For Immediate Release
The James F. Humphreys Complex Litigation Center at GW Law has released Inclusivity and Excellence: Guidelines and Best Practices for Judges Appointing Lawyers to Leadership Positions in MDL and Class-Action Litigation. The Diversity Guidelines and Best Practices offer concrete suggestions for giving lawyers across the profession an equal opportunity to be appointed to multidistrict litigation (MDL) and class-action leadership positions.
“Women have been earning law degrees and entering private practice at similar rates to men for at least the past 30 years. The number of minority group members graduating from law school and entering private practice has also been rising. These statistics would appear to ensure that more women and diverse attorneys would be in leadership roles in the legal profession. But they are not,” said GW Law Dean Dayna Bowen Matthew. “The publication of Diversity Guidelines and Best Practices underscores GW Law’s steadfast commitment to increasing inclusivity across the legal profession.”
The best practices to implement the guidelines build on the Code of Conduct for United States judges, highlighting the Code’s explicit ban against any form of favoritism in appointments. Most of the best practices are drawn from existing court orders and reflect the judiciary’s leadership in promoting diversity and inclusiveness. Although the bar shares responsibility, the Diversity Guidelines and Best Practices focus on judges because the ripple effect could be significant if more judges identify diverse lawyers for consideration for leadership appointments, including on the law firms and corporations involved in these complex litigations.
“The Diversity Guidelines and Best Practices culminate the work of many judges, lawyers, and academics over several years. They hold great promise for making a meaningful impact,” adds GW Law Professor Roger H. Trangsrud, co-director of the Humphreys Complex Litigation Center. “We see the Center continuing to play a prominent leadership role in bringing together the bench, bar, and academia to resolve this perennial, national problem.”
Media Contact:
Kara Tershel, [email protected]
Background:
GW Law, long recognized as one of the top law schools in the country, pursues a distinctive research and learning mission that engages the leading law and policy questions of our time and provides students with an education that will position them to help change the world. Accredited by the American Bar Association and a charter member of the Association of American Law Schools, GW Law was founded in 1865 and was the first law school in the District of Columbia.