Posted by on Friday, May 13, 2011
5.12.11 Dean Kevin R. Johnson of the University of California, Davis asks, “In these times, can a truly excellent law school have a homogenous student body and faculty? Can we truly – and do we want to – imagine a top twenty-five law school comprised of predominantly white men?” in his forthcoming The Importance of Student and Faculty Diversity at Law Schools: One Dean’s Perspective. The article will appear in the School of Law Iowa Law Review. Read more about the article over at the Immigration Prof Blog.
5.10.11 The Toronto Star reports, “Forty general counsel for some of Canada’s biggest firms [met] Wednesday to sign a pledge to promote diversity within their own departments, to consider diversity in their hiring practices and encourage Canadian law firms to follow their example.” The companies hope to highlight the importance of diversity and encourage their peer law firms to follow suit. Read more about this effort here.
5.2.11 The Alliance for Board Diversity found that “Six years after the first ABD Census, this report shows that white men still overwhelmingly dominate corporate boards with few overall gains for minorities and a significant loss of seats for African-American men. In the Fortune 100, between 2004 and 2010, white men increased their presence, adding 32 corporate board seats, while African-American men lost 42, and women—particularly minority women—did not see an appreciable increase in their share of board seats.” Read the report and press coverage of the issue in The Atlantic and The Huffington Post.
4.27.11 Finally, Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court Tani Gorre Cantil-Sakauye sat for a televised interview last month. Cantil-Sakauye is the first Asian American and only the second woman to serve as the Chief Justice in California. She spoke about the importance of diversity on the bench saying, “The bench needs to reflect the population of California so that Californians can continue to trust and understand that people in the position of power in the terms of the law, are just like them. We understand the issues because we have similar experiences, backgrounds, cultures and heritage.” Read the transcript and watch the video here.
