Bench-Bar Diversity Committee Presents Findings, Recommendations To Del. Supreme Court
The Delaware Judiciary has introduced a program to bring about more diversity on the bench and bar.
The result of a study that began in May of last year is the “Improving Diversity in the Delaware Bench and Bar Strategic Plan” unveiled recently by Delaware Supreme Court Chief Justice Collins Seitz Junior and Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves.
To read the plan, please CLICK HERE
According to Chief Justice Seitz, there are 50 recommendations in all centered around how law and the legal profession are taught in schools, bar readiness, professional retention and the judicial nominating process.
“The Committee has done an outstanding job with the report. Some of the recommendations are already taking place. We’re excited to study all of the recommendations and to make lasting changes to improve the diversity of the Delaware bench and bar,” said Chief Justice Seitz.
“This detailed strategic plan – that as far as we know is one of the first of its kind in the nation for a court system – gives us 50 recommendations and concrete steps to consider to make the Delaware bench and bar more representative of the diversity of our great State,” Justice Montgomery-Reeves said.
According to the Delaware Judiciary:
The National Center for State Courts and the non-profit AccessLex Institute worked on the 101-page report along with a steering committee that included representatives from each of Delaware’s state courts, Delaware legal aid groups, the Board of Bar Examiners, the Department of Justice, the Office of Defense Services, the Governor’s Office, private law firms, Widener University Delaware Law School, the University of Delaware, Delaware State University and community and technical colleges. Dozens more from across the state were involved in subcommittee working groups or participated in interviews.
“The Strategic Plan provides tangible steps that will have a real and lasting impact,” Delaware State Bar Association President Kathleen Miller said. “Improving diversity, equity, and inclusion is not a quick fix. This is a comprehensive action plan to effectuate change with a commitment from the bench and the bar at the highest levels, which provides for both immediate and long-term approaches to achieving inclusion for everyone.”
