of law, he looked at the opposing counsel, who was white, and said to me, Hes here all the time. Youre not. Fortunately I was able to demonstrate case law that supported my clients position.As a state,
In some cases, the low representation may result from a lack of role models, according to Stewart, who represents clients in civil and criminal matters, including litigation. I grew up in
My experiences at Gibbons have all been positive, but I still feel like I represent my race, said Johnson, who grew up in
You need a mentor, but some of my friends at other law firms werent as fortunate, he said. They couldnt establish a personal relationship with a partner. Part of its because when a partner gets busy, hell reach out to a person hes comfortable with, and part of its because when you look for a role model, you tend to look for someone who resembles yourself.
Ive always tried to reach out to people at Gibbons, he said. Everyone here works hard, so if you show youre here and available to work, then people respond in a positive way.
As CDO, he is attempting to add hue to Gibbons ranks. We offer diversity training for new hires, focusing on issues like unconscious bias, and back up the training with statistics about minority hiring and retention, Johnson said. In addition to internal diversity programs, I speak at outside events and sit on diversity panels.
Also, because the attrition rate is higher for women and minorities, we try to keep them here longer, so theres a better chance that they can make partner. As CDO I ask if theyre working on interesting assignments, and getting enough billable hours.
Johnson is also working with law schools to develop a database of diverse candidates. While Gibbons doesnt hire directly out of law schoolWe hire laterals, or after a clerkshiphe hopes that the planned database will help students to network, and will get clerkships and other opportunities.
Meanwhile, besides his CDO activities, Johnson is still fielding legal matters as a corporate attorney, focusing on mergers and acquisitions where he represents commercial banks and others; in addition to stock and asset purchase transactions, securities regulations, corporate governance and other matters. How does he squeeze everything in? Im efficient, he shrugged. I try to attend diversity events in the early morning, or evenings after hours. Doing things like this means sacrificing a lot of personal time, but Im an
Fong was a partner with Brown, Moskowitz & Kallen, and practiced at law firms like
Fong is working to design and implement initiatives to foster diversity among state workers and to spread the word about appreciating and valuing the differences between us. Through formal diversity training programs, shes trying to improve recruitment among minorities, in addition to encouraging more networking.
Her activities cover a wide range of issues. Ive trained more than 500 state police officers on being aware of unconscious bias, she noted. Ive also advocated for a work environment that supports nursing mothers.
Diversity, and an understanding of what it means, is particularly important in the public sector, she said. Were constantly interacting with the public. So we need to be able to understand and relate to our constituents.
Email: [email protected] Copyright 2017
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