Getting Involved.
These are but a few examples of the many innovative ways Dinsmore & Shohl seeks to expand, improve and promot diversity within the legal profession and in the communities we serve:
Sponsoring the Diverse Student Visitation Conference at the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Dinsmore & Shohl sponsors the Diverse Student Visitation Conference at the University of Kentucky College of Law. The program is designed to attract minority college students to the law school. Lexington Partner, Sadhna True, has participated on a panel of practicing attorneys who provide the students with an appreciation of the numerous paths a legal career may take and the opportunities available to someone with a law degree. In addition, Dinsmore & Shohl sponsors a luncheon at the Conference, which gives the students a further opportunity to talk with Dinsmore attorneys about the challenges and joys of practicing law. Through its involvement in the Diverse Student Visitation Conference, We work to ensure that diverse students consider a career in law and makes connections with minority students who ultimately enroll at the University of Kentucky College of Law.
Representing diversity at the local Bar Association level.
Dinsmore and Shohl supports and encourages Angela Edwards' service on the Louisville Bar Association Diversity Committee. This committee works to encourage minority participation in the Louisville area legal community and to call attention to those groups and/or individuals who have made significant strides in the promotion of racial and ethnic diversity within the legal profession.
The Committee gives scholarships to minority law students at the Brandeis School of Law at the University of Louisville, it plans and hosts a Black History Month program and annually awards a Trialblazer Award to someone who has been involved in increasing diversity in the profession. The Black History Month program is a celebration of the hard work and dedication of the Louisville area’s leading minority legal professionals and the role these members play in the legal community. The program often includes a speaker or presentation, a presentation of scholarships and awards to high school students from the Central High School’s Law and Government magnet program and the conferring of the annual Trailblazer Award.
Helping feed the legal pipeline.
Each year Dinsmore & Shohl, along with the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati, ("BLAC"), and the Cincinnati Bar Association, ("CBA"), Round Table coordinate a mock interview program. Approximately 12 years ago, William Sherman initiated the program and introduced it to the BLAC/CBA Round Table. Since that time the program has become a part of the Round Table's Minority Clerkship Plan.
The mock interviews are held at the offices of Dinsmore & Shohl and are attended by some of the top employers in the greater Cincinnati legal community. Several weeks prior to the interviews the BLAC hosts a resume building and writing workshop. The resumes are then forwarded to potential employers. This program has resulted in increased employment of first year minority students, and has resulted in long term, full time employment for many.
Tutoring program pays dividends in both ways.
Each year Dinsmore & Shohl partners and associates tutor at Rothenberg Preparatory Academy in the Cincinnati neighborhood known as, Over The Rhine. Rothenberg is in the Cincinnati Public School District, serving the surrounding neighborhood. Based on recent statistics, the student population is 97% African American, and 99% of students qualify for a free or reduced price lunch. We began tutoring at Rothenberg in the Spring of 2002. Alan Abes organized the program through the Cincinnati Youth Collaborative at the suggestion of the Cincinnati Bar Association's Community Service Committee, which Alan had recently joined. Each year, Dinsmore sends between 15-20 volunteer attorneys to the school. Working through a designated school coordinator, we typically tutor students between 2nd and 5th grades, but the program is flexible. Each attorney spends 30 minutes with a student once a week during the school year. From time-to-time, Dinsmore & Shohl attorneys provide donations of food, clothing, and school supplies to the Rothenberg Academy. Many of us have had very rewarding relationships with the students we tutor, and get as much out of the experience as we give.