American Bar Association president-elect speaks at conference on diversity

Janel Shoun | 

Boosting diversity in the legal profession was the topic of the first conference held by the Institute for Law, Justice and Society and co-sponsored by the Tennessee Bar Association, Wednesday, Nov. 7. Thomas Wells, president-elect of the American Bar Association came to the Lipscomb campus to discuss how the legal profession can “plumb the leaks” and keep diverse students in the pipeline to becoming lawyers.

Wells spoke at Lipscomb’s Ezell Center at a noon luncheon, the first in Lipscomb’s new Law & Society Distinguished Lecture Series, and at a half-day conference on exploring ways in which law firms, educators, and the community can encourage youth from diverse backgrounds to pursue a career in the legal profession.

He also attended dialogue sessions with leaders of the Tennessee bar and judiciary, meeting with Lipscomb's law, justice and society majors and speaking to high school students who are attending Lipscomb's Exploring program to learn about the legal profession.

The two-day visit to Nashville was part of Wells' "listening tour to hear ideas on where to focus efforts."

During his luncheon address, Wells identified core values such as enhancing access to justice, defending an independent judiciary, encouraging diversity and promoting the Rule of Law. "The call to the bar unites all of us on these common goals and they allow us to make a difference." We can all find common ground in defending the Rule of Law, Well said, when we "stand together not to make a dollar but a difference."

From left: Allan Ramsaur, Tennessee Bar Association Executive Director; Charla Long, director of the Institute for Law, Justice & Society; Lipscomb President Randy Lowry; Thomas Wells, president-elect of the American Bar Association; Marcy Eason, president of the TBA, and Larry Wilks, immediate past president of the TBA.
Local lawyers and others in the Nashville legal professions attended the first conference by the Institute for Law, Justice & Society called, "Plumbing the Leaks: Increasing the Flow in the Legal Profession's Diversity Pipeline."
A panel of local experts addressed diversity issues at the conference. From left, Ralph Thompson, assistant superintendent for student services at Metro Nashville Schools; Charles Bone, chairman of Bone, McAllester & Norton; Jim Barry, chief counsel, legacy liability, at International paper; and Katrice Morgan, dean of student affairs at the University of Tennessee College of Law.
Wells, a partner and founding member at Maynard, Cooper & Gale, P.C., in Birmingham, Ala., was the co-chair of the ABA’s Special Committee on Disaster Response, commissioned after Hurricane Katrina. Wells’ trial practice concentrates on complex mass tort, environmental and product liability cases. He is listed in the Best Lawyers in America® and is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers.

Allan Ramsaur, executive director of the Tennessee Bar Association, said Wells' Nashville visit will be a "rare opportunity for interchange. It's a chance to share the innovative things that are going on in the Tennessee legal community and to learn about ways in which the ABA can support those efforts. For example, his visit will highlight one of our main objectives this year: to enhance diversity within the profession."

 “As ‘We the People’ of the United States become more diverse, so too should our legal bar,” said Charla Long, director of Lipscomb’s law, justice and society institute. “This conference is designed for collaborative thinking on how we can increase diversity within our profession, by working with K-12 schools, higher education, bar leadership, law firms and general counsel offices to address issues that deter minorities from practicing law. The law center is striving to continually provide timely and thoughtful dialogue such as this, because we know we can make a difference when we all work together and think creatively about issues.”