Pledge to Act Initiative
The Pledge to Act is an initiative of the Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The following resources were compiled to help firms fulfill their commitments to support the recruitment, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys.
Diversity and inclusivity are deeply rooted values of the American Association for Justice. AAJ is committed to promoting and cultivating diversity in the trial lawyer community and ensuring diversity among its membership and leadership. We encourage your firm to sign the AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act.
Pathways to Success:
10 Steps a Firm Can Take Towards Its Pledge to Act
- Post the AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act on firm website
- Invite your colleagues to sign on to the Pledge
- Attend an implicit bias training; offer trainings to all members of the firm
- Participate in an event hosted by AAJ’s Minority Caucus or for minority law students
- Mentor a minority law student or new lawyer
- Adopt office policies to promote the hiring, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys
- Interview and hire a minority attorney
- Promote a minority attorney in your firm
- Co-counsel with a minority attorney or law firm
- Refer a case to a minority attorney or law firm
The American Bar Association also has several helpful resources including Seven Steps Law Firms Can Take to Retain their Underrepresented Attorneys and The Science and Implications of Implicit Bias, a twenty-minute video which summaries the neuroscience relevant to understanding implicit bias.
Retain and Promote: Education, Articles, and resources to Help Your Firm Succeed
Building Diversity in the Workplace
Webinar Recording, Law Firm Diversity Webinar: Hiring Practices, Implicit Bias, and Creating Diverse Teams (recorded August 3, 2020)
Creating a diverse environment in your firm is crucial to overall success. Learn best practices for how to recruit and retain diverse attorneys.
Karine Joy (KJ) Williams, The Building Blocks of Equality & Equity, Trial, January 2021.
Steps you and your firm can take to create an inclusive environment for both colleagues and clients.
Navan Ward Jr., Taking Firm Diversity to the Next Level, Trial, September 2019.
Some ways to step up your firm’s opportunities to support and advance underrepresented attorneys.
Navan Ward Jr., Q&A: Diversity in the Workplace: Hiring Minority Lawyers, Trial, June 2017.
The civil justice system is strengthened by diverse advocates—and it starts in attorneys’ own practices.
Implicit Bias
Wendell Y. Tong, Diversity In The Workplace: Looking Within for Implicit Bias, Trial, June 2017.
The path to achieving diversity in our practices requires proactive, deliberate efforts—which means reflecting on our implicit biases to overcome hurdles that we’ve unconsciously placed in the way.
DEI Training and Consultants
Dr. Arin Reeves, Nextions
Spoke at the WTLC’s Leadership Summit and provides DEI training for leading law firms.
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)
Offers research, insights, and custom EDI solutions for firms.
