June 19, Jennifer Collins, Dedman School of Law Dean (and co-author Leonard Baynes, Dean at the Universiy of Houston Law Center), for a piece recognizing that Blacks are under-represented in Texas law schools and law firms while providing solutions to increase those numbers. Published in the Houston Chronicle: https://bit.ly/2YWqvLs
We all have been rocked by the tragic death of former Houston resident George Floyd while in police custody and witnessed street protests and calls to address persistent anti-Black racism.
As deans of leading law schools in Dallas and Houston, we join together to provide background on these historic events, to condemn all forms of discrimination, and to issue a call to action to work with the legal community to eradicate the continuing scourge of racism and other forms of discrimination.
We note that today is the Juneteenth observance to commemorate emancipation.
As deans of leading law schools in Dallas and Houston, we join together to provide background on these historic events, to condemn all forms of discrimination, and to issue a call to action to work with the legal community to eradicate the continuing scourge of racism and other forms of discrimination.
We note that today is the Juneteenth observance to commemorate emancipation.
Despite the persistence of racism, there has been important progress. But there is still much work to be done. The United States is a continuous work-in-progress, reinventing itself and expanding notions of equality.
Although the legal architecture of the Jim Crow era is gone, many legal remnants still persist. It is evident in health care disparities, as demonstrated most recently in the much higher rates of COVID-19 infection and deathsamong African Americans. It is evident in the income and wealth disparities of African Americans as compared to whites. It is evident in the types of jobs that racial minorities hold, which are often lower paid with few benefits. It is evident in the communities where people of color often live, or are steered to, that are isolated and marginalized with limited access to basic services. It is evident in educational attainment and achievement gap of students of color, especially in kindergarten through 12th grade. It is evident in the criminal justice system with the disproportionate number of men of color who are incarcerated.
The law has many times been the answer to reversing this continued inequality. Historically, through advocacy and court decisions, lawyers and judges tore down the barriers of overt discrimination and made the United States a more just and equal society. But there is still much more that the legal profession can and must do. There is still an underrepresentation of African Americans in the legal profession, in law schools, in big law firms, in the judiciary and in government. For the state of Texas, this underrepresentation in the profession is even more dire given the increased percentage of minorities as a component of the overall Texas population. We need a legal profession that is more reflective of the population. Here are three challenges that we hope the legal community will join with us to improve.
The percentage of African American attorneys in Texas remains low as compared to the percent of the population. Currently African Americans account for 12.8 percent of the general population in Texas, but only 6 percentof the attorneys.
The percentage of students and faculty members of color, especially those of African American origin, also remains low at the law schools in the state. The percentage of African American partners and associates at big law firms in Houston and Dallas also remains very low.
Here’s how we can begin to remedy these inequities:
Research shows that many students of color who study law make that decision by high school, so law needs to be introduced as a viable and worthwhile career option during elementary and secondary education and reinforced in college.
The pursuit of a high U.S. News ranking that is satisfactory to alumni, prospective students and legal employers has led many law schools to funnel the vast majority of their financial aid to merit scholarships, reducing the benefit to students with the greatest need. These law school rankings need to begin considering diversity and socioeconomic factors into their formulas.
Hiring decisions made by many law firms and government employers often focus almost exclusively on first-year grades. Law students who are the most successful in their first year are often those who enter with the most privilege — those who already have lawyers in their family or had the greatest opportunity to receive meaningful feedback on their writing skills in high school and college. A more holistic hiring approach focusing on broader indicia of merit would provide legal employers with a much wider array of talented students who will go on to be leaders in both the profession and their communities.
Our two law schools plan to organize a joint workshop this fall among Texas legal leaders to work on addressing the underrepresentation of African American and other minorities in our legal profession. By working together to increase these numbers, we can ensure that, unlike 170 years ago, the progress of African Americans in the state is not further delayed. We can combat anti-black racism and take an important step to assure that the legal community is truly reflective of the diversity of the inhabitants of our great state.
Baynes is Dean and Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center. Collins is the Judge James Noel Dean and Professor of Law at the SMU Dedman School of Law in Dallas.