Programs

Each year law firms and corporations that have made diversity a priority in their organization hire a first-year law student through the Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group IL Diversity Clerkship Program. The Program is administered through the Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group consisting of 23 law firms who have committed to recruit, promote and retain Diverse lawyers (as defined in the Pledge). These 23 firms have signed the Pledge to Diversity that signifies each firm's commitment. A copy of the Pledge document and a current list of signatory firms are attached.

Summary of Programs and Activities:

  1. Annual Diversity in the Work Place Reception- This is co-sponsored with the Young Lawyer's Division of the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association. A number of the other specialty bar associations contribute and participate. This is a networking reception for law students to interact with lawyers and judges. It is well attended. This year we will have the reception September 14, 2006. We have elected to hold the reception the evening before the Rocky Mountain Minority Legal Career Fair (summary below) in order to give the students an informal venue to network with employers in advance of the Career Fair.

  2. 1L Clerkship Program- The majority of these signatory firms also participate in the 1L Clerkship Program; the purpose of which is to provide a means for exposing Diverse law students, on the one hand, to large law firms and in-house corporate departments, on the other hand. The objective is to establish a vehicle through which participation of Diverse students in large law firm and in-house corporate departments clerkship programs is increased with the long-term goal of increasing Diverse hiring and retention.

    1L Clerkship 2006-2007 Timeline
    1L Clerkship Program Introduction
    1L Clerkship Program Description
    1L Clerkship Program Legal Research and Writing Instructor Evaluation Form
    1L Clerkship Program Application

  3. Book Scholarship- We award four (4) $500 scholarships (2 to DU and 2 to CU) to law students. The students must write fill out an application and write an essay. The funds are paid directly to each school. Winners are recognized at the Annual Reception.

  4. Rocky Mountain Minority Legal Career Fair- The member firms sponsor this career fair and exhibit here, along with other employers. This is a Regional Career fair where the member firms interview 2L and 3L candidates for summer or post-grad positions. This year it will be held September 15, 2006.

  5. Arun Das Memorial Scholarship- The Pledge Group is currently working with Arun's spouse to ensure that the funds are used to endow scholarships for diverse law students. Arun Das was one of the founding members of the Pledge Group. The funds raised to date, through firm contributions from the former Gorsuch Kirgis LLP and its individual partners are fairly substantial.

  6. Quarterly Meetings- The large group meetings are attended by a representative of each firm to discuss such items as implementation and qualifications for the scholarship, current trends, retention, recruiting and promoting. We are working on having our website go live in the near future.

  7. Steering Committee Meetings- These are bi-monthly and attended by a few of the Chairs, the law school reps and a few other law firm representatives. New programs are considered and committee work reported before presenting to the large group.

  8. Sub-Committee Meetings- Various committees exists and meet on an as needed basis. A few of the committees are Road Show, Website, 1L Program and Mentoring.

  9. Scholarships for Incoming 1Ls- This year, the Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group Scholarship was established at each Colorado Law School. It is a $1,000 scholarship for an incoming 1L. The purpose of the scholarship is to address pipeline issues and alleviate the financial burden of the rising cost of law schools, though in a small way.

  10. Programs- Through partnering with signatory firms and the Association of Corporate Counsel, we support programs such as "Diversity in the 21st Century" to continue awareness regarding the Group's mission.
 

 

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