PRINCIPLES FOR WORKING WITH DIVERSE EXTERNS

Pre-Recruitment “Work towards Cultural Proficiency” Require IAT test with discussion Review implicit/explicit biases in your firm’s policies (religious holidays, hair, dress, and other things that might disadvantage a group) Address the biases that the entity already has and address those before the extern comes to work (look at organization’s history) Have discussions CP: the policies and practices of an organization or the values and behaviors of an individual that enable that agency or person to interact effectively in a diverse environment.

Pre-Recruitment Ensure committed and supportive upper level management “If the leaders of your office do not believe in a culture of inclusion, camaraderie, and respect, it is almost impossible to build that type of culture throughout the entire office.” How can you ensure buy-in? Surveys about value of diversity programs, value of externships generally, “quick writes” Leadership competency:

Pre-Recruitment Supervision/mentorship should be part of evaluation/assessment of lawyers as a leadership competency Include diversity component Indicate what they did / how they were evaluated by current externs

Hiring/Recruitment “In” language and images Language: Person first Don’t create Amelia Bedalia; use universal phrases Images must be authentic College Admissions Examples To build a movement, you need to shift narratives You need to be thoughtful and intentional about what you do and how you do it, who the face is, where you communicate.

Hiring/Recruitment Have a prepared response for people that do not understand why there isn’t a “white male program” Students constantly are targeted by other students Avoid scheduling interviews / events during class time so everyone only sees “certain students” leave Be able to discuss the value of the perspective of law students/lawyers of color generally and for your work in particular

Hiring/Recruitment Be willing to admit where you are on diversity recruitment, retention, and philosophy - even if that’s at the early stages Share quantitative data about diversity https://www.nalpdirectory.com/ as starting point Should be made available for all offices on all “types” of diversity status

Hiring/Recruitment Allow and proactively suggest credit and pay simultaneously Double benefits: do better when doing less Allows for support ‘Leveling of field’ – behind the curtain Provides you with contact

Hiring/Recruitment Be prepared to discuss diversity in the interview process and encourage dialogue on such topics Share history of the placement and its history with diversity if any exists (e.g. connection to critical theory which emphasizes understanding history)

During the Externship Identify diverse mentor Look outside the organization if needed Alliances with affinity organizations, law school connections, alumni of organization/school

During the Externship Don’t flaunt the “diverse” extern While it is a positive step to work with students and particularly work with students from an underrepresented population, be sure not to remind students of their status regularly Why is this needed: we don’t want students to feel increased isolation and/or believe they do not belong and are only there because they are diverse; include some sort of research probably on imposter syndrome here. What to do/Things to avoid: naming student as “diverse” extern if this is part of a particular organized program; only looking to the student for work/feedback/ideas on topics that relate to race or marginalization;

During the Externship Ensure all externs get a variety of meaningful work, e.g. equity in types of assignments, distribution, working with different people, etc. Assign someone as the “coordinator” to be able to review assignments to ensure meaningful, robust, challenging etc. ‘Manage’ the externs, their work flow, etc. That person can be different than an individual mentor Should be a lawyer and/or diversity professional Without coordination, microaggressions can come out in assignment distribution. Example: the resume studies with “black” names and “white” names; Lack of understanding of unwritten rules of navigating work places and power (first gen students)

During the Externship Equalize access to individuals as much as possible – mindful of power dynamics and unwritten rules Organize set social /networking activities for all externs to attend (this helps ensure diverse externs are included in the regular flow of activities and that certain externs aren’t getting particular access over others) Set up brown bags/lunches with key individuals at the placement so everyone has some baseline of access/discussion

During the Externship Ensure equity in knowledge as much as possible Organize group trainings (may be less necessary in smaller placements) Include substantive knowledge, skill training, professionalism/communication within your entity ensures standard /baseline level of knowledge and increases knowledge and understanding for individuals who might be more green.

During the Externship Demystify the post-graduate job search process with your placement Host some sort of training/lunch etc. that includes information on jobs/careers in this area of work and steps to take to get one step closer to such job, e.g. “Lunch and Learn” with junior/seasoned staff Guarantee an interview for all externs within last X number of years ensures standard /baseline level of knowledge and increases knowledge and understanding for individuals who might be more green.

During the Externship Be mindful of news in the legal profession and news in society more broadly Does your entity address issues that affect diverse communities in the news such as excessive police force when events occur on the national and local scale? Universal for all members vs. singling out the diverse extern

During the Externship Set up ongoing formal feedback/evaluation measures Use externship program Can you do more to ensure ongoing, contemporaneous feedback Can help ensure fair evaluation of student