CBA Record March-April 2023

PRESIDENT’S PAGE BY TIMOTHY S. TOMASIK Promoting Diversity in the Legal Profession with Illinois LAW Pathways

The Chicago Bar Association www.chicagobar.org President Timothy S. Tomasik First Vice President Ray J. Koenig III Second Vice President John C. Sciaccotta OFFICERS

graphic about the entering law school class of 2022 reports that this class is the most diverse in history. Using data collected by the ABA, the Law School Admission Council says that in the entering class of 2022, 36.6% of the class identifies as racial/ethnic minorities. However, these demographics are unlikely to continue to improve without sustained action that is substantial, strategic, and intentional. Anticipating this, the CBA is acting by partnering with the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (IILP). The CBA has always been proud to support the important mission of the IILP, whose core philosophy is clear: the legal profession must be diverse and inclusive. IILP believes that “Diversity and inclusion is first and foremost a matter of social justice. The demo graphics of our society are changing. Our system of justice, which repre sents one of society’s most fundamen tal values, requires a legal profession that is contemporary in composition and has an outlook that is in sync with the society it serves. It is intolerable for the legal profession to lag behind other professions in diversity and inclusion. Market intervention is necessary for real change.” Sandra Yamate, the CEO of IILP, is a trailblazer who has dedicated her career to creating a more diverse and inclusive legal profession through research and creative programing. Yamate tirelessly conducts research and interacts with legal professionals around the country and internation ally to improve diversity and inclu

Secretary Kathryn Carso Liss

Treasurer Nina Fain

Immediate Past President E. Lynn Grayson

T he legal profession remains one of the least racially diverse professions in the United States, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics and U.S. Census. Diversity in the law currently sits at a meager 16.5%, a startling number when compared to actual population demographics: • African Americans make up 13-14% of the U.S. population, yet only make up 5.5% of lawyers. • Hispanics make up 18.5% of the U.S. population, but only 6.1% of lawyers. • Asian Americans make up 5.9% of the U.S. population, but only 4.9% of lawyers. • Native Americans make up 1.3% of the U.S. population, but only less than .2% of lawyers. These statistics are sobering. This lack of diversity is particularly disturbing given the important roles that lawyers play in our community, not only as practitioners, but as government and public officials, legislators, civic and community leaders, and teachers. But there is cause for cautious opti mism. The most recently released demo

Executive Director Beth McMeen

BOARD OF MANAGERS Michael Alkaraki Louis G. Apostol Octavio Duran

Naderh Elrabadi Anthony F. Fata Robert W. Fioretti

Cynthia S. Grandfield Malcolm “Skip” Harsch Risa R. Lanier Patricia L. McCarthy Judge James M. McGing Jeffrey Moskowitz Judge Mary Rowland Eirene N. Salvi Kevin Thompson Judge Allen P. Walker Matthew P. Walsh II Sandra S. Yamate

6 March/April 2023