The Impact of Diversity and Inclusion in Law School
How Top Law Schools Can Resuscitate An Inclusive Climate for Minority And Low-Income Law Students
Document Type
Law Review Article
Publication Date
2017
Keywords
diverse campus environment
Abstract
The lack of diversity in top law schools (TLS) has contributed to a learning climate that isolates, undervalues, and criticizes minority and low-income students. The lack of diversity at TLS is especially paramount, in comparison to similar issues at colleges, because students at TLS are more likely to become U.S. Supreme Court Justices, Presidents of the United States, and leaders in other industries who will create, interpret, and influence laws that have global implications. If TLS do not create inclusive climates, all students, especially its minority and low-income students, may be unprepared to meet the future legal responsibilities that await us. This Note argues that TLS should create an inclusive learning climate to better support minority and low-income students and provides a collection of ideas for creating an inclusive climate. Part I of this Note specifies the students and law schools that are the focus of the analysis. Part II details the institutional, faculty and student factors that contribute to an exclusionary climate. In Part III, this Note proposes a range of institutional, faculty and student-level inclusive climate ideas that TLS can choose from to create a more inclusive climate.
