Attorneys of Color

Honduran attorneys bring law-themed Latin coffee shop to Minnesota

The NDA is the name of one of the gourmet coffees at the Abogados Café in St. Paul, Minnesota. Just don’t ask the husband-and-wife team who own the cafe to tell you what’s in it. Given that the beverage is named after a nondisclosure agreement, the couple, lawyers Ofelia Ponce and Inti Martínez-Alemán, are adamant that its ingredients must remain confidential. Even when pressed to reveal the coffee’s secret recipe, they do not fold.

Sep 19, 2022 8:45 AM CDT

Responses wanted: Motherhood penalty and caregiver bias will be evaluated in new ABA survey

The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession is launching a new survey to assess how the motherhood penalty and other caregiver bias impacts the careers of female lawyers.

Sep 8, 2022 2:00 PM CDT

ABA project aims to help Afghan legal professionals establish themselves in the United States

In the weeks following the one-year anniversary of the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on Aug. 15, the ABA Journal is highlighting the ABA’s efforts to help judges and lawyers from Afghanistan resettle, obtain immigration benefits and secure jobs using their legal skills. This is part one in our series.

Aug 23, 2022 8:53 AM CDT

‘We must not give up,’ ABA President-elect Mary Smith says

“We lift lawyers up,” Mary Smith said. “We lift the legal profession up. And we cannot let ourselves be distracted by detractors. We can and must do more.”

Aug 9, 2022 1:45 PM CDT

Weekly Briefs: Bannon convicted for contempt of Congress; suit targets Skittles ingredient

Steve Bannon convicted for contempt of Congress Jurors deliberated for less than three hours before convicting Steve Bannon, a former adviser for former President Donald Trump, on two counts of contempt of Congress on Friday. He was prosecuted for defying a subpoena from the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6,…

Jul 22, 2022 3:28 PM CDT

Washington Supreme Court justice shows ‘representation does matter’

G. Helen Whitener brings several different perspectives to her work as a state supreme court justice. She is the first Black woman and fourth immigrant-born justice to sit on the Washington Supreme Court. She is the first Black LGBT judge in the state of Washington. She also identifies as an individual with a disability.

Jul 20, 2022 8:42 AM CDT

In what may be a first, study publishes empirical data about Black law students’ race and ethnicity

People with two U.S. born, non-Hispanic Black parents comprise 11.71% of the general population, but only 6.34% of law students, according to a law review article recently published in the Berkeley Journal of African-American Law & Policy.

Jun 13, 2022 10:37 AM CDT

Lawyer population is up 6.6% in 10 years; percentage of Black lawyers remains the same, new ABA survey says

The total number of active lawyers in the United States has increased 6.6% since 2012, according to the 2022 National Lawyer Population Survey released by the ABA on Friday.

Jun 13, 2022 8:39 AM CDT

Law dean known for encouraging creative thinking around diversity in legal ed dies at conference

Browne C. Lewis, the dean of the North Carolina Central University School of Law, was found dead in her hotel room Thursday while in Colorado attending the Law School Admission Council’s annual conference.

Jun 7, 2022 8:48 AM CDT

Weekly Briefs: SCOTUS approval rating plummets; Trumps lose deposition appeal

SCOTUS approval rating drops 10 percentage points Only 44% of the public approves of the way that the U.S. Supreme Court is handling its job, according to a Marquette University Law School poll. The survey was conducted soon after the leak of a draft opinion overturning the right to abortion.…

May 27, 2022 1:44 PM CDT

Diversity on state supreme courts shows little improvement, report finds

State supreme courts still fail to reflect the diversity of the communities they serve, according to an update published Friday by the Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University School of Law.

May 24, 2022 8:56 AM CDT

Law firm leaders are still mostly white and male, ABA diversity survey says

White male attorneys continue to constitute the highest percentages of equity partners, non-equity partners and associates at law firms, according to an ABA report released Monday.

May 16, 2022 2:35 PM CDT

Are criticisms during SCOTUS confirmation hearings a disservice to viewers?

Everyone familiar with this column over the last five years knows its central focus is the intersection of law and pop culture. Most of my installments focus on various forms of media and my observations regarding their law-related issues. There are times when readers will suggest topics by reaching out via email, which I always love receiving. More often than not, though, it’s simply my love for pop culture in the law that allows me to derive legal topics from the media I’m ingesting.

Apr 27, 2022 9:51 AM CDT

Which law firms are tops for flexibility? For culture? Yale Law Women releases 2022 findings

There is some good news to celebrate, as women and people of color continue to progress in the legal field, according to Yale Law Women’s Top Firms Report for 2022.

Apr 21, 2022 9:09 AM CDT

With 53-47 confirmation vote, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will become first Black woman on Supreme Court

The U.S. Senate voted 53-47 on Thursday to confirm U.S. Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court. Jackson will become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court and the only justice with experience as a public defender. Jackson will replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer, for whom she once worked for as a law clerk.

Apr 7, 2022 1:39 PM CDT