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July 02, 2024

ABA DEI Program Highlights

Larissa Mañón Mervin and Anne Gwal, Authors | Edited by The Innovator Subcommittee

Program Highlights Across the Sections, Divisions and Forums of the ABA

The Innovator contributors are committed to highlighting the work of our Sections, Divisions and Forums across the ABA. We have chosen the Business Law Section, Young Lawyers Division and the Family Law Section for this issue. Read on to see the important work being done across the ABA.

ABA Business Law Section

ABA Business Law Section

I. ABA Business Law Section

Business Law Section Mission Statement

The mission of the Business Law Section is to serve its members, the profession, and the public by providing educational resources to its members, assisting members in serving their clients ethically and competently, and furthering the development and improvement of business law.

To accomplish its mission, the Section will 1) provide services which its members value, 2) enhance professional collegiality, 3) encourage diversity, equity and inclusion in the Section by fostering a welcoming environment and promoting full and equal participation by all lawyers, 4) address needs of younger lawyers and law students, and 5) operate in a fiscally responsible manner.

Diversity Board, Diversity Officer and DEI Plan

In 2021, the Section amended its bylaws to create new governance boards of which one is the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Board (DEI Board) and to create a non-ladder officer position of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer (DEI Officer).

The DEI Officer (a) leads efforts to achieve the Section’s DEI goals and strategies; (b) serves as Chair of DEI Board; and (c) oversees DEI related Boards and Committees. The mission of the DEI Board is to assist Section leadership in providing strategic direction to promote DEI within the Section. The DEI Board is responsible for developing new Section initiatives to enhance DEI, establishing and monitoring DEI membership goals within the Section, providing resources to committee leaders to support their DEI efforts, and raising awareness and addressing current issues pertaining to DEI within the Section and the practice of law. The Business Law Section enthusiastically embraces and encourages diversity, equity and inclusion in Section membership. A diverse and inclusive membership makes the Section stronger and its work more relevant to the multicultural society in which we live. Bringing together diverse skills and perspectives to discuss any issue will result in deeper understanding and better resolution of the issue. A fully inclusive membership considers all viewpoints and backgrounds without bias, producing well-rounded and relevant work.

This DEI Plan is intended to be a roadmap to a fully inclusive Section membership which is reached when a diverse set of viewpoints and backgrounds are represented in the Section at all levels. The Section encourages each of its Committees to appoint a DEI Director who would monitor the Committee’s DEI objectives and report back to the DEI Board. In involving diverse viewpoints, the plan includes the widest range of business law practitioners including but not limited to young lawyers, law students, senior lawyers, international lawyers, lawyers of diverse or underrepresented ethnic and racial backgrounds, lawyers with disabilities, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and other LGBTQ2+ lawyers and women lawyers.

Business Law Fellows Program

For over 20 years, the Business Law Section Fellows program encourages the participation of young lawyers, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with disabilities in its Section activities by subsidizing attendance at its meetings. The program provides a springboard to substantive leadership opportunities and develops future leaders of the Section through mentorship and engagement.

Since the program’s inception, 228 Fellows have participated in the Fellows program and to date, 65% of former Fellows are actively involved in the Section. More importantly, 31% of former Fellows currently hold leadership positions within the Section and 10% of Section Committee Chairs are Fellow alumni.

Leadership Academy

The Leadership Academy aims to provide Section members with skills to assume leadership roles in the ABA, charitable and community organizations and their places of employment through this curriculum of advancing CLE and non-CLE programs. The Leadership Academy will offer an advancing curriculum of CLE and non-CLE programs aimed to develop leadership skills of lawyers with an emphasis on diverse candidates. The programs will be held over the course of a two-year period at five in-person meetings and two ancillary webinar presentations.

ABA Young Lawyers Division

ABA Young Lawyers Division

II. ABA Young Lawyers Division

Young Lawyers Division Mission Statement

The mission of the ABA Young Lawyers Division is to “serve as the home of the young lawyer, the Division champions professional development, leadership, policy advancement, and service to the profession with a dedication to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all its efforts.” The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiative’s mission is “to increase the diversity of our membership, expanding the diversity of our leadership and to assuring that the legal profession reflects the society it serves. This commitment is outlined in the Division’s Diversity Plan and carried out via Division events, programs and resources.”

Diversity within the Division

The Young Lawyers Division is a premier ABA destination for ABA DEI efforts. Having been recognized for many of its programs and initiatives within the DEI space, the YLD continues to find ways to innovatively encourage bar participation among a diverse group of legal professionals. Some of these programs include the nationally recognized, “What Do Lawyers Do?” program, the Men and Women of Color projects, the award-winning Leadership Academy, and the EMBRACING Diversity Challenge. Additionally, the YLD boasts over 200+ leadership positions, many of them dedicated to the creation and implementation of DEI initiatives.

Leadership Academy

One of the main ways the YLD has encouraged diversity, equity, and inclusion, is through its Leadership Academy. The 2-year program is a pipeline program which provides leadership opportunities for traditionally underrepresented attorneys. Many former participants have gone on to serve the ABA in a variety of leadership positions, bringing a wealth of experience and different perspectives to the jobs. The program includes leadership training, funding to travel to conferences and meetings, appointments to YLD boards and committees, opportunities to publish and speak, mentoring, and more.

ABA Family Law Section

ABA Family Law Section

III.  ABA Family Law Section

Diversity Committee

One of the many ways the Family Law Section promotes diversity, equity, and inclusion, is through its Diversity Committee. The mission statement reads: “The Diversity Committee of the Family Law Section of the American Bar Association strives to promote diversity within its membership and our practice. We recognize, and embrace, that the members of our legal community as well as our clientele, have evolved into a rich mosaic of people from diverse cultures, beliefs and backgrounds. As an organization, and as lawyers, we need to better understand the broader issues of diversity, as well as the cultural norms and the cultural differences of our society as a whole and how these issues impact the practice of Family Law and the families that we serve. Thus, the Diversity Committee will address issues that encompass many different segments of our society, including but not limited to issues of racial/ethnic diversity, gender diversity, age, sexual orientation, disabilities and religious/cultural beliefs. We hope that the Section will incorporate the benefits of strengthening diversity in all of its programming. We will plan to proactively work with the CLE committee, the Member Benefit Development Committee and the Editorial/Publications committees to incorporate these concepts into our Section's programming. We will also proactively invite Section members and members of the bar from diverse and minority backgrounds to join the Section and the Committee.”

The Diversity Committee works on a variety of programming throughout the year to promote diversity, including brown bag style webinars and CLE. Its members also publish articles on important DEI topics affecting the family law community and update the Section’s Diversity Plan as needed. Finally, the Committee is the home for the Fellowship Program.

Fellowship Program

The Family Law Section encourages diversity through its Fellowship program. The goals of the 2-year program are to increase diversity within the Section by recruiting diverse family law practitioners (a practice area historically known to lack ethnic and racial diversity), to develop diverse family law leaders, and to increase access to justice among underserved clients. The program does this by providing leadership opportunities for diverse family law attorneys, including those who work with diverse populations and in legal services settings. It also pays for the Fellows to attend all the required Section meetings and conferences. Doing so allows for talented family law providers to professionally develop, make connections, and continue doing their work by providing opportunities they would not otherwise have or be able to afford. It also gives them the opportunity to network with similarly situated family law attorneys.

Larissa Mañón Mervin

Regional Managing Attorney

Larissa Mañón Mervin is the Regional Managing Attorney of Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Charlotte Metro region, where she oversees the Charlotte, Concord, and Gastonia offices, and manages the Charlotte office’s operations, personnel, and case work in a variety of practice areas, including landlord-tenant, domestic violence, family, and consumer law.

Anne Gwal

2024 Summer Edition Editor; ABA Business Law Section, Business Fellows Co-Chair; Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Commissioner

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