Business Law Vandeventer Black has established a
diversity committee that “spends a lot of time and effort creating a welcoming environment for all minorities, all genders. … It takes a lot of work but it’s paying off. It’s almost a snowball effect,” he adds. To better understand how to retain
members of underrepresented groups at Hunton Andrews Kurth, Haynes says she took an introspective look at how she has managed to succeed as an African American woman — a “unicorn” in the legal profession. Haynes believes the answer has been “the
sponsors I’ve had in my life, the senior white men and women who took the time to help me have learning experiences. I received that tutelage organically.” Now she’s trying to re- create the experience on a broader scale with a program pairing experienced mentors with minority attorneys. “So many people leave the practice. They
feel isolated. Pressures make the experience uncomfortable and inauthentic,” she says. What they need is “a partner/sponsor to meet with, to talk with about what’s on their plate — someone to be giving them feedback, looking after them. “It’s time-intensive. It’s a real investment,”
she says, but it’s an investment that pays dividends in building a new, diverse generation of lawyers. Although “there is a burden on women
in the law like there never has been before” because of the pandemic, Baker says she has not seen a trend of women dropping out of the workforce. ■
Priming the pump V
irginia law schools are doing their part to create a pipeline of diverse legal talent for the future. George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School is
planning a partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) to expand its applicant pool. “Our faculty will help teach some undergraduate courses. Students will spend the summer with us at the law school. We will provide funding,” says Kenneth Randall, who became dean of the Arlington-based law school in December. Tuition and debt concerns often are barriers for law students
from diverse backgrounds and students who are the first ones in their families to attend law school.
George Mason has been studying tuition forgiveness for young lawyers but hasn’t taken any steps yet, Randall says. “We address that on the front end” by keeping tuition low and giving out scholarships, he says. “We don’t make loans to students, but we more than cut [tuition] in half with scholarship money we give out.” That way, “students graduate with lower debt.” Washington and Lee School of Law offers several schol- arships that are specifically designated for members of
Photo by Shandell Taylor
underrepresented minority groups. In the past, tuition aid at William & Mary Law School in Williamsburg was “not focused on people from particular groups,” but A. Benjamin Spencer has changed that since he became the school’s dean (and the first African American dean of any school at the university) in July 2020. Now, Spencer says, the law school offers “financial aid designated for students applying from historically Black colleges and universities, first-generation students and students with a demonstrated commitment to racial and social justice.” William & Mary and the University of Virginia School of Law pro- vide assistance to law students who take low-paying public service legal jobs after graduation. Through the University of Virginia School of Law Loan Forgiveness Program, qualified applicants may be eligible to receive benefits equal to 100% of loan repayment obligations for their law school loans.
The goal of this type of aid, Spencer says, “is to incentivize people to go into low-paying positions to help people as a lawyer. It’s to serve the underserved.” ■
www.VirginiaBusiness.com VIRGINIA BUSINESS | 39
McGuireWoods Managing Partner J. Tracy Walker IV says his firm shares client Coca-Cola’s goal “to drive real change” by addressing diversity and equity issues in recruiting and retention.
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