REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
A new ruling from the Florida State Supreme Court could impact lawyer training and education, especially for attorneys from underrepresented communities.
In April 2021, the Florida Supreme Court blocked the Floridaâs State Bar Associationâs Business Law Sectionâs CLE Diversity Policy, which was implemented to ensure that lawyers from underrepresented communities had fair access to faculty slots got continuing legal education (CLE).
The rule adopted by the Florida Barâs Business Law section reflects the American Bar Associations (ABA) policy that went into effect in March 2017, which promotes diversity by ensuring that individual CLE programs include representation from one or more âdiverseâ groups, defined as ârace, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and disability.â Both policies were implemented to eliminate bias, increase diversity, and implement tactics aimed at recruiting and retaining diverse
Title: Chief diversity and inclusion officer, Stinson
Education: B.A., political science and women’s studies, University of Albany at SUNY; J.D., Western New England School of Law; LL.M., tax, Georgetown University Law Center
Ann Jenrette-Thomas tries to make individuals aware of unconscious biases while also seeking systemic change as chief diversity and inclusion officer at Stinson.
One aim is for individuals to be more conscious and thoughtful in how they assign work or give feedback to avoid negatively affecting the success of underrepresented groups, Jenrette-Thomas said.
Beyond that, improving policies, practices and norms is important because, according to research, people more likely resort to unconscious biases when stressed, tired or facing deadlines “and our profession is riddled with all of those pressures,” Jenrette-Thomas said. Stinson, for example, now monitors distribution of “career-enhancing assignments” to expand opportunities and counter unconsciou