New ABA book uses history to show lawyers the power of diversity and inclusion

CHICAGO, Dec. 4, 2018 — Just published by the American Bar Association, “Fix It: How History, Sports, and Education Can Inform Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity Today” addresses the legal profession’s struggle to achieve a more diverse bar. Author, attorney and diversity and inclusion leader Kenneth Imo brings issues of unfairness, tradition and bias into focus while offering improvements that will benefit lawyers, the bar and future attorneys.

“Fix It” gives law firms the perspective and strategies to overcome the barriers to equal opportunity, progressing from altruism to action. Placing diversity in the context of great leaders like Harriet Tubman (the famed Underground Railroad conductor and little-known Union military strategist) and Branch Rickey (the architect behind integrating baseball), Imo shows how inclusion benefits both the people harnessing new opportunities and the organizations reaching innovative solutions.

By identifying the problems in the education pipeline and proposing changes that will reorganize the hiring, evaluation and promotion of lawyers, this volume highlights the importance of diversity and the positive impact of true inclusivity. “Fix It” reflects on the negative consequences of homogeneity in history and today’s current culture while offering hope for a brighter future by embracing the power of difference.

Prior to joining Capital One’s diversity and inclusion leadership team, Imo led diversity efforts for two international law firms during his 10-plus years in private practice. He began his legal career in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General Corps as a captain and received his law degree from Wake Forest University School of Law.

Author interviews and review copies of this book are available by emailing Caroline Whiting at Caroline.Whiting@americanbar.org. If you publish a review of this book, please send tear sheets or a copy for our files to Caroline Whiting, ABA Book Publishing, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60654

With more than 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement online. Follow the latest ABA news at www.americanbar.org/news and on Twitter @ABANews.