Tevela Barnes
Lawyers for One America (LFOA) was formed in 1999 in response to President Bill Clinton’s Call to Action to the legal profession to increase pro bono services and diversity within the profession. Modeled after John F. Kennedy’s 1963 Call to Action to promote racial justice and change in civil rights in the south, LFOA was formed by Executive Director Teveia Barnes, a 20-year veteran of the profession.
Under Barnes’ leadership, LFOA’s collaboration of leaders from different legal organizations has spent the past two years researching and implementing measures aimed at enhancing diversity and ensuring legal services for communities of color.
LFOA’s first year was dedicated to research on the status of diversity in the profession. Charged with reporting its findings to Eric Holder, then deputy attorney general of the United States, LFOA issued at its completion, the Bar None Report to the President of the United States on the Status of People of Color and Pro Bono Services in the Legal Profession.
The report included a list of 28 recommendations to the legal profession, the first being the development of The National Institute for Diversity in Law. With a grant from the Open Society Institute to move forward with strategic planning, LFOA, the American Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, National Asian-Pacific American Bar Association, and the National Bar Association supported by an expansive collaboration of law-related organizations, including the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, founded the institute.
The institute’s goal is simple—to increase the numbers and meaningful participation of racial and ethnic minorities at all levels and within all sectors of the legal profession. By positioning itself as a freestanding entity to address the lack of diversity in the profession through programmatic response to the key issues of diversity in the law, the organization stands to play a major role in advocating and promoting diversity throughout the ranks of the profession. Programs are currently being developed to address the specific needs of minority lawyers and underserved communities, with a concentrated effort on identifying and preparing minority students for professions in law.
While the problems of under-representation by and of minorities in the legal profession will be not be an easy challenge to overcome, the institute has garnered support from all ranks of the profession, including deans of several law schools. As testimony of their dedication to supporting the goals of the institute, all have signed a formal Letter of Support for the National Institute for Diversity in Law.
The next steps include hiring an executive director, conducting research on areas of need for skills development, continued program development and implementation of fundraising efforts to help achieve these goals. As Barnes sees it, “the institute is another outstanding example of lawyers working together for the good of the profession.”
From the September 2001 issue of Diversity & The Bar®