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PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
The Case for Diversity Many of us pay lip service to the importance of diversity, but I have concluded that it really is important, both personally and professionally. Let me count the ways. As a practical matter, sophisticated clients are insisting on diversity in their representation. Almost every request for proposal that comes from major corporations now requires the use of diverse lawyers on their accounts and demands a statement in the retention letter regarding the diversity of counsel. For reasons why they do this, see the diversity roundtable discussion on page 34 of this edition featuring in-house counsel from some of Houston’s largest corporations. The bottom line is that we all need to hire and retain diverse lawyers to service the accounts of major international corporations because they will continue to emphasize diversity, and their shareholders will insist upon it. More importantly, the quality of representation depends upon the participation of those who know and understand the clients who are being represented. As demographics change, our clients become more diverse and so too must their attorneys. Since the world is becoming smaller due to technology, and the ease of travel, we all have to understand each other better. Diverse simply means different and different people who are now coming together must learn to work with each other. Having diverse representation will help with this process. I recently had the good fortune to attend an Immigration and Naturalization ceremony presided over by The Honorable Keith Ellison. As soon as we arrived, the Judge had to swear in a young mother who was in active labor. She had refused to go to the hospital before being sworn in, because becoming a U.S. citizen was so important to her. I saw in her eyes the hope of a mother for her child who would soon be born in the land of opportunity. As I took the podium to address the other 2,500 new U.S. citizens who were also present, I came face-to-face with what makes America great. I realized these new U.S. citizens from all parts of the globe would provide the new life and new blood that is so important to the continued viability of our country. Immigrants made this country the best nation on earth, and I am convinced that we cannot continue to grow and prosper without the new ideas and energy of those choosing to join us from other areas of the world. Even more, I am convinced that we need to promote diversity in our local organizations, including the Houston Bar Association. We have a Minority Opportunities in the Legal Profession Committee, and its projects include a Summer Minority Law Clerkship Program for 1L students, where firms agree to hire minorities from Thurgood Marshall School of Law, the University of Houston Law Center and South Texas College of Law. These great candidates just want a chance, and our law firms are giving that chance to them. A more detailed account of this committee’s activities is included in the Committee Spotlight Column on page 53. But we must do more. I would like to see all of the firms in our 100 Club sign a statement agreeing to do whatever they can to promote diversity, just as many of our member firms have signed a similar statement regarding gender fairness. We have made great strides toward gender fairness with more women going to law school and practicing law than ever before, and with law firms and corporations focusing on promotion and retention of women. We must make the same advances with all lawyers who may now be in the minority. The leadership of the HBA has for many years worked hard to make sure that our committee chairs accurately reflect the diversity of our members. Our Continung Legal Education Committee and the editorial board of The Houston Lawyer actively recruit speakers and authors that represent diverse backgrounds. However, we have never had an African-American president. I would like to see that change. I would also like to increase minority representation on our board of directors at the Houston Bar Association, and we are examining ways to do so. In fact, this month your board of directors at the Houston Bar Association extended an invitation to meet with the presidents of the Mexican-American Bar Association, the Asian American Bar Association, and the Houston Lawyers Association, and we had a very productive exchange. We will extend the same invitation to other minority bar associations in the coming months. Now that I have counted the ways, let’s progress together toward increasing diversity in our firms and in our bar association. This progress will inure to the great benefit of our clients and ourselves.
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