The struggle for racial and gender equity gained new prominence in 2020, and lawyers and law students played important roles in working for change. But what about the state of racial and gender equity in our own profession? Though progress has been made in recent years, many challenges still remain. Why aren’t more women and people of color partners at law firms? Why does even the non-profit sector struggle to elevate women and people of color to leadership roles? How much is this a pipeline problem, or a problem of organizational culture and implicit bias? And what can new lawyers do to make positive change? Join some of the leading lawyers on diversity and inclusion in the profession to discuss.

Confirmed Speakers

	SHAUNA JOHNSON CLARK is Norton Rose Fulbright’s Global and US Chair as well as its Head of Employment and Labor, United States. She is the only woman of color to be chair of an ‘Am Law 200’ firm.  Joining the firm in 1994, she is an active member of the firm’s US Diversity and Inclusion Committee and US Racial Equality Council and previously served as Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Houston office.  A nationally recognized expert in labor and employment law, she offers a broad range of services to employers, ranging from preventive advice and training to investigations and litigation.
	SANDRA SIMKINS is the Director and co-founder of the Children’s Justice Clinic at Rutgers Law School and a nationally-recognized expert in juvenile defense.  Prior to joining the Rutgers faculty in 2006, she spent 15 years working in criminal and juvenile defense. She served as assistant chief of the Juvenile Unit at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, supervising and training a staff of 40, including 23 lawyers, to represent children in the juvenile justice system.  Her recent article, The “Pink Ghettos” of Public Interest Law: An Open Secret, describes and analyzes the challenges facing women in public interest careers.
	JOSEPH K. WEST is a partner in Duane Morris’s Trial Practice Group and practices complex litigation. He also serves as the firm’s Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer and chairs the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Consulting Practice. Prior to joining Duane Morris, Mr. West spent served as President and CEO of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA). Prior to MCCA, Mr. West was Associate General Counsel – Head of Global Outside Counsel Management at Walmart Stores Inc., where he was responsible for oversight of over 600 law firms and a budget of over $300 million.
	JOANNA GROSSMAN (moderator) is a Visiting Professor at Stanford Law School, and the inaugural Ellen K. Solender Endowed Chair in Women and the Law at SMU Dedman School of Law.  A Stanford Law School graduate, Professor Grossman writes extensively on sex discrimination and workplace equality, with a particular focus on issues such as sexual harassment and pregnancy discrimination. She is also an expert in family law, especially parentage law and the state regulation of marriage.  She is the co-author of Gender and Law: Theory, Doctrine, Commentary (with Bartlett, Rhode, and Brake).

Sponsored by the Stanford Center on the Legal Profession, Black Law Students Association (BLSA), and Women of Stanford Law (WSL), and the Stanford Center for Racial Justice.