Trial Magazine

As we enter Black History Month, it’s vital for us to take stock of diversity and inclusion in our organization and member firms. Fortunately, over the last two decades we have created new initiatives at AAJ, and you can see how the positive impact of that focus has bettered the organization.

In 2010, the AAJ Board of Governors voted to amend its bylaws to provide for an additional Board of Governors seat per jurisdiction. Known as the “Revitalization Governor,” these members are selected with bona fide consideration given to at least one minority or female member who is 40 years old or younger or has practiced for 15 years or less. The influx of active and engaged new governors made an immediate impact on the board. If you are interested in serving in this role, reach out to your elected AAJ Governors or the executive director of your state trial lawyers association.

Three years later, AAJ’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee—which works closely with the Minority Caucus, Women Trial Lawyers Caucus, LGBT Caucus, and New Lawyers Division—established the Leadership Academy. The goal of the program is to improve, develop, and ensure diversity in AAJ’s membership and its leadership, particularly among those who are underrepresented within the association based on ethnicity, race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, age, and disability.

Each year, the academy admits a diverse group of candidates who receive training in leadership to benefit their firms and our organization. This month, AAJ will celebrate the ninth graduating class at the 2023 Winter Convention in Phoenix. The results of the Leadership Academy program have been astounding. Of the 128 graduates so far, 38 serve on the Board of Governors, and 40% of the AAJ Executive Committee are academy graduates. The Leadership Academy holds special significance to me—I am a graduate of the inaugural class of 2013, as is your AAJ Treasurer, John Bey.

Special thanks to Brenda Fulmer and the Fulmer Family Foundation for their generous support of the Leadership Academy, and the firms of Allen Allen Allen & Allen, PC and Buckingham Barrera Vega for sponsoring the 2022–23 class. These sponsors were all graduates of the Leadership Academy and experienced its significance and impact firsthand.

Applications for next year’s class, generously sponsored by Andrus Anderson LLP and Bey & Associates, LLC, will open in the spring. For more information, visit https://www.justice.org/leadershipacademy.

Increased diversity and inclusion strengthen not only our organization but also our firms. In 2021, Immediate Past President Navan Ward Jr. and the Diversity & Inclusion Committee launched the AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act.

As of this writing, nearly 300 member firms have taken the pledge to actively work to identify and consider minority attorneys in their applicant pools when hiring and promoting and when making decisions on referrals and co-counseling on cases. Member firms are also encouraged to attend and offer implicit bias trainings, mentor minority law students or new lawyers, and adopt retention and advancement policies that foster opportunities for minority attorneys to succeed. AAJ encourages all firms to sign the Pledge to Act. Learn more at https://www.justice.org/community/pledge-to-act.

I’m proud to say your current group of national officers is the most diverse in the history of the organization. And when I look at all the members who have expressed interest in running for national office and serving as leaders, I’m excited about what the future holds for our practices and for our organization.

Tad Thomas is the founder and managing partner of Thomas Law Offices in Louisville, Ky., and can be reached at tad.thomas@justice.org.