New talent pipeline initiative aims to attract and support Black law students - St. Louis Business Journal - The Business Journals
A new initiative led by the Mound City Bar Foundation is intended to support the development of a strong pipeline of Black law students at St. Louis law schools, aiming to promote equity in the legal profession and retain diverse talent in the region.
The foundation’s new Equity Scholars Program will advance diversity in the legal profession and social equity in the community by attracting and supporting high-quality law school students. As identified in the St. Louis Business Journal’s Advance STL survey, 43% of respondents believed attracting and retaining talent was one of the key factors holding the region back when it comes to growth. Those challenges affect many industries, including the legal industry, and the work to overcome decades of less diverse ranks of attorneys is ongoing nationwide. The foundation’s goal with the new program is to help professionalize and grow a pipeline to identify, recruit and place more Black lawyers in successful careers.
Mound City Bar Foundation’s sister organization, the Mound City Bar Association, is the oldest African American bar association west of the Mississippi River. The Equity Scholars Program is tied to Mound City Bar’s 100th anniversary campaign, which includes among its key initiatives helping to increase the number of lawyers of color at law firms. The public phase of Mound City’s centennial Campaign for the Future officially kicked off at a celebration event March 30 in St. Louis.
Mound City joined with Washington University and St. Louis University in creating the Equity Scholars Program. The law schools at each university will identify candidates based on their academic achievement, connections to the St. Louis community, commitment to diversity, financial need and interest in personal development. The Mound City Bar Foundation will select finalists to receive significant financial aid, mentorship, career development and other support services.
Support for the initiative comes from numerous law firms throughout the region. Platinum supporters are Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C.; Dowd Bennett LLP; Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner; and Armstrong Teasdale. Those law firms and other sponsors will support the program not only financially but also by helping to shape mentorship and professional development opportunities.
Kevin T. McLaughlin, president and CEO of Greensfelder, noted at the campaign kickoff celebration that the program fits closely with work the firm does to help connect local law students with diverse practicing attorneys to start discussions about opportunities and challenges they may face in their legal career.
“These efforts align closely with our core values and efforts to encourage more attorneys of color to enter the profession,” McLaughlin said. “We can all work on this as individuals and organizations, but when you see a collective group like this — giants from the courtroom, the bench and corporate settings all coming together — the sky’s the limit.”
To learn more about the Mound City Bar Foundation’s mission or make a donation, please visit mcbfoundation.com.
source: https://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2022/05/01/new-talent-initiative-attracts-black-law-students.html
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