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Three Homegrown Organizations Making a Nationwide Impact
As the legal industry closes out a month dedicated to celebrating the contributions of Black attorneys, we want to highlight three organizations Page 2 has been privileged to work with and learn from. And it is with more than a little hometown pride that we note they all have Chicago roots!
The Black Women Lawyers’ Association
BWLA represents African American female attorneys, judges, law professors and law students in the Chicago metropolitan area and across the Midwest, and provides educational programs, mentoring/networking opportunities, community outreach, scholarship awards to law students and various educational pipeline programs and initiatives. They publish a regular newsletter highlighting all their activities, including community service events that make an impact far beyond the legal community.
The Diverse Attorney Pipeline Project
Founded by BWLA members, DAPP is a nonprofit organization founded to diversify the legal profession by expanding opportunities for women of color law students. Because landing a coveted summer associate position is crucial to securing an offer of employment following law school, DAPP focuses on creating opportunities for women of color to obtain summer positions at law firms and in companies following their first year of law school. DAPP provides its scholars with placement assistance, academic support, coaching, counseling, financial assistance, tutoring, seminars and workshops, professional development, mentorship, and more. In all these activities, DAPP works to “infuse the pipeline to the profession with talented, highly qualified women of color.”
The Black Men Lawyers’ Association
The brother organization to the BWLA, the BMLA builds community among its membership of African American lawyers, judges, law professors and law students through its three-day Annual Leadership Summit and monthly roundtable events addressing issues such as career development during the pandemic, preparing for job fairs, developing a book of business and running for judicial and political office.
Thank you, BWLA, DAPP and BMLA for your dedication to making the Chicago and national legal community a richer, more inclusive place to work.