8/18/11

The State Bar of Michigan will host a "Celebrating Diversity" reception from 6:30-8:30 p.m. on Thursday, September 15 at the historic Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn. It will take place in conjunction with the SBM Annual Meeting.

The reception will serve as a follow-up to an event at last year's annual meeting, which introduced the Michigan Pledge to Achieve Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession. In the year since, nearly 700 groups, firms, and attorneys have signed on to the pledge. SBM President W. Anthony Jenkins began his presidential year by appointing an advisory group consisting of 22 diverse attorney volunteers from across the state to help create benchmarks for the current state of the profession regarding diversity and inclusion, in order to eventually measure progress. Working with SBM Director of Diversity Gregory P. Conyers, the group recently released two assessment tools designed to build an ongoing data base of information for that purpose. Beginning the next bar year, the Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee—recently adopted as a standing committee of the bar—will continue the work of the advisory group and make recommendations about how to move the legal profession forward toward its inclusion goals.

This year's reception will include remarks from Dennis Archer and a brief update on the many efforts undertaken by the State Bar to increase diversity in the legal profession. The reception will take place in the Henry Ford Museum's "With Liberty and Justice for All" exhibit, which includes many significant historic artifacts, including the bus Rosa Parks rode on in December of 1955. Those attending the reception will have an opportunity to view highlights of the exhibit.

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