Section of Science & Technology Law

Section of Science & Technology Law Diversity Plan

The American Bar Association Section of Science & Technology Law enthusiastically embraces the concept of diversity. We believe that diversity in our membership brings a variety of unique and valuable skills and perspectives to the Section and to its members. We recognize, however, that the Section can only expect to make progress in achieving diversity in its membership with a demonstrated commitment to achieving diversity by and in its leadership.

Over the years, the Section has worked hard to increase the diversity of its membership and leadership and to increase the participation of lawyers of color, women lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities in the activities of the Section, its committees and its leadership. The Section’s Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities worked to organize outreach efforts to these lawyers, and in general, these informal methods have worked well for the Section. However, in an effort to formalize our commitment to diversity, the committee has now been asked to draft the Section’s Diversity Plan. The plan will lay out goals and action items for how the Section plans to encourage a diverse and qualified membership and leadership.

The goal of diversity can only be achieved with the unequivocal support and participation of the Section’s leadership and its Committees and the individual commitment of each Section member. However, it is recognized that in order to achieve our goal, Section leadership and Committees as well as our active members must be given guidance, encouragement, and training to:

actively recruit lawyers of color, women lawyers and lawyers with disabilities;
educate lawyers of color, women lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities about the benefits of Section membership including networking, committee work, latest developments in the fields of science and technology law, CLE programs, publications and leadership opportunities;
foster an atmosphere of inclusion to facilitate and encourage the retention of lawyers of color, women lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities once they have become members;
seek the active participation of lawyers of color, women lawyers and lawyers with disabilities as speakers and authors for Section programs and publications; and
provide lawyers of color, women lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities opportunities and training to take on leadership roles at both the Committee and Section levels.

It is with this goal in mind that the Section has adopted its Diversity Plan. The Plan is a road map to guide and encourage the members and leaders of the Section to ensure full and equal participation for lawyers of color, women lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities. This Diversity Plan is a long-range planning tool and will be reviewed annually by the Section’s Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities with a report to be circulated to the Council each year, in order to prioritize the Section’s goals and create new ones.

LONG RANGE GOALS AND ACTION PLAN

INCREASE AND MAINTAIN DIVERSITY IN SECTION OFFICERS AND COUNCIL MEMBERS AND COMMITTEE LEADERSHIP.

Obtain unequivocal support and participation of the Section officers, Council members and committee chairs in implementing the Diversity Plan:

Provide a copy of the Diversity Plan to each existing and incoming Section officer Council member and committee chair together with a letter from the Chair of the Section stressing the importance of the Plan. Responsibility: Section Chair
Report findings to the Council annually based on committee progress reports; this would be a written or verbal report by the Opportunities for Women and Minorities Committee. Responsibility: Opportunities for Women and Minorities Committee

Provide resources to the Committee Chairs with respect to diversity issues:

Include diversity materials in the Committee Chairs’ appointment letter, including, but not limited to, the Section’s policies and guidelines relating to diversity, a list of resources providing information for diversity on panels and publications and state expectations related to diversity. Collaborate with the commission on developing a training program for leadership at the Annual Meeting. Responsibility: Section staff; Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities.
Periodically update the above mentioned diversity resource materials. Responsibility: Section staff

Monitor Activities/Progress through use of the committee status report:

Revise and circulate committee status reports to Council and the Officers in conjunction with the Midyear and Annual meetings and tabulate results following Annual Meeting on an annual basis. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities
Recognize efforts to increase diversity at the committee level during the Annual Meeting Section Luncheon Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities
Provide follow-up to the individual committee chairs and leadership to offer assistance to insure that the expectations are being met. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities

Evaluate the Section’s Diversity Plan annually:

Assess which initiatives are working and which are not and determine why they are not working; incorporate new ideas; and respond to then existing circumstances. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities
Circulate the Diversity Plan to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession for their additional input and guidance. Responsibility: Section staff
Periodically assess the diversity plans of other entities that are associated with the American Bar Association by establishing liaison relationships to obtain new ideas. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities, Section Staff
Report recommended changes to the Diversity Plan to, and seek approval from, Council each year at the Annual meeting. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities

Priority 2 Items

Endeavor to appoint a diverse Nominating Committee, which reflects the goals of diversity the Section is attempting to achieve. Responsibility: Section Officers and Council
Enhance diversity of the Section leadership and maintain diversity in the leadership of the Section by including these goals in the Section’s by-laws. Responsibility: Section Secretary

INCREASE DIVERSITY IN MEMBERSHIP

Priority 1 Items

Foster the spirit of inclusiveness in all of the Section’s activities:

Invite any non-members to become members at the conclusion of each Committee meeting. Responsibility: Committee Chairs
Advertise in all materials for the Annual Meeting that non-Committee members are welcome to attend Committee meetings. Responsibility: Section staff
Host Welcome Reception for Women and Minorities on During Annual Meeting. Responsibility: Women and Minority Committee.

Strongly encourage diverse panels in all CLE and Committee programming and diverse participation in all Section publications. Responsibility: Program Committee, Book Publishing Board, Jurimetrics Journal Board and The SciTech Lawyer Board
Coordinate efforts with and use the resources of the Commission on Women in the Profession and the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, the Association of Corporate Counsel and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association to assist in the recruitment efforts of the Section:

Establish Section Liaisons to the Commission for Women in the Profession and Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. Responsibility: Section Chair
Sponsor joint promotions and membership drives with the Commission for Women in the Profession and the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession. Responsibility: Membership Committee
Research existing efforts with ACC and MCCA to see if we can join in their minority and women focused programs.

Priority 2 Items

Gain feedback through program evaluation forms to collect information on what the Section can do to enhance their experience. Responsibility: Section Staff
Develop recruitment/retention materials with a focus on lawyers of color, women lawyers, and lawyers with disabilities. Responsibility: Membership Committee
Sponsor programming at the Minority Council Program Spring and/or Fall Meetings. Responsibility: Program Committee, Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities
Expand the responsibilities of the Young Lawyers Division and Law Student Division liaisons to act as formal conduits for young lawyers and law students:

Obtain appointments for young lawyers and law students within the Section. Responsibility: Section Chair
Obtain young lawyers or law students (where appropriate) as speakers or as writers for Committee panels and publications. Responsibility: Committee Chairs

Priority 3 Items

Coordinate Section representatives attending important minority bar meetings and events (e.g., National Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, National Native American Bar Association) and encourage Section leaders to attend these meetings and events. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities and Membership Committe
Appoint liaisons (formal or informal) to each of the national minority bar associations (e.g., National Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, National Native American Bar Association), establish expectations or responsibilities for these liaisons, and encourage attendance at these meetings. Responsibility: Section Chair
Involve lawyers who are already involved in local and national minority bar associations in Section activities. An emphasis should be placed on involvement with local minority bar associations because the Section is not usually viewed as a competitor of these associations.

Encourage joint programming with national and local minority bar associations. Perhaps focus on hosting brown-bag sessions at law schools for minority groups. Responsibility: Program Committee. Liaison
Encourage joint sponsorships with minority lawyer and bar associations for Annual Meeting programs and invite them to participate and co-sponsor welcome reception. Responsibility: Program Committee, W&M Committee
Personally invite members and leaders of minority lawyer bar associations in the Annual Meeting host city to programs and social events, and appoint Section members to serve as hosts to such attendees. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities

Develop outreach programming targeted to Young Lawyers:

Submit articles for publication in the Young Lawyer Division’s publications that cover nuts and bolts aspects of the practice of science and technology law. Responsibility: CLE and Membership Committees
Develop a column in The SciTech Lawyer targeted to Young Lawyers. Responsibility: The SciTech Lawyer Board and the YLD Liaison
Develop an area on the Section web site targeted to Young Lawyers. Responsibility: Membership Committee, YLD Liaison and Section Staff

Develop outreach programming targeted at Law Students:

Participate in SOC Road Shows to increase visibility of the Section and focus on the opportunities for involvement in the Section. Responsibility: Membership Committee and Section Staff
Co-sponsor a program to educate law school students about establishing a career in science & technology law with the Law Student Division. Responsibility: Program Committee
Submit articles for publication in the Law Student Division’s publications that address all aspects of the practice of science and technology law. Responsibility: Program and Membership Committees and LSD Liaison
Develop a column for The SciTech Lawyer targeted to law student members. Responsibility: The SciTech Lawyer Board and the LSD Liaison
Develop an area on the Section web site targeted to law students. Responsibility: Membership Committee, LSD Liaison and>Section Staff

RAISE AWARENESS THAT DIVERSITY IS VALUED AND WHY

Priority 1 Items

Encourage a policy that the Section co-sponsor programs with other Sections or Divisions only if there is a diverse panel. Responsibility: Section Officers
Require Section Liaisons to the Commission on Women in the Profession and the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession to:

Report at the Council Meetings regarding: (1) current developments and initiatives undertaken by those organizations; and (2) steps taken by the other ABA sections to increase diversity. Responsibility: Section Liaison
If financially feasible, attend the Women’s Caucus Meeting sponsored by the Commission on Women in the Profession at the ABA Midyear and Annual Meetings. Responsibility: Section Liaison

Priority 2 Items

Create and regularly update the Opportunities for Women and Minorities Committee homepage and attempt to have other relevant web sites (e.g. Commission on Women in the Profession, Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, National Bar Association, National Native American Bar Association, Hispanic National Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association,) link to the committee’s site. Add links to these organizations to the Section’s web site. Responsibility: Committee on Opportunities for Women and Minorities and Section Staff
Encourage and recognize contributions by minority lawyers and women in the Section’s publications

Include photos of contributing authors where appropriate and within publishing guidelines. Responsibility: The SciTech Lawyer Board
Include photos acknowledging diversity of membership in membership materials. Responsibility: Membership Committee and Section Staff
Include regular reports on achievements in the diversity efforts in The SciTech Lawyer. Responsibility: Opportunities for Women and Minorities and Section Staff

Priority 3 Items

Publicize in local and national media the efforts of the Section on its diversity initiatives. Responsibility: Section Chair and Officers

The Section Officers and Council Members have approved this Diversity Plan on

August ___ 2005, Chicago, IL