A powerful minority in our society is attacking vulnerable outsiders and assaulting the rule of law. Lawyers belong on the front lines of defence. Where do you stand?
Thank you, Jordan. You’ve expressed a position that we, the privileged class, are reluctant to speak. I join you in standing for “equal Justice for all.” May we all be as committed as you have chosen to be.
Thank you Jordan. "Equal Justice For All" is a fait accompli in my humble opinion. It will come about whether lawyers help it happen or not. Strike that. It will come about based when more lawyers work to make it so versus those who work to maintain the status quo. My money is 60 months. 5 years from 11/5/23. I am no predictor of things. In my lived life of legal experience and advocacy sometimes in the shadows and sometimes carrying the guidon. The tide has shifted. I embrace your invitation to all to realize how much influence we can have and challenge all to accept that the deeds to be done need not be accomplished by likes and comments, notwithstanding my own contribution in this moment.
Over the holiday weekend, after the latest Twitter snafu, I saw someone from the lawtwitter community - who is really quite bright and successful and consulted by major media outlets for legal commentary, so no dummy or innocent - say something like "whew, can't wait for this to get fixed!" It really hit me how some people - especially if they exist in more protected demographics due to race, gender, sexuality, class, education, etc - don't have a good radar or sense of when things have gotten bad and it's time to hit the bricks/look for escape pods, etc.
And then I wondered how this inability to judge the lay of the land might be affecting other things, especially with government, the legal profession, the actual environment. I think part of it is that people are frogs in pots and don't realize that the water has slowly been brought up to boil but also that they hope - deep down - that someone or thing is gonna come along and fix it?
That's why I was inspired to post "there is no deus ex machina that’s going to come along and fix Twitter, the government, the legal profession, the justice system, or whatever other institution is clearly limping along with the wheels falling off.
We must look deeply inside ourselves and we must take action -- particularly in the domains we as leaders control and those as colleagues we influence. My frame of reference has become Diversity through design (eliminate impact of structural bias thus providing equal opportunity), inclusion through rigorous deployment, implementation & enforcement of design without deviation), and equity will result. Your question remains -- what will I do?
Thank you, Jordan. You’ve expressed a position that we, the privileged class, are reluctant to speak. I join you in standing for “equal Justice for all.” May we all be as committed as you have chosen to be.
Thank you Jordan. "Equal Justice For All" is a fait accompli in my humble opinion. It will come about whether lawyers help it happen or not. Strike that. It will come about based when more lawyers work to make it so versus those who work to maintain the status quo. My money is 60 months. 5 years from 11/5/23. I am no predictor of things. In my lived life of legal experience and advocacy sometimes in the shadows and sometimes carrying the guidon. The tide has shifted. I embrace your invitation to all to realize how much influence we can have and challenge all to accept that the deeds to be done need not be accomplished by likes and comments, notwithstanding my own contribution in this moment.
Terrific piece Jordan. A reminder of the privilege many (most) in the legal community enjoy and of the need for self-reflection.
Over the holiday weekend, after the latest Twitter snafu, I saw someone from the lawtwitter community - who is really quite bright and successful and consulted by major media outlets for legal commentary, so no dummy or innocent - say something like "whew, can't wait for this to get fixed!" It really hit me how some people - especially if they exist in more protected demographics due to race, gender, sexuality, class, education, etc - don't have a good radar or sense of when things have gotten bad and it's time to hit the bricks/look for escape pods, etc.
And then I wondered how this inability to judge the lay of the land might be affecting other things, especially with government, the legal profession, the actual environment. I think part of it is that people are frogs in pots and don't realize that the water has slowly been brought up to boil but also that they hope - deep down - that someone or thing is gonna come along and fix it?
That's why I was inspired to post "there is no deus ex machina that’s going to come along and fix Twitter, the government, the legal profession, the justice system, or whatever other institution is clearly limping along with the wheels falling off.
You are the machina.
Act like it."
So yeah, right with you.
We must look deeply inside ourselves and we must take action -- particularly in the domains we as leaders control and those as colleagues we influence. My frame of reference has become Diversity through design (eliminate impact of structural bias thus providing equal opportunity), inclusion through rigorous deployment, implementation & enforcement of design without deviation), and equity will result. Your question remains -- what will I do?