In an effort to increase the number of minorities in the law profession, a group of St. Louis legal employers will host an event that includes its 2nd Annual St. Louis Diversity Job Fair for law students.
The event will begin with a private welcome reception from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 14 at Pointe 400- Luxury Apartments, located at 400 S. 4th St. The reception will feature comments from Kimberly J. Norwood, a professor at Washington University School of Law.
The job fair will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, August 15 at the law offices of Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, located at 10 S. Broadway. The Employer and Law Student Luncheon also will be held on Saturday from noon to 1 p.m. at the Drury Hotel, located at 2 S. 4th St. Reuben A. Shelton, III, senior counsel for Monsanto Company will be the keynote speaker. Shelton is general counsel of the Monsanto citizenship Fund and a member of the Missouri Bar Board of Governors.
The St. Louis Diversity Job Fair was coordinated to attract a diverse group of law students to the metropolitan St. Louis legal community and encourage them to practice law in the area, said Danielle Carr, spokeswoman for the event.
The St. Louis Job Fair Committee along with 18 participating legal employers strive to ensure that the local bar association reflects the demographics of the community.
“The establishment of the St. Louis Diversity Job Fair is a collective step to broaden diversity of the legal profession in St. Louis,” Carr said.
According to the 2000 Census, there were 871,115 lawyers and of that, 33,865 were African American.
According to a report issued by the American Bar Association’s Commission on racial and Ethnic Diversity, minority representation in the legal profession is lower than in most other professions. Yet, African Americans are the best represented minority group among lawyers (3.9 percent).
According to a 2004 report issued by the commission titled, “Miles to Go: Progress of Minorities in the Legal Profession, the initial employment of minority lawyers differs significantly from whites and minorities remain underrepresented in top-level private sector jobs such as law partner and corporate general counsel.
For example, minorities are less likely than whites to have judicial clerkships after law school. Among 2003 law graduates, 9.4 percent of minorities had judicial clerkships, compared to 12.3 percent of whites. Clerkship rates are lowest among minority men. Also, minorities are less likely than whites to begin their careers in private practice and more likely to start off in government and public interest jobs. Among 2003 law graduates, 53.3 percent of minorities entered private practice, compared to 60.5 percent of whites.
The report also stated that legal employers’ heavy reliance on so-called “box credentials” such as law school rank, class rank, law review membership and clerkships put minorities at a disadvantage in initial employment decisions.
For more information about the job fair go to www.stldiversityjobfair.com or email info@stldiversityjobfair.com.