Transcript Achieving Diversity in the Legal Profession through the Educational Pipeline

Achieving Diversity in the
Legal Profession through the
Educational Pipeline
Prepared by the ABA Council
For Racial and Ethnic Diversity
in the Educational Pipeline
Overview
• The diversity pipeline:
What is it?
Why is it important?
• Leaks and blockages along the pipeline
• The numbers:
Early education data
Law school demographics
Law school admission shut-out rates
Bar passage rates
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Overview (continued)
• Impact of the numbers on
The legal profession
The judiciary
• Interventions – what works
• What YOU can do
• Resources
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What Is the Educational Pipeline?
• The educational route to the legal profession
for students
• Encompasses early education (Pre-K
to 12), college (2-year and 4-year), and
law school (including the bar exam)
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Why Is It Important?
 A robust, diverse educational pipeline ensures
continued diversity in the profession and
judiciary
 Visible diversity in the legal profession and
judiciary supports the public’s trust and
confidence and enhances perceptions of
fairness in the legal system
 The pipeline is the pathway to success in the
profession
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Why Is It Important?(continued)
• Lawyers occupy critical leadership positions
and engage in policymaking impacting our
communities
• Lawyers account for:
100% Judges
58% U.S. Senators
37% U.S. Representatives
40% Governors
50% Presidents
11% Major CEO’s
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(Data current as of 2012)
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Why Is It Important? (continued)
• The educational pipeline is the pathway
to a successful career in the law
• A law degree and legal experience open doors
and create opportunities unlike many other
professional credentials:
“Always make the choice that brings you more
choices” – choosing the legal profession leads
to better options
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Critical Leaks Along the Pipeline
•
•
•
•
Achievement gap
Dropout and expulsion rates in early years
Community college pipeline
Disparities in law school admissions and
academic support
• Law school admission shut-out rate
• Bar passage
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The Achievement Gap
• The disparity in academic performance
between groups of students
• Achievement gap shows up in grades,
standardized test scores, course selection,
dropout rates, and college completion rates,
among other success measures
Source: Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/issues/achievement-gap
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The Achievement Gap
 The promise of a quality education is an important civil
and human right that has yet to be fully realized in the
American public education system (see NAACP Fact
Sheet- African Americans and Education).
 We need to focus on the documented gaps in
educational opportunity and achievement that separate
low income students and students of color from others
Source The Education Trust, http://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/USA_0_0.pdf
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Achievement Gap
Source: The Education Trust
hhttp://www.edtrust.org/sites/edtrust.org/files/USA_0_0pdf
4th Grade
Proficiency
2007 National
Assessment
8th Grade
Proficiency
2007 National
Assessment
High School
Graduation
Rates
Public College
Graduation
Rates
African
American
14%
11%
59%
41%
Asian
44%
49%
90%
64%
Latino
17%
15%
61%
46%
Native
American
20%
17%
62%
38%
White
41%
41%
91%
57%
Group
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The Achievement Gap
• In 2006–07, approximately 16 percent of all elementary
and secondary public school students (or 7.7 million
students) attended high-poverty schools including:
Group
% Attending High Poverty Schools
African American
33%
Latino
35%
American Indian/
Alaska Native
25%
API
13%
White
4%
See US DOE, National Center for Education Statistics,
http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asp
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Achievement Gap
•
Percentage of Public Elementary and Secondary School Students in High-Poverty
Schools by Race/Ethnicity and Locale:
School Year 2006–07
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Common Core
of Data, Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe Survey, 2006–07,
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The Achievement Gap
• Data show that low-income students and
students of color achieve at high levels when
schools and school systems are organized to
support student success
Source: The Education Trust, Education Watch (April 2009)
• Investment in early childhood development
for disadvantaged children provides a high
return to society through increased personal
achievement and social productivity
Source: www.heckmanequation.org
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Drop-Out Rates
• Nationwide, 7,000 students drop out of school every day; only
about 70 percent of students graduate from high school with a high
school diploma. See U.S.DOE, ttp://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asp
• Two thousand high schools in the United States produce more than
half of all dropouts. A recent study suggests that in the 50 largest
cities, only 53 percent of students graduate on time.
• Research shows that children of color attend “dropout factories” at
significantly higher rates. See Comm. on Educ. and Labor,
http://www.edlabor.house.gov/.../o5/high-school-dropout-crisisthr.shtml
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Drop-Out Rates
16 to 24 year olds by Race/Ethnicity
Source: US DOE National Center for Education Statistics, Condition of Education,
Indoator 20,NCES2009-081
Year
Total- includes groups not
White
Latino
shown separately
2000
10.9
6.9
27.8
2001
10.7
7.3
27.0
2001
10.5
6.5
25.7
2003
9.9
6.3
23.5
2004
10.3
6.8
23.8
2005
9.4
6.0
22.4
2006
9.3
5.8
22.1
2007
8.7
5.3
21.4
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School to Prison Pipeline (STTP)
What is the “School to Prison Pipeline”?
Policies and practices pushing school children,
in particular minority and low income
students, out of the classroom
and into the juvenile and criminal justice
system
See What is the School to Prison Pipeline? ACLU at
http://www./ac;ui/prg/raciial-justice/what-school-prison-pipeline
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School to Prison Pipeline
Factors Accounting for the STPP:
 Inadequate resources in public schools
 Zero-tolerance and other school discipline
(increase in school suspensions from 1.7M in
1974 to 3.1M in 2000)
 Increased reliance on police
 Disciplinary alternative schools
 Juvenile detention facilities
 Barriers to re-entry into traditional schools
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School to Prison Pipeline
Models for addressing the STPP:
 School-Wide Positive Behavioral Interventions
and Supports (SWPBS)
See http://www.dignityinschools.org/print/247
 Restorative Justice Practices
See
http://www.ousd.k12.ca.us/restorativejustice
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School to Prison Pipeline
Proposed Federal Legislation to address STPP:
• Annual reporting of disciplinary indicators
• Mandatory technical assistance with disparate
rates of exclusionary discipline
• Federal funds to develop inclusive approaches to
school discipline
See Dismantling the School to Prison Pipeline, NAACP Legal Defense Fund
(LDF)
See LDF Testimony 12/10/12, US Senate Committee on the Judiciary,
Subcommittee on Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights
http://www.naacpldf.org/case/school-prison-pipeline
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College Enrollments
• Race and family income are highly correlated
with whether a student immediately enrolls in
college.
• The immediate college enrollment rates of
high school graduates from low and middleincome families trailed those of their peers
from high-income families by more than 10
percentage points in each year between 1972
and 2007.
Source: US DOE “The Condition of Education 2009”
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College Enrollments
• In 2007, the enrollment rate gap between
students from low and high-income families
was 23 percentage points and the gap
between students from middle and highincome families was 15 percentage points.
• In 2007, the immediate college enrollment
rate was 70 percent for white high school
graduates and 61 percent for Latino high
school graduates, compared with 56 percent
for African American high school graduates.
Source: US DOE, “The Condition of Education 2009”
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Law School Applicants: Interest In Law
As Freshmen by Race/Ethnicity and Gender
Source: LSAC 2013, Behind the Data, Freshman Survey
Left graph, Males; Right graph, females
Blue, Black/African American; Red, Hispanic/lLatino; Purple, Caucasian/White; Green,
Asian/Pacific Islander
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2006 College Graduation Rates
Source: The Education Trust,
Education Watch National Report, April 2009
Group
Graduation
Rate
African American
41%
Asian/Pacific Islander
64%
Latino
46%
American Indian/ Alaska Native
38%
Whites
57%
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Community College Pipeline
• Two-year institutions are becoming more
popular starting points for law school
applicants
• Students who begin undergraduate education
at two-year colleges perform comparably to
those who begin at four-year institutions in
both law school admission success and firstyear law school performance
See LSAC Report: “From Two-Year Institutions to Law School”
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Community College Pipeline
 Community colleges have historically enrolled
approximately half of all undergraduate students of
color
 Who is attending?
7.7 million students enrolled
Average age: 28 years old
Whites: 54%
Hispanic: 16%
Black: 14%
Asian/Pacific Islander: 6%
Other/Unknown: 11%
Source: Graphic Sociology at
http://thesocietypages.org/graphicsociology/2012/07/23/demographics-ofcommunity-colleges-in-america/
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Community College Pipeline
Community colleges are an important access point for
low-income and poorer students:
 Between 1989-1990 and 2009-2010 community
college graduations increased at a greater pace
than initial enrollments
 During the 2007-2008 period, community colleges
enrolled 1.7M or 41% of all undergraduate students
living in poverty
 During 2007-2008 one in five community college
students lived in poverty
See Why Access Matters: The Community College Student Body at
http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Documents/PB_AccessMatters.p
df
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Community College Pipeline
• Increasing law school recruitment efforts at
two-year colleges may positively impact the
diversity of future applicant pools
• More law school applicants, especially
Hispanic/Latino applicants, are beginning their
undergraduate education at more racially
diverse two-year institutions
• Given increases intuition, population shifts,
and the current economic climate, trend is
likely to continue
See LSAC Report: “From Two-year Institutions to Law School”
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Issues Impacting Law School Disparities
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Admissions practices
Shut-out rates
Law school rankings
Law school enrollment, tuition, debt
Financial support (needs vs. merit based)
Academic support
Stereotype threat/Implicit bias
Working within affirmative action limitations
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Admissions Practices
Law school admissions criteria track key factors
accounting for US News Rankings:
LSAT
GPA
• No consideration is given to factors that account
for the successful practice of law as outlined in
studies by Marjorie Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck
(Shultz & Zedeck, Identification, Development and Validation of Predictors
for Successful Lawyering, 2009)
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Admissions Practices
• Shultz& Zedeck identify 26 factors for effective
lawyers, and testing tools that supplement the
LSAT
Testing tools are race neutral
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Admissions Practices
Shultz & Zedeck’s 16 factors:
 Analysis and Reasoning
 Creativity/Innovation
 Problem Solving
 Practical Judgment
 Providing Advice & Counsel and Building
Relationships with Clients
 Fact Finding
 Researching the Law
 Speaking
 Writing
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Listening
Influencing & Advocating
Questioning & Interviewing
Negotiation Skills
Strategic Planning
Organizing and Managing (Own) Work
Organizing and Managing Others
(Staff/Colleagues)
• Evaluation, Development, and Mentoring
• Developing Relationships in Legal Profession
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•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Networking and Business Development
Community Involvement and Service
Integrity & Honesty
Stress Management
Passion & Engagement
Diligence
Self-Development
Able to See the world Through the Eyes of
Others
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Law School Demographics
(See ABA/LSAC Guidebook)
Group
2011
American Indian/Alaska Native
Census 2010
.8%
0.9%
Asian
7.1%
4.8%
Black/African American
7.1%
12.6%
75.5%
56.1%
7.5%
16.3%
.3%
0.2%
1.7%
2.9%
Caucasian/White
Hispanic/Latino
Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander
Two or More Races/Ethnicities
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Law School Demographics
(See LSAC Data re: Matriculants)
Group
Fall 2010
Fall 2011
American Indian/Alaska Native
0.4%
0.4%
Asian
7.1%
7.7%
Black/African American
7.2%
7.2%
65.9%
60.5%
Hispanic/Latino
6.1%
5.9%
Puerto Rican
1.6%
1.8%
Two or More Races/Ethnicities
3.8%
5.5%
Caucasian/White
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Law School Shut-Out Rates
The numbers of student applicants who are not accepted at ANY law school
Source: LSACNet.org, (See Data Volume Summaries by Ethnic and Gender Group and
LSAT Technical Report 08-03). Includes all ABA-accredited schools.
Applicant
Group
Total
Applicants
Mean LSAT
Score
Total
Admitted
Shut-Out
Rate
African
American
95,870
142
38,240
60%
Asian/Pacific
islander
71,240
152
44,710
37%
Hispanic/
Latino
73,880
145
39,490
47%
Native
American
6,960
148
4,060
42%
Caucasian
571,300
153
392,630
31%
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Law School Rankings
• US News & World Report Law School Rankings
influence admissions policies
• Rankings do not include factors accounting for
successful practice of law (e.g. Shultz &
Zedeck Factors for Effective Lawyering)
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Law School Rankings Methodology
Quality Assessment (40%):
Peer Assessment (0.25)
Assessment by lawyers/judges (.15)
Selectivity (25%):
Median LSAT Score (.125)
Median undergrad GPA (.10)
Acceptance rate (.025)
See http://www.usnews.com/education/best-graduate-schools/top-lawschools/articles/2013/03/11/methodology-best-law-schools-rankings
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Law School Rankings Methodology
Placement success (20%)
 Employment rates (.04 at graduation and
.14 at 9 mos. after)
 Bar Passage (.02)
Faculty Resources (15%):




Expenditures per student
Support services (.0975) and Financial Aid (.015)
Student/faculty ratio (.03)
Library resources (.0075)
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Law School Enrollment, Tuition, Debt
 Applications dropped to 54,000 annually
 First Year enrollment down to under 40,000
from 50,000 in 2010
 Jobs are scarce—especially for lower tier
 Average tuition has risen to $40,000/year
From $23,000 in 2001
 Average debt on graduation risen from $70,000
in 2001 to $125,000 in 2011
See “The Lawyer Bubble” by Stephen J. Harper
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Financial Support
• Law schools compete for admission of top
students to improve law school ranking
• Emphasis on merit-based scholarships to
attract high-performing students
(instead of needs-based scholarships
to attract low income, underrepresented and
diverse students)
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Academic Support
• Academic support is critical in increasing
performance by low-income students and
many students from diverse backgrounds
• Academic support programs are becoming
diluted to include all students, focusing on
increasing overall bar pass rate for law school
rankings purposes
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Stereotype Threat/Implicit Bias
• Understanding and addressing concepts of
Stereotype Threat and Implicit Bias
are critical to positive support, confidence and
performance of diverse students throughout
law school and bar exam preparation
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Stereotype Threat/Implicit Bias
• Stereotype threat: negative expectations
communicated to students (in particular
minority/low income students) resulting in
low performance
see additional resources at
http://reducingstereotypethreat.org/definition.html
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Stereotype Threat/Implicit Bias
• Performance, or the perception of
performance, is also impacted by the
unconscious mental processes found in the
minds of those with whom we interact
• Implicit biases are those that we carry without
awareness or conscious direction. These
biases are learned unconsciously through
exposure to social stereotypes and attitudes.
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Stereotype Threat/Implicit Bias
• Implicit bias impacts classroom environment,
curriculum, and ultimate performance of
students See http://www.equaljusticesociety.org/law/implicitbias/
• Implicit Association Tests developed at
Harvard, University of Virginia and University
of Washington to measure unconscious bias.
For Implicit Association Test (IAT) see
https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/demo/
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Affirmative Action Limitations
 State Propositions:
California: Proposition 209
http://law.onecle.com/california/constitution/article_1/31.html
Michigan: Proposal 2
http://www.civilrights.org/equalopportunity/michigan/proposal_text.html
Washington:
Initiative 200
http://www.secstate.wa.gov/elections/initiatives/text/i200.pdf
 Fisher v. Texas (Pending US Supreme Court)
http://www.lawyerscommittee.org/projects/education/page?id=0003
and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fisher_v._University_of_Texas
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Bar Passage Data
Source: ABA Committee of Bar Examiners
TOTALS
Total
Passing
Minorities (%)
Taking
Exam
80,261
55,384
% of Total
Passing
69%
Note: ABA and National Committee of Bar Examiners do not
collect disaggregated demographic info for Bar Passage
For an example of detailed demographic data see
The State Bar of California site at:
http://admissions.calbar.ca.gov/Portals/4/documents/gbx/J
ULY2012STATS.122112_R.pdf
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Impact of the Pipeline on the
Legal Profession
Source: ABA Lawyer Demographics
Group
Lawyer Data %
(Source: ABA)
Population Data
(2010 Census)
White
Asian
88.1%
3.4%
56.1%
4.8%
Black
Hispanic
4.8%
3.7%
12.6%
16.3%
Pacific Islander
No data
0.2%
Native American
Other Minorities
No data
No data
0.9%
6.2%
Two or More Races
No data
2.9%
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Impact of the Pipeline on the Judiciary
Source: ABA Standing Committee on Judicial Independence and
2010 US Census
Group
Judicial
Demographics
White
Asian/Pacific Islander
Population
2010 Census
87.8%
1.3%
56.1%
5.0%
6.5%
3.5%
.11%
.77%
100%
12.6%
16.3%
0.9%
9.1%
100%
Longevity
Black
Hispanic
Native American
Other Minorities
Totals
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Interventions – What Works
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Rigor, teaching critical thinking skills
Instilling student confidence
Setting goals
Role models
Longevity/continuity/stability of programs
Long-term investment, not short-term fixes
Data collection, program metrics
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What YOU Can Do
Attorney participation in pipeline programs:
• mentoring
• role models
• speaker bureaus
• internships
• field trips
• mock trial programs
• law-themed schools
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What YOU Can Do
Attorney support for pipeline programs:
• Student scholarships for LSAT and bar
prep courses
• Support for law-themed school
students: clothing for interviews and
internships
• Support for law-themed schools:
supplies, trips, events
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Pipeline Council
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Model ABA Programs
• Judicial Clerkship Program
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/diversity_pipeline/
projects_initiatives/judicial_clerkship_program.html
• Legal Opportunity Scholarship
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/diversity_pipeline/
projects_initiatives/legal_opportunity_scholarship.html
• Judicial Intern Opportunity Program (JIOP)
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/litigation/initiatives/good_w
orks/judicial_intern_opportunity_program.html
• CLEO
http://www.cleoscholars.org
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Model School Programs
• Legal Outreach
http://legaloutreach.org/?page_id=2
• Thurgood Marshall
http://www.thurgoodmarshallacademy.org/
• The Ronald H. Brown Center Prep Program for
College Students
http://www.stjohns.edu/academics/graduate/law/ac
ademics/centers/ronbrown/prepprogram
• Thomas M. Cooley Law School
http://www.cooley.edu/
• UCLA Law Fellows
http://www.law.ucla.edu/current-students/getinvolved/outreach%20program/Pages/default.aspx
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Model School Programs
• Marshall Brennan Constitutional Literacy
http://www.wcl.american.edu/marshallbrennan
• Street Law, Inc.
http://www.streetlaw.org/en/home
• Just the Beginning Foundation
http://www.jtbf.org/
• For People of Color, Inc.
http://forpeopleofcolor.org/
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Model State and Local Bar
Pipeline Programs
• Bar Association of San Francisco (BASF)
http://www.sfbar.org/diversity/index.aspx
• State Bar of California: California Law
Academy Strategic Task Force (CLAS) –
California Partnership Programs
http://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/gs/hs/cpagen.asp
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Resources
• ABA Council for Racial and Ethnic Diversity in
the Educational Pipeline
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/diversity
_pipeline.html
• ABA Center for Racial and Ethnic Diversity:
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity.html
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Resources
• ABA Standing Committee on Judicial
Independence
http://www.americanbar.org/groups/justice_c
enter/judicial_independence.html
• ABA Lawyer Demographics
http://www.americanbar.org/resources_for_lawyers/p
rofession_statistics.html
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Resources
• Law School Admissions Council
http://www.lsac.org/
• The Association for Legal Career Professionals
(NALP)
http://www.nalp.org/fulltextofnalpprinciplesand
standards
• ABA Pipeline Diversity Directory
www.ambar.org/pipelinedirectory
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Resources – Reports and Other
Publications
“The Educational Pipeline to the Legal
Profession: A Thought Paper”
“Diversity in the Legal Profession: The Next
Steps”
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