The Association of the Bar of the City of New York

Maintaining High Standards

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York (ABCNY) serves not only as a professional association concerned with maintaining high standards in the legal profession, but also as a leader and legal advocate on local, state, national, and international issues.

Founded in 1870, ABCNY has several diversity-related committees in place to ensure the hiring, retention, and promotion of minority lawyers.

Association President, Evan Davis, who is also a partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, shares his perspective on diversity challenges that the association has faced and measures that have been implemented to address them, stating that previously, "Many minority lawyers viewed the association as 'stuffy and old fashioned,' hence, not very welcoming." But by promoting inclusiveness, by bringing minorities in as members of our top governing committees, the association's commitment to diversity is evident."

Citing several crucial committees led by minorities, he asserts "that by posting minorities in top positions, the organization is addressing the issue of diversity as well as affording them access to core issues of the profession."

Darrell Gay, a partner at the law firm Gay & Hardaway, chairs the Minorities in the Profession Committee of ABCNY. In his opinion, the association is taking defined steps to encourage and inspire law firms and corporations to put their expressions of intent into action.

"Many law firms and corporations have failed to see the correlation between economic value and diversity, failing to put plans into action, such as the promotion and retention of minorities and ultimately, in the case of law firms, conversion to partnership," Gay says. "Corporate America needs to acknowledge the necessity of diversity if they are to be representative of America's changing face."

Another key committee is the Committee to Enhance Diversity in the Profession, chaired by Joseph T. McLaughlin, executive vice president of legal and regulatory affairs at Credit Suisse First Boston. According to McLaughlin, the Committee's first concern in attempting to overcome obstacles is recognition of the varying rates of growth within each minority group for achieving diversity goals.

"Each group has different needs and we must establish objectives and actions to be adjusted for each of them," says McLaughlin. "This requires studying obstacles in the various groups to get the facts, as well as planning coordinated action among employers."

The committee has already begun to implement measures that would involve participation of prospective employers. They recently cosponsored with the Minorities in the Profession Committee a successful one-day diversity workshop, where representatives from law firms, corporations, and public institutions gathered to discuss ways to overcome obstacles and increase minority interest in the profession.

While much work remains to be done to bring real inclusiveness to the profession, Davis believes that, "ABCNY will continue to be an example of inclusion and the strongest possible advocate for the importance of diversity in the New York Bar."

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From the September 2001 issue of Diversity & The Bar^®