I believe that our ability to accommodate an increasingly diverse citizenry is critical to our future as a nation, and how we deal with our increasing diversity, whether we learn to draw strength from it or continue to regard it as a weakness, will ultimately define us as a nation. The only real choice we have, I believe, is to find the strength to accommodate that diversity. How we handle diversity will also define us as a profession. Let me explain what I mean.
Lawyers touch and concern everything that is important to our country.
In a nation that preaches and tries to practice the rule of law, we have, because of our chosen profession, a special relationship with the concepts of justice, of fairness, of equality and of equal opportunity. The notion of diversity expresses the goal of inclusion. I submit to you that it is immoral to exclude any group from a system designed to serve everyone. We all live under a system of justice that is grounded in the rule of law. We all need to believe that the system is fair, and certainly the fairness of the system is at least called into question when certain groups are excluded.