A diverse faculty will attract minority students. In 1989, the San Francisco bar commissioned a study to explore the reasons for the dearth of minority lawyers in the Bay Area. The survey found that when looking at objective criteria, discriminatory patterns prevented minorities from entering or advancing in San Francisco law firms. This data provided the impetus for the bar to seek improvements. We had hard data to discuss the lack of progress.
Bars can also play a role in education by getting members involved in schools.
The San Francisco bar, for example, has created a law academy and mentor programs for young people, and has adopted a school. It is critically important for young children to see lawyers, he says. Noting that he would not have become a lawyer were it not for affirmative action and the University of California at Los Angeles School of Law, Robert Brown Jr., dean of the University of West Los Angeles School of Law in Inglewood, says that law schools should look at individual students and their backgrounds separately when making admissions decisions. I did not have objective criteria to get into UCLA law school. The fact that the University of West Los Angeles law school does not hold accreditation from the American Bar Association is an advantage because the school doesn t have to charge students as much tuition, thus making it more feasible for minority students to attend.