CBA Record July-August 2018

MAY 8 MEMBER APPRECIATIONWEEK PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS THE IMPACT OF DIVERSITY ON THE PROFESSION Real Talk: Important Voices, Important Stories

By Cliff Gately Editorial Board Member A CBA program on May 8 fea- tured five attorneys from differ- ent backgrounds who spoke with similar voices regarding the importance of diversity in the legal profession. Each of the speakers defied obstacles to become a lawyer, and each offered lessons of resil- ience, persistence, tolerance and inclusion. The speakers–Shymane Robinson, Daissy Dominguez, Lara Wagner, Daniel Hernan- dez and Tina Tran–have all been part of the CBF’s Justice Entrepreneurs Project (JEP)– an incubator for lawyers to start innovative, socially conscious law practices. Robinson was first to take the podium. She recounted her inauspicious introduc- tion to the legal system when, at age 10, her parents brought her to the murder trial of her 17-year-old cousin. Although too young to fully understand everything, and in spite of the graphic evidence that might have traumatized another child, from that time forward, Robinson wanted to be a lawyer. She talked about how life experi- ences make people unique and enable them to provide different perspectives. She asked the crowd to promise “that you will be open to individuals who are different from you and whose backgrounds are dif- ferent from yours.” She emphasized that just having diverse people “present” is not enough. “Diversity without inclusion lacks both purpose and impact,” Robinson said. “Inclusion is more important than ever,” she continued, “because there is no other time when we’ve had so much openness in our society in regard to race, ideas, sexual- ity and perspectives.” Dominguez also wanted to be a lawyer at a very young age, and she talked about some of the obstacles she faced. In high school, she was at the top of her class. During her junior year, she asked her AP

Panel participants includedCBF Justice Entrepreneurs ProjectmembersTinaTran, Daniel Hernandez, Lara Wagner, Daissy Dominguez, and Shymane Robinson. They provided insightful analysis and sharedpowerful stories about their journey tobecome innovative, socially conscious lawyers.

Political Science teacher for a college rec- ommendation letter. He declined, saying “I’m not wasting my time because you are never going to get into U of I.” Dominguez ultimately graduated from the University of Illinois and went on to John Marshall Law School. From that high school experi- ence, she learned never to “let anyone dic- tate to me or put me down.” After her first semester of law school, she realized that the retention rate for Latinos was a significant issue. She got involved in the Latino Law Student Association where she created an academic retention program to help her colleagues. The program she pioneered has now been running since 2011 and has had a dramatic effect on Latino retention rates. “We can’t increase diversity in the legal profession without diverse students graduating,” Dominguez said. Wagner talked about how women are

often “marginalized” in the legal profes- sion. “Despite the accomplishments of women, our colleagues sometimes assume we know less, lack experience and lack expertise.” She pointed to corroborating studies, such as a report that shows that female Supreme Court justices are inter- rupted more often than male justices by advocates and the other justices. She emphasized the need to be more cognizant of our behavior. “Think about what you say and what you do,” she said. “You might find that you actually do some of these things.” She stressed the importance of inclusion and soliciting others’ opinions. “All of us need to listen more to those around us,” she said. Hernandez’ parents came to America to escape communist Cuba. His dad, who drove a delivery truck, was his hero. Growing up, Hernandez didn’t want to be

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