State Bar of Michigan: Diversity & Inclusion

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Diversity and Inclusion

Join the Growing List of Pledge Signatories

List Updated December 12, 2011

The State Bar of Michigan actively promotes the importance of diversity and inclusion in the profession. We applaud all who have signed the SBM Pledge to Achieve Diversity and Inclusion and will publicly acknowledge their action.

State Bar President Tony Jenkins in a recent Michigan Bar Journal President's Page quoted an ancient Chinese proverb that says “any journey of a million miles begins with the first step.”

Now that we’ve started the journey, we urge you to join us in this endeavor and to check out who has already signed on by viewing the list of law firms, law schools, bar associations, individuals, and other entities.

Please join us in this very important effort by becoming a signatory to the pledge today!

Reports on Diversity

The ABA recently released a report titled Diversity in the Legal Profession: The Next Steps. The report is the culmination of a year-long focus by the ABA Presidential Initiative Commission on Diversity and documents the findings and recommendations from four regional hearings that included lawyers from all sectors of the profession, an invitational summit that gathered over 200 participants and a follow-up program at the 2009 ABA Annual Meeting.

American Institute for Managing Diversity is a nonprofit think tank dedicated to promoting and furthering the field of diversity management.

The North Carolina Bar Association released a report in 2007 focused on diversity improvement.

Goal III Report: The State of Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the American Bar Association

Models to Consider

The Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) is focused on improving the administrative functioning of law firms and other legal services organizations. View their publication on law firm diversity and a Diversity Toolkit.

Best Diversity Practices in Law Firms (and some of the not-so-good practices) by Mauricio Velasquez & Kelly Burrello, Diversity Training Group

Jump Starting Your Law Firm's Diversity Program

In an effort to further advance the important diversity enhancement efforts of the legal community, the National Association of Legal Professionals (NALP) has created this Guide to assist legal employers in moving from abstract discussions about diversity to practical implementation of diversity strategies and initiatives. This Guide is a compilation of best diversity practices derived from industry research and interviews of law firm professionals across the country.

Beyond Diversity: Inclusiveness in the Legal Workplace—Manual

The DRI Firm Diversity Manual

Diversity Practices That Work

Tomorrow's Attorneys Pipeline Project

The New Face of Law Firm Diversity

National Association of Legal Professionals Diversity Best Practices Guide

Diversity Toolkit

Assessment Tools

Building a Better Legal Profession is a site dedicated to the ranking of several law firms from across the country according to how diverse they are

University of California faculty diversity assessment tool

Diversity Questionnaires: from LSC Resource Information and MonkeyDish

Diversity Metrics

Articles of Interest

Diversity and Inclusion

Association of Legal Administrators (ALA) is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the professionalism and competence of all members of the legal management team

The Practical Lawyer provide a guide to best diversity practices

Women in Law Leadership Academy guide to firm diversity

Disabilities

MIT Sloan School of Management article on social networks and preserving global diversity

Firms Say Out and Proud Makes Good Business Sense

Diversity Questionnaire Causes Controversy in Dallas

The Advancement of Women in the Private Practice of Law and Why Guys Should Care

87 Firms LGBT Score

Law Firms Embrace Diversity

Changing the Dialogue on Diversity to Achieve Results

7 Reasons Why Law Firm Diversity Initiatives Fail

Mentoring Program Bridges Gap Between Law School and Practice