Diversity in the American Law Firm: A Review of Black Americans in the Legal Profession Marissa Pecorella HON 450
Capstone Overview History of Diversity in Law
Introduction to Diversity in Law
Antithesis: Affirmative Action
• Black Americans Practicing Law • Women Practicing Law • Black Women Practicing Law
Psychological Implication of Diversity
Conclusion
Benefits of Diversity on Clientele
•Impact of Primary & Secondary School Teachers on Youth Joining Legal Profession •Tips for Incorporating Diversity into Law Field
Recent Movements for Diversity in Law •Recent Movements for Black Americans •Recent Movements for Black Women
Benefits of Diversity on Law School & Firms
How Diversity in Law Impacts my Future
Introduction to Diversity in the Legal System My Capstone outlines the lack of diversity in law in the U.S., while reviewing the history and current movements of black Americans in the American legal profession to provide a relevant example of that lack. Thesis: The lack of diversity in the American legal system can be reflected through the treatment and historical exclusion of black Americans in the legal profession. Due to this lack of diversity, the American legal system is not representative of the American population and cannot properly function or serve the American people.
My paper addresses the concern for the lack of diversity in the American legal system, how that lack came to be, and what can be done to improve diversity in law.
Diversity in law is so important because it can completely impact the American legal system and society overall.
Fig. 1 Black Male Lawyer (“African American Businessman”, n.d.)
History of Black Men Practicing Law
Fig. 2 Male Privilege (“Male Privilege”, n.d.)
Fig. 3 Black Female Lawyer (“Black Business Woman”, n.d.)
History of Women Practicing Law
History of Black Women Practicing Law
History of Diversity in Practicing Law
History of Black Men Practicing Law: Racist American policies & laws
Due to racist policies and laws, such as Jim Crow laws, blacks in the U.S. faced extreme difficultly entering and advancing in the legal profession.
John Mercer Langston
The first black man to apply to law school in the U.S. in 1850 (Smith, 1993)
George Lewis Ruffin
The first black man to attend law school, enrolling at Harvard Law School in 1868 (Smith, 1993)
Macon Bolling Allen
Became the first black lawyer in the U.S., after apprenticing under an abolitionist attorney and passing the Maine bar exam in 1844 (Smith, 1993)
John Mercer Langston ▪First black man to apply to law school in 1850 (Smith, 1993)
▪He was only granted admission due to his lighter skin tone (Smith, 1993) ▪ Was not allowed to attend law school unless he pretended to be a Frenchman & did not sit near or speak to any classmates or professors (Smith, 1993)
▪Out of respect for himself, he declined admission into the law school (Smith, 1993)
Fig. 4 John Mercer Langston (“Prof. John Langston”, 1868)
George Lewis Ruffin
▪ In 1868, George Lewis Ruffin became the first black man to attend law school, after enrolling in Harvard’s law school (Smith, 1993)
▪ Before black men could attend law school, they could obtain legal education through apprenticeship (Smith, 1993)
Fig. 5 George Lewis Ruffin (“George Lewis Ruffin”, n.d.)
Macon Bolling Allen ▪ Apprenticed under abolitionist attorney, General Samuel Fessenden (Smith, 1993)
▪ Passed the state of Maine bar exam in 1844 and became the first black lawyer in the U.S. (Smith, 1993)
▪ Was not able to find work as a practicing lawyer until after the Civil War due to racial discrimination (Smith, 1993)
Fig. 6 Macon Bolling Allen (“The Liberator”, 1845)
Fig. 7 Arabella Mansfield (“Arabella Mansfield”, n.d.)
History of Women Practicing Law
Fig. 8 Ada Kepley (“Ada Kepley”, n.d.)
The struggles overcome and achievements made by women overall in the legal profession can help to better emphasize the battles black women had to face in the pursuit of entering the legal profession.
▪ 1869- Arabella Mansfield becomes first woman to be admitted the American bar (Buchanan, 2015)
▪ 1869- Ada H. Kepley becomes the first woman to ever graduate from law school (Buchanan, 2015)
▪ Harvard Law School’s Ladies Day (“Black women increasing”, 2007) ▪ Wage gap between male and female lawyers ▪ The 1970s increase in female law students
▪ 1872- Charlotte E. Ray becomes the first black female lawyer in the U.S. (“Key events”, n.d.)
History of Black Women Practicin g Law
▪ 1869- Mary Ann Shadd Carey is the first black woman to attend law school (“Key events”, n.d.)
▪ 1939- Jane Matilda Bolin becomes the first black female judge in the U.S., serving the New York Family Court bench (Farmer, 2020)
▪ Angela Davis and her fight against the U.S. criminal justice system (Aptheker, 1997)
Recent Movements for Diversity in Law:
RECENT MOVEMENTS FOR BLACK AMERICANS PRACTICING LAW
RECENT MOVEMENTS FOR BLACK WOMEN PRACTICING LAW
Recent Movement for Black Americans Practicing Law Black students now account for slightly over 8% of all law students (“2018 law school�, 2018)
Black lawyers make only 3% of all lawyers in the United States, the lowest percentage out of all lawyers of color (Weiss, 2017)
Only 28% of black lawyers become partners at law firms (Weiss, 2017) These shockingly low numbers of black lawyers and representation reflects the still relevant issue of racial discrepancies in the legal system overall.
Recent Movements for Black Women Practicing Law Of all black American law students, 60% are women (“Black women increasing”, 2007) • 4.5% of all law students are black women (“The education”, 2017)
A little over 1% of current lawyers in the U.S. are black women (“2019 report on diversity”, 2019) • 0.64% of all partnered lawyers are black women (“The education”, 2017)
Although these numbers overall remain low, they continue to grow every year
Antithesis:
Affirmative Action
Affirmative action - the practice of accepting, hiring, and favoring people based on them belonging to a marginalized group Some argue that due to affirmative action policies being in place, no more needs to be done to better diversity in the legal system. White law students sued their schools for “reverse discrimination� from using affirmative action in admissions (Wells, 2000) While affirmative action is a useful tool to enhance diversity in schools and the legal profession, it is not a cure-all.
Psychological Implication of Diversity in Law The National Alliance on Mental Illness found that the incorporation of diversity into the workforce & gaining of knowledge on cultural diversity can improve the mental health of not only employees, but also clients (National Alliance on Mental Illness, 2017)
Benefits on Law School “Diversity of age, geographic region, socioeconomic status, and nationality also add a richer experience in the law school classroom for all students” (Law School Admission Council, n.d.)
Benefits of Diversity on Law School & Firms
Benefits on Law Firms With diverse individuals working in the legal system, different perspectives can be added the the work place Diversity in the workplace can benefit the expansion of businesses internationally (CooteMartin, 2014) How to fail at properly incorporating diversity into law firms: Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen, and Hamilton Law Firm (“Retaining young black lawyers”, 2001)
Benefits of Diversity on Clientele Increasing diversity amongst lawyers allows for greater accessibility to legal counsel for a diverse population of people (Law School Admission Council, n.d.)
By reflecting the diverse American population in the legal system, lawyers can better understand their clients
The Intel Rule (Rodgers, 2019) and Microsoft (Stahlkopf, 2019)
The overall argument of this paper is to emphasize the lack of diversity in the American legal system
Diversity in the legal system has a positive impact not only on lawyers, but the overall community
Conclusion
The impact of teachers encouraging youth to become lawyers (Smith, 1983)
Tips for incorporating diversity into law firms (American Bar Association, n.d.) Much more future research must be conducted on diversity in law
Undergraduate Major: Psychology
How Diversity in Law is Relevant to my Major & Future
After graduating from Medaille, I am planning on attending law school to hopefully become a criminal defense attorney
Diversity in law could effect all aspects of my legal education and career
References