Connecticut’s lawyers should better represent our state’s diversity. Few would quibble with that. The question is how to get there.
The Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity is continuing with a program that just might be a piece of the puzzle. It urges Connecticut law firms, corporations, and governments to hire college students of color — not law students — for summer internships. The students would mostly be Connecticut residents. LCD is trying to create a new pipeline to the profession. The only way that we will ever have more lawyers of color is if more college students of color choose to attend law school. The LCD program holds promise as a way to increase the number of students of color in law school. A similar program in Boston has been a success, and the Connecticut program has similar potential.
The goal of the program is to immerse college students of color in a meaningful experience. The experience would include sitting in on meetings, learning about the profession from lawyers from varied practice areas, and perhaps a mock trial. That would show them how lawyers work and how challenging and meaningful their work can be if they choose this profession. And that would lead to more students of color pursuing a legal career. Similar programs across the country and in Connecticut have been successful in exposing college students to the practice of law. If more legal organizations participate in the process, the LCD program can become not only sustainable but lead to tangible results.
Attorney Noble Allen of Hinckley Allen and Superior Court Judge Kevin Doyle have been recruiting Connecticut employers. Take their call. Or better yet call them. Or contact LCD. The cost to Connecticut employers is modest, the promise is to pay minimum wage or perhaps a little more. Sure, they’re not going to write legal briefs and their time probably can’t be billed. But the interns still add value, not only for making our staffs more diverse, but with generational diversity they can no doubt teach us something about technology and maybe even social media.
The legal profession has to do better. The only way that there will be more lawyers of color is if there are more law students of color. The LCD summer intern program isn’t going to change the profession overnight. But our profession has been around for a long time, and the more Connecticut firms participate, the more students of color will eventually wind up in law school and choose to be lawyers.
Reprinted with permission from the March 7th, 2023 edition of the Connecticut Law Tribune© 2023 ALM Global Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited, contact 877-256-2472 or [email protected].
To learn more about Hinckley Allen’s partnership with the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity, please visit here.
