About the Council Committee for Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion

Aligned with ABA’s Goal III, the Section of Civil Rights and Social Justice - Council Committee for Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion is committed to eliminating bias and increasing/enhancing equity, inclusion, and diversity in Section membership, committees, leadership, programs, and publications.

CRSJ recognizes that diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession is essential to achieving a system of justice that reflects and equally respects the diversity of the public it serves.  Therefore, the Section strives to achieve diversity, equity and inclusion internally, within the ABA at large, the legal profession, the justice system and the greater society, among members of historically underrepresented and marginalized groups; inclusive of those with intersecting identities such as race, ethnicity, geographic location, gender identification, sexual orientation, religion, age, disability, immigration status, and class.

The Committee  will continue to implement processes to promote diversity in its committee leaders, publications, conference speakers, and other external entities while creating substantive programming to advance civil rights and social justice issues.

CRSJ will also work with internal and external organizations to create programming aimed to recruit, retain, and promote diverse attorneys within their ranks. Ultimately, we aspire to make CRSJ, the ABA, and the legal profession more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

Committee Goals

The committee plans to achieve its DEI goals by:

1. Making the DEI Plan available to CRSJ membership and participants to recognize and document commitment to advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion;

2. Increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in CRSJ Section membership and leadership;

3. Increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion in CRSJ Section membership and leadership through strategic partnerships with other ABA entities and external entities;

4. Monitoring diversity, equity, and inclusion in CRSJ Section membership and leadership as well as Section programs, initiatives, and publications and provide statistical data tracking demographics;

5. Promoting diversity in CRSJ Section program and initiatives;  

6. Promoting diversity in CRSJ publications;  

7. Executing the passage and implementation by the ABA of policies that protect, advance and enhance the rights of diverse and underrepresented populations.

8. Preparing implementation timeline, reviews, and reports of the Plan; and

9. Taking responsibility for implementation of the Plan.

Committee Mission Statement

The purpose of the CRSJ Council Committee on Membership, Diversity, and Inclusion is to promote, facilitate, and retain a diverse membership, and to eliminate bias, in the Section generally, and in its committees, leadership, programs, and publications. The Council Committee oversees the Section’s quantifiable membership and recruitment goals, identifies and implements opportunities to increase and support membership from diverse populations, and recruits and retains women lawyers, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers, lawyers with disabilities, lawyers of different religions, young lawyers, and law students for active involvement in the Section.

The Council Committee will develop strategies to attract new and diverse members, to provide benefits and services to existing Section members, and to ensure that all members are respected and treated as full participants in Section activities. One goal of recruitment and retention should be to engage diverse members in the work of the Section’s substantive committees and develop committee members into leaders. Another goal is to ensure that the Section and the ABA develop programming addressing civil rights and social justice issues from a diverse range of perspectives and backgrounds. Ultimately, we aspire to make CRSJ, the ABA and the legal profession more diverse, equitable, and inclusive.

CRSJ Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging Action Plan

CRSJ’s mission is to foster the success of a diverse community of civil rights and social justice lawyers, advisors, law students, and decision-makers and provide a premier forum for the exchange of ideas and information. CRSJ’s full Diversity, Equity & Inclusion formal action plan.