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Florida Law
Seeding Diversity in Law School Applicants
Bilzin Sumberg aims to spark an interest among minority students in pursuing a law career in south Florida.
Last fall, Bilzin Sumberg hosted 50 high school students for a day of law classes, mock trials, pizza and the promise of future mentoring |
Three years ago, Marshall R. Pasternack looked around a conference table at Miami’s Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod and conceded that the law firm had a long way to go before the diversity of its workforce matched south Florida’s diversity. Figuring it was time to get serious about attracting a broader range of attorneys, the firm launched a series of initiatives. For one, it began inviting minority law students to networking sessions, where guest speakers have included U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and Ghislain Gouraige, senior vice president of investments at UBS Financial Services. The sessions are open to Miami-area students, including those who attend law schools out of state and might not even be interested in working at Bilzin Sumberg.
“It’s really designed to encourage these students to look at south Florida very seriously as their career choice when they graduate,” says Pasternack, the firm’s hiring partner and chairman of its culture and diversity committees. “Obviously, we’d love to have the
best and the brightest —?that’s how
you build an excellent law firm — but we also recognize that we can’t get every quality student who’s there.
We recognize that the diversity issue is not limited to our firm, and so to the extent we can help the local law community improve its diversity, that’s something we’re interested in doing.”
“It’s really designed to encourage these students to look at south Florida very seriously as their career choice when they graduate.” — Marshall R. Pasternack Bilzin Sumberg Baena Price & Axelrod |
Last fall, the firm hosted 50 of the students for a day of law classes,
mock trials, pizza and the promise
of future mentoring. The experience left Michael Zammer, a 16-year-old junior, a little more open to the idea
of a career in law, although he admits that spending three or more years in law school sounds daunting. Julio Garcia, who teaches law classes at Coral Gables, says the experience
was an “eye opener” for many of
the students who got the chance
to speak directly to attorneys, paralegals and other staff and ask
them specific questions about their jobs. “It was good for them to get that
realistic point of view,” Garcia says. “I can tell them, but they don’t
always believe me.”
Pasternack’s hope is that the program will eventually increase diversity at his and other Florida firms, although he says it will take years to tell. “You never know what conversation, what comment you might make to a young person, that might create a spark,” he says. “All it takes is one of those sparks to come out of a day like that to set someone on a career path — and you’ve had a successful day. I’m hopeful that some of those students in that room will do something different with their lives or aspire to do something greater than they might have done before they came and saw us.”
Priorities
Last year, the Florida Bar asked a random sample of its 87,000 members to list the legal issues they want the Bar to focus on during the next few years. Participants were allowed to list up to three issues. Diversity finished last. |
|
Category | Percent |
Improve public perception | 52% |
Increase professionalism efforts | 37 |
Be more responsive to the small firm/sole practitioner | 35 |
Tougher standards on lawyer advertising | 30 |
Legal access for those who cannot afford an attorney | 26 |
Be more aggressive with unauthorized practice of law enforcement | 20 |
Stronger discipline for theft of client funds | 17 |
Explore ways to increase diversity within the legal profession | 8 |
Other | 15* |
* The most frequently mentioned issues under the “other”
category included “ensuring the quality of the judiciary,” “avoiding political issues” and “increasing the use of technology.” Source: Florida Bar’s 2009 Membership Opinion Survey |
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In a 2008 survey, another random sample was asked to indicate which of the following programs or plans their firm or legal office had in place. Again, diversity finished last: | |
Category | Percent |
Hurricane/disaster preparedness plan | 49% |
Pro bono service policy | 22 |
Technology committee | 17 |
Strategic planning committee | 16 |
Diversity sensitivity training program for associates and staff | 8 |
Active program to recruit and retain minority associates | 4 |
Source: Florida Bar’s 2008 Economics and Law Office Management Survey |