ABA Young Lawyers Division - Diversity Initiatives

ABA YLD Diversity Team

The Diversity Team assists the ABA YLD in fulfilling its commitments to meeting the needs of all young lawyers. The team is lead by a director and two assistant directors, and is comprised of a number of committee leaders, national affiliate representatives, and liaisons.

ABA YLD Diversity Director
J. Phenise Poole, Cincinnati, OH
ABA YLD Diversity Assistant Directors
Keathan B. Frink, Ft. Lauderdale, FL	Mario A. Sullivan, Chicago, IL

Meet the entire 2008-2009 Diversity Team

Message from the Diversity Director

Our goal is clear. We want to be a leader in diversity. We promote full and equal participation in the YLD for a membership inclusive of lawyers of varying racial, gender, ethnic, national and sexual orientation backgrounds, and of lawyers with disabilities. The YLD recognizes that our strength and success is due, in large part, to the diversity that our membership brings and is continually recognized as one of the most diverse entities within the ABA.

While we’re certainly proud of the recognition, we realize that meaningful diversity goes beyond citing high numbers and have, therefore, put diversity “in action” through our Diversity Plan. By implementing diversity-related programs and initiatives, we are committing ourselves to being a leader in diversity.

As a fellow young lawyer, we need you engaged and involved in order to build upon our success and continue to promote diversity. I invite you to explore our website to see the exciting initiatives and programs that we have planned for the 2008-2009 bar year and hope you will join us in putting diversity “in action.”

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me.

J. Phenise Poole

Choose Law: A Profession for All

The Young Lawyers Division has a strong history of inclusion. To help insure future inclusion and those individuals of color arerepresented in the legal profession the YLD developed a pipeline project designed for high school students of color: Choose Law: A Profession for All.

Choose Law encourages individuals of color to become attorneys through the use of a new video, a written guide, a website, attorney volunteers and educators. Through Choose Law, students learn about the importance of the legal profession and how the law affects all aspects of their lives. The project also teaches students that attorneys of color have played a crucial role in the development of this noble profession. Finally, Choose Law shares the wonderful and diverse opportunities available for individuals pursuing a legal career and lays the path for which to get started.

Choose Law is perfect for career day seminars, for guidance counselors, for social study classes, or for programs designed to educate students about the practice of law and to encourage them to consider becoming attorneys. Educators and counselors can use the video and written materials as a stand-alone project or as a supplement to similar local programs, such as programs where a local attorney or judge speaks to high school students about the practice of law. You can modify the project to suit your needs. Choose Law can be presented in fifteen minutes or an hour depending on what will work best. How you incorporate Choose Law into your curriculum or program is up to you.

Although Choose Law is primarily directed at students of color, its message about the importance of the legal profession, overcoming obstacles and pursuing an education is appropriate for everyone.

Scholarship Program

Each year the ABA YLD awards a number of scholarships to encourage the participation of minority, solo/small firm, government, private sector, and military service attorneys in the Young Lawyers Division.

Minorities in the Profession Committee
Francine Baily, Chicago, IL
Manish Borde, Seattle, WA
Anthony I. Butler, Baltimore, MD
Eiko Harris, Memphis, TN
Arielle Harry-Bess, Baltimore, MD
Melissa Ho, Phoenix, AZ
Maurice Ruffin, New Orleans, LA
Jason Sengheiser, Imperial, MO
Antwaun Smith, Kansas City, MO
Raul Torrez, Albuquerque, NM

GP Solo Committee
Valerie L. Moore, Lenexa, KS
Kari Petrasek, Everett, WA
Ireneo Reus III, Long Beach, CA

Government, Military and Public Sector Lawyers Committee
Brandi Davis, Montgomery, AL
Jason Gordon, Savannah, GA
Maha Jweied, Potomac, MD

Meet the 2008-2009 Scholars

ABA Diversity Resources

Current Diversity Links