CBA Record March-April 2023

sion in the Illinois legal community. Her work recently introduced her to Pamela C. Enslen, Executive Director of California LAW Pathways, a state- and privately- funded organization established through the assistance of Cal ifornia’s legal organizations. California LAW Pathways has been able to provide a clear educational pipeline for diverse students from high schools, community colleges, and four-year institutions into law school and law-related careers. It is through this outstanding model that the CBA aims to increase diversity in the Illi nois legal profession. The CBA is proud to partner with IILP in developing a statewide program akin to that in California that will aim to estab lish a pipeline of diverse students into law or law-related careers, to ensure that the legal profession reflects the diverse popu lation of Illinois and the United States. Our program is called “Illinois LAW Pathways.” Our mission is simple: A com prehensive pipeline program to foster and support, from ninth grade through either admission to the bar or full-time employ ment in a law-related career, the entry and full participation of individuals who are racial/ethnic minorities, identify as LGBTQ+, or have disabilities that subject them to bias about their ability to practice law in the legal profession and law-related career. The CBA is proud to lead the develop ment of Illinois LAW Pathways and will serve as its fiscal agent. The program will initially emphasize geographic areas that have the greatest demographic concentra tions of the target student audience; even tually, it will operate throughout Illinois. It will consist of many participating high schools, community colleges, four-year institutions, and law schools, with poten

tial later expansion into earlier levels of education. Of course, the program will affiliate with other bar associations and bar foundations across the state to develop support and membership. During the school year, Illinois LAW Pathways will provide mentoring and cre ative educational programs that expose students to the law to prepare them for a law-related career. We will supplement educational curricula, emphasizing civics, constitutional legal history, research, writ ing, and, of course, debate. We intend to host events throughout the year that offer students, faculty, and administrators the opportunity to learn more about how we can foster interest in the legal profession and provide resources to turn interest into action. Our programming will include an Annual Summit to provide an opportu nity for law practitioners and educators to bring all stakeholders together to pres ent educational updates, provide inspira tional/practical information, and foster a statewide feeling of community among all participants. Among other activities, Illi nois LAW Pathways will host a Law Day event every April to create meaningful dis cussions about the legislative process and rulemaking powers of municipal, state, and federal governments. The program also will host an annual Constitution Day event each September to commemorate the signing of the U.S. Constitution in Philadelphia by the delegates to the Con stitutional Convention. The event will celebrate the importance of the Rule of Law with keynote speakers. The CBA Strategic Planning Commit tee issued a brilliant report in 2022 under the leadership of Past CBA President E. Lynn Grayson and Chair Andrew Vail that identified a series of goals that serve the CBA’s core values and mission. A pri

mary recommendation was for the CBA to continue to be at the forefront of efforts to improve diversity, equity, and inclu sion in the legal community. Specifically, the committee’s report “recommends that the CBA lead by example, implementing a form of a ‘Mansfield Rule,’ named for Ara bella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to practice law in the United States.” The report recommends that the CBA encour age Chicago area law firms and legal orga nizations to follow suit. As stated in the report, “[t]he Mansfield Rule measures whether law firms have considered women and attorneys of color for at least 30% of the candidate pool for leadership and gov ernance roles, equity partner promotions, and lateral positions.” The Illinois LAW Pathways program is designed to squarely answer this call to action. By creating this new program and pipeline, the CBA not only will empha size diversity and inclusion, but will go beyond that by developing a robust pipe line helping diverse candidates become law students, enter the legal profession, and eventually become successful lawyers and judges. We have assembled a formidable Steer ing Committee to oversee the early imple mentation and immediate actions of the Illinois LAW Pathways that will later lead to a Board and Leadership Coun cil. Through the steady leadership of trial lawyer Robert A. Clifford, Executive Director of the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism Erika Harold, Dean Jennifer Rosato of DePaul Law School, CBA Vice President Ray Koenig, IILP CEO Sandra Yamate, attor ney Lawrence J. Suffredin, and Past CBA President Maryam Ahmad, we are excited to be moving forward with Illinois LAW Pathways to increase diversity in our legal profession.

Volunteer Opportunity The YLS Business Transactional Law Committee is hosting a Virtual Law Student Transactional Negotiation Competition on April 1 and 2, 2023. The goal of the competition is to provide law students with an opportunity to practice their legal skills outside of the courtroom and learn more about transactional law. The Committee needs volunteer lawyers to help with the execution of the competition. If you are interested in learning more, send an email to yls@chicagobar.org.

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