AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act
Forging Connections: A Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion of Minority Attorneys
Sign the Pledge
What We Need to Do
At AAJ, we believe that greater diversity and inclusion in plaintiff law firms will enhance the trial lawyer community. We must foster new voices to strengthen our firms and our trial lawyer community. We are committed to supporting diversity among AAJ's membership and its leadership.
Why We Must Do It
The trial lawyer community must ensure that our belief in fairness and justice for all extends into our workplaces. In diverse and equitable workplaces, AAJ member firms will gain a broader set of experiences, ideas, perspectives, and solutions to become better advocates for clients and to strengthen their practices.
How We Do It
We are excited to launch the AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act to support members in their recruitment, retention, and promotion of minority trial lawyers in their firms. AAJ members will pledge to:
- Implement initiatives to support diversity at their firms.
- Address issues that have adversely impacted their recruitment, retention, and promotion of minority attorneys.
- Make efforts through recruiting, hiring, and promoting to include and increase minority attorneys in their firms.
We strongly encourage your firm to sign the AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act today.
After you sign the pledge, you will receive a survey to complete.
Frequently Asked Questions
In what way do firms participate through the “AAJ Member Firm Pledge to Act”?
Firms are encouraged to consider minority attorneys in their applicant pools when they hire or promote minority attorneys. Firms are also encouraged to adopt retention and advancement policies that foster opportunities for all attorneys, including minority attorneys to succeed. AAJ offers resources that can assist in the recruitment, retention, promotion, and diversity training process.
- Firms will (1) identify a main contact at the participant’s law firm, in order to (2) answer questions regarding the participant firm’s demographics and hiring, promotion and retention practices and (3) return answers through the initial and quarterly surveys.
- Firms receive the initial and quarterly demographic surveys from AAJ. These anonymous surveys will be hosted by P&N, a third-party administrator for this program, in order for us to observe the overall progress of the Pledge.
What happens if I sign the Pledge, but my firm is not able to hire or promote a minority attorney/law student intern?
The Pledge does not require firms to hire minority attorneys. It encourages firms to include minorities in the applicant pool of candidates IF or WHEN the participant engages in the process of recruiting or promoting an attorney or law student intern. IF or WHEN the firm engages in the process of recruiting or promoting an attorney or law student intern, AAJ provides resources to help locate potential minority candidates, in addition to any additional resources available.
The effort in attempting to include a minority in the firm’s recruitment or promotion process, fulfills the goals and/or spirit of the Pledge.
The Pledge does not require a firm to engage in the recruitment or promotion process if the firm otherwise did not plan to do so. Additionally, the initiative offers firms multiple other opportunities to foster a diversity and inclusion within the plaintiffs’ bar outside of the recruitment and promotion process.
Review the list of AAJ member firms who have joined the Pledge to Act.
Learn MoreAAJ offers resources to assist firms as they expand their diversity training and policies and advance the inclusion of minority attorneys.
Learn More
Navan Ward
Diversity and inclusion has been a primary goal of my year as President of AAJ. I’m proud to launch this initiative to promote the important role of minority attorneys in our trial lawyer community.
This Pledge offers participants the opportunity to have thoughtful discussion of ways to foster diverse and inclusive environments within their own law firms. The Pledge also provides participants with resources to assist them in the recruitment, retention, and promotion of minorities.
