National Fellows Virtual Event

This event is free to registerees. 

12:30 PM PT / 1:30 PM MT / 2:30 PM CT / 3:30 PM ET

Featured Keynote: “Who is Going to Law School? The Future of Diversity in the Legal Profession” with Hon. Goodwin Liu (Associate Justice, California Supreme Court)

Despite an increased focus on diversity in the legal profession, law is among the least diverse professions in the United States. As law school enrollment and demographics have changed significantly over the past decade, what does the future hold for diversity within the legal profession?

On Thursday, November 19, the Fellows of the American Bar Foundation will host California Supreme Court Associate Justice Goodwin Liu for a national discussion exploring the changing diversity of J.D. students. Justice Liu is co-author of an ABF-sponsored study that provides a fresh and thorough examination of recent U.S. law school enrollment trends since the Great Recession. He will discuss how law school demographics by gender, race, ethnicity, and nationality have changed since the financial crisis a decade ago. The discussion will focus particularly on Asian Americans, often an invisible minority in contemporary diversity discourse.

Understanding the change in law school diversity is essential to building a more diverse and inclusive legal profession. The dialogue will also examine impending challenges and opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has presented for the legal profession.