Join Roland L. Coleman, Jr., Partner, Wilson, Elser, Moskowitz, Edelman & Dicker LLP, Los Angeles, California. He is Vice-President/Treasurer of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and former president and current board member of the John M. Langston Bar Association. I am a product of "notorious" South Central Los Angeles. My parents were concerned about the junior high school in my district and through great effort and sacrifice were able to have me enrolled in a public junior high school in a more affluent neighborhood with a student body that was predominantly Jewish. While there, my relationship with the other students developed from being a person of unknown origin to becoming the student body president. However, while accomplishing this, I still maintained my own racial identity. I was able to talk the slang, which seemed so cool at the time but is now terribly outdated. For a talent show, I sang with an African American group, which did not know how to harmonize. The other African American students and I showed the other predominately Jewish students how to dance "cool." It was not until I attended college and interacted with other minority students who had attended predominately minority public high schools that I realized there was a dramatic difference between the curriculum and the quality of teachers most minorities were offered. This was the first verification that I had as to how important it is to be able to have access to those institutions which have significant resources and influence while maintaining my own identity in order to objectively evaluate how accommodating those mainstream institutions were to minorities. I also learned that although many of the minority students may not have had my educational background, they over-came their disadvantages through hard work and today hold positions of importance in industry and government. Minorities cannot always rely on others to make their arguments for them. I have learned over the years that when decisions are made which may effect your livelihood, it is better to be in the room and have your voice heard so that your issues may be adequately considered. The ABA needs input from people who may be adversely affected by such a change and that input can only be made if you are a player. Another important factor to consider in joining a group such as the ABA is the ability to generate business. It is a well-established fact that most business is developed through relationships and without true access to the private enclaves where many of those relationships are developed; the minority attorney is at a disadvantage. However, in the ABA, which is making a real effort to try to expand the involvement of minority attorneys, one has the opportunity to develop business the way it typically is done – through developing relationships. I can honestly say that my involvement in bar activities has been responsible for the most of the business I have been able to generate. However, the development of business has not been only through direct contact with corporate counsel. The development of business has also occurred because when corporate counsel have attempted to identify certain people with certain skills, my name has come up at times as a recommendation through bar networking. I must also point out that one of the most important benefits I have developed from working with the ABA is meeting other lawyers throughout the country who are not only concerned about the well being of our profession, but are also concerned that justice is also ministered equally to all segments of our society. There could be no better time for minority attorneys to come on board and be a vital force in bring about positive change." Find out more about joining