Promoting diversity in our Bar Association is not just a top priority - it is key element of our leadership culture and has become one of the core values of our organization.
Our Equal Professional Opportunity Committee (EPOC) is the only one of twenty-two committees that meets monthly, has its own budget, and is chaired by a former DCBA President. The Committee conducts an annual Minority Job Fair, facilitates lateral hiring, and has periodically scheduled diversity training for our members (including a Bench/Bar Conference on the topic). The Committee also presents the Hon. Clarence C. Morrison Award for promoting diversity to a deserving recipient each year at our Annual Membership Meeting. (See attached copy of the EPOC Mission Statement.)
On March 24, 2004, the EPOC was instrumental in creating the Capital Area Managing Partners (CAMP) Diversity Initiative, an organization dedicated to the goal of significantly increasing the number of minority lawyers who practice in the capital region (See attached copy of the CAMP Charter). Five additional participants have now joined the original 15 law firms, who are supported by our two local law schools and bar associations in their minority recruiting, hiring and mentoring efforts.
Particularly noteworthy is the CAMP 1L (First-Year Law Student) Summer Intern Program, which has grown from eight funded ($4,500 each) six-week slots in 2006 to fifteen funded ($6,000 each) eight-week slots in 2007. We hope to increase the number of internships to twenty in 2008, and have commitments from York and Lancaster Counties to help us reach that goal.
The DCBA currently has a higher percentage of female attorneys (50%) and lawyers of color (25%) appointed as voting Delegates to the Pennsylvania Bar Association House of Delegates than any other county in the Commonwealth. In the decade from 1996 to 2005, half of our Presidents have been female and one was an African-American male. Our Board of Directors consistently reflects minority participation far beyond the percentage reflected in our membership. In short, if you are a female attorney, or a lawyer of color, membership in the DCBA amplifies your voice and increases your visibility in the local legal community.
We partner with the Keystone Bar Association (formerly known as the Harrisburg Black Attorneys Association) in hosting an annual Joint Dinner Meeting and an annual Black History Month CLE Series. We also provide the KBA with administrative support (mailings, listserves, flyers, etc.) to assist with the accomplishment of their mission.
Our ambitious pro bono program is also a useful tool in promoting diversity, and helps us demonstrate to the minority community that we are a relevant and valuable resource to them. Despite our best efforts, we cannot realistically hope to reflect the racial composition of our local communities in our bar association membership in the near or foreseeable future (the law schools are simply not producing enough minority graduates to match the rate of demographic change in society). However, we CAN reflect responsiveness to community needs and a genuine commitment of service to all our citizens.
Diversity is a much larger issue for the legal profession than merely bar association membership. The market for legal services is increasingly seeking an inclusive mix of perspectives to develop creative solutions for the complex challenges emerging in the global economy of the twenty-first century. We embrace this challenge, and recognize that the future of our Association depends upon a sustained commitment to improving and growing our list of diversity initiatives.
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