[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 194 (Monday, November 16, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1031-E1032]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNIZING THE INSTITUTE FOR INCLUSION IN THE LEGAL PROFESSIONAL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DANNY K. DAVIS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, November 16, 2020

  Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I stand tonight to 
recognize the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession on its 
10th Anniversary. The legal profession remains one of the least diverse 
professions in the United States. This adversely impacts the pipeline 
of women, racial/ethnic minorities, openly LGBTQ+ individuals, 
individuals with disabilities, and religious minorities, who will serve 
as future legislators, judges, public policy advocates, civic and 
community leaders,

[[Page E1032]]

and the lawyers who can be found daily in boardrooms and courtrooms. 
While there are an abundance of organizations working to make the 
American legal profession more diverse and inclusive, and some progress 
made, much remains to be done.
  For ten years, the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession 
(``IILP'') has been working for ``Real change. Now.'' Its approach has 
differed from more traditional efforts. It has focused on inclusion 
rather than just diversity. It has emphasized the supply side over the 
demand side: making the legal profession more hospitable to diverse 
individuals, one where anyone with the talent, aptitude, ambition, and 
determination may enter and rise as high as those abilities will 
permit. It has grounded its work in research and data that go beyond 
the anecdotal. It discusses the hard issues and tackles the tough 
questions that need to be resolved before this profession can truly 
become more diverse and inclusive. It addresses all types of diversity 
in all practice settings all over the United States. More importantly, 
everyone in the legal profession has a home within the Institute for 
Inclusion in the Legal Profession.
  I was honored to give remarks during the inaugural year of the 
formation of the IILP in 2009 and I am pleased to share these 
highlights from its first ten years of service. The IILP is continuing 
to publish its ``Review on the State of Diversity and Inclusion in the 
Legal Profession,'' the only comprehensive compilation of data, 
statistics, demographics, and thought leadership essays designed in the 
country. This report has become an important tool to everyone in the 
legal profession who is concerned about diversity and inclusion issues. 
In addition, the IILP presented some 40 Symposia on the State of 
Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession to lawyers all over the 
United States. These symposia bring together an extremely diverse group 
of lawyers who learn about all types of diversity and find synergies 
that allow them to work across lines of difference. The IILP provided 
the legal profession with the only hard data available on the business 
case for diversity in ``The Business Case for Diversity: Reality or 
Wishful Thinking?''. The IILP published the series, ``Competing 
Interests,'' which is the only analysis of the conflict between 
corporate efforts aimed at economy and efficiency with corporate 
efforts supporting diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and 
the impact this has upon minority lawyers. The IILP established the 
Social Impact Incubator, a group of Millennial lawyers from a wide 
range of backgrounds and practice settings, who are learning to be 
thought leaders on diversity and inclusion for their generation. The 
IILP developed the program, ``Diversity and Data Privacy in a Digital 
World.'' While much has been focused on data privacy issues, this 
program is the first to examine those issues through the lens of 
diversity and inclusion concerns. The IILP conducts programs that offer 
unique and thought-provoking ways to look at and think about diversity 
and inclusion, such as ``The Ethics of Diversity and the Politics of 
Inclusion,'' wherein IILP examined challenges to diversity and 
political considerations that are impacting inclusion efforts; and 
``Women and Minorities,'' studying the root causes and potential 
strategies to address tensions between white women, women of color, 
lesbians, and trans women. The IILP presented the first conference 
outside the United States or United Kingdom that was dedicated to 
diversity and inclusion issues within the legal profession.
  For its 10th Anniversary, the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal 
Profession is celebrating with another thought-provoking program: ``Is 
ROI (Return on Investment) the Appropriate Measure for D&I (Diversity 
and Inclusion)?''. On behalf of the 7th Congressional District of 
Illinois, I offer my deepest appreciation for the work that they do and 
encourage that they continue to find innovative approaches to ensure 
our legal professionals produce diverse and inclusive workforces.

                          ____________________