Ensuring diversity in the legal profession
Archived article from Dec 15, 2000
By Douglas Frank
David L. Harris was working as a counselor and instructor of developmental courses at Brooklyn College after completing his undergraduate and master's degrees at Penn State. But he really wanted to be a lawyer.
In 1975, he was accepted to the School of Law-Newark under its Minority Student Program (MSP) and began taking classes at night while continuing to work during the day.
Harris graduated in 1979 and today is a member of the law firm of Lowenstein Sandler of Roseland, where he specializes in such matters as intellectual property, trade secrets, white-collar criminal defense, insurance coverage for catastrophic events and civil rights. In May, he was listed among New Jersey's top 10 litigators by the National Law Journal.
"The Minority Student Program was instrumental in my success in becoming a lawyer," said Harris. "I probably would have been able to go to law school otherwise, but I don't know if I would have enjoyed it as much or would have had such support from colleagues. I particularly remember the intellectual stimulation that I think was unique to Rutgers."
Harris is one of some 1,600 alumni who attended the law school at Newark under the Minority Student Program, begun in 1968 when, in the aftermath of the urban rebellions that shook Newark and other cities, the faculty decided it was time for the law profession to become more diversified.
"The Minority Student Program and the rich, diverse community it has created for the law school represents one of the fundamental values and accomplishments of the law school. We do what everyone talks about -- provide opportunity and multicultural learning for all of our students and alumni," said Dean Stuart L. Deutsch.
"Before the program started, the number of graduates of color from the law school could be counted on both hands," said Ronald Chen, the law school's associate dean for academic affairs and himself a 1983 graduate of the MSP. "There were under 10 African-American lawyers in the entire state of New Jersey.
"While other law schools either before or since wanted to diversify their student body, this can be described as the boldest, most forthright attempt to diversify the bar and the learning experience at law school," said Chen, who is currently serving as acting director of the MSP.
Alumni include government officials, judges and presidential appointees, but the greatest impact, said Chen, is felt at the level of the practicing lawyer. And the MSP alumni are among the school's most active graduates.
Students in the program represent approximately one-third of the incoming class, or about 80 to 90 students. The MSP is open to those from groups that have been historically under-represented in law schools and in the legal pro-fessions and/or to those who demonstrate some evidence of economic or social disadvantage, regardless of race or ethnicity.
When the program first began in 1968, it was directed largely at African-American students, but it was quickly expanded to include Latino students and, a few years later, Asian-American students after concerns were aired about the lack of Asian representation at the bar, Chen said. In 1978, it began including disadvantaged Caucasians.
"The law school is exceptionally proud as a institution to almost single-handedly bring an entirely different face to the bar both in New Jersey and nationwide," asserted Chen.
|
