Access and fairness survey starts this month

In an effort to determine the kinds of challenges faced by women, minorities, older and gay attorneys in California, an online survey of those groups begins this month. The Access & Fairness survey seeks information similar to that elicited in a recent poll of attorneys with disabilities.

The new survey can be accessed at talkingpolls.com/go/access and will seek basic demographic information and ask participants to provide feedback on their experiences in law school, with the bar exam, in seeking employment, practicing before the courts and on opportunities for advancement in the profession.

The results of the survey and subsequent recommendations will be issued for public comment in the fall.

The poll of attorneys with disabilities (Challenges to Employment and the Practice of Law Continue to Face Attorneys with Disabilities) revealed major challenges to finding employment, as well as significant issues related to the failure to provide accommodations during discovery proceedings. The results of the new survey will enable the bar to focus on strategies and initiatives to increase diversity in the legal profession.

Both surveys were funded with grants from the Foundation of the State Bar and voluntary donations to the Elimination of Bias/Bar Relations Outreach Fund. No mandatory dues were used for either poll.

For further information, contact Patricia Lee at 415-538-2240 or patricia.lee@calbar.ca.gov.