Congressman Cleaver Hosts Panel To Discuss Lack of Diversity In Legal Field & How Big Tech Can Help

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, United States Representative Emanuel Cleaver, II (D-MO) hosted a panel entitled "Tech Meets Law: How Big Tech is Diversifying Representation and Promoting Diversity in Law." During the panel, attendees were given an opportunity to hear from legal diversity advocates and in-house counsel from select tech companies to learn about the challenges and potential solutions to making substantive improvements to diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.

"According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, law is one of the least racially-diverse professions in the United States, and, even when women and minorities are brought on board, they are promoted at disproportionately lower rates," said Congressman Cleaver. "Large companies have sizable influence and an opportunity to create significant, lasting progress if they simply make the effort to diversify their outside counsel. Today, we were able to hear directly from some of the tech companies who are implementing practices about the work they're doing to establish more diversity in their outside counsel and ways in which the industry can improve. I want to thank the companies and associations that participated in this candid discussion, and I look forward to ongoing engagement as we work to make concrete progress in diversifying legal representation."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, roughly 88% of the legal profession is white, despite law firms' stated efforts to seek more diversity. Past research has found that women of color receive less compensation than men and white women; are denied equal access to significant assignments, mentoring and sponsorship opportunities; receive fewer promotions; and have the highest rate of attrition. If law firms are allowed to continue to do business-as-usual without outside pressure, decades of history has shown the lack of diversity will persist. It is indisputable that companies, and this nation, are best served with diverse teams that reflect the populations in which services are provided. By assembling diverse teams, companies and legal firms are able to gather more perspectives and life experiences that can better guide tech companies on the vanguard on innovation.

Congressman Cleaver has taken a leading role on congressional efforts to push for more diversity within the tech industry. In June of this year, Rep. Cleaver led a letter to the ten biggest tech companies in the U.S., along with Reps. G.K. Butterfield (NC-D), Robin Kelly (D-IL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), inquiring into the diversity policies and practices of Big Tech companies when hiring outside legal counsel. In addition, following calls from Congressman Cleaver to push for greater diversity in the tech industry's workforce, the Internet Association (IA) created a new position in January to work specifically on diversity and inclusion workforce policies. The IA released a report this week on diversity in tech with baseline data that can be used to create and implement more effective diversity and inclusion best practices for the tech industry as a whole.

Tech companies who were among the most active in efforts to diversify outside counsel were invited to participate. Panelists included:

- Jason Barnwell, Microsoft

- Jean Lee, Minority Corporate Counsel Association

- Christophe Mosby, HP

- John Murdoch, National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms

- Caren Ulrich Stacy, Diversity Lab

- Kelly Walton, Dell

Emanuel Cleaver, II is the U.S. Representative for Missouri's Fifth Congressional District, which includes Kansas City, Independence, Lee's Summit, Raytown, Grandview, Sugar Creek, Blue Springs, Grain Valley, Oak Grove, North Kansas City, Gladstone, Claycomo, and all of Ray, Lafayette, and Saline Counties. He is a member of the exclusive House Financial Services Committee; Chairman of the House Subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy; member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress; member of the Committee on Homeland Security; and a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. For more information, please contact Matthew Helfant at 202-225-4535 or Matthew.Helfant@mail.house.gov A high-resolution photo of Congressman Cleaver is available here.