Janice Grubin, partner and Restructuring, Bankruptcy & Creditors’ Rights Practice Area co-chair at Barclay Damon and co-chair of the LGBT Bar Association of Great New York’s (LeGaL) Judiciary Committee, recently had her “How Attorneys Can Narrow LGBTQ Gap in the Judiciary” article published by Law360. Kaitlynn Chopra, summer associate, contributed to this article. The article addresses the need for a diverse judiciary to effectively represent the diverse users of the legal system. However, the reality is that the current federal judiciary isn’t as diverse as it should be. The article states, “Sadly, New York (and certain other urban enclaves) is an outlier in the federal courts because only 1.4 percent of active judges on the entire federal bench self-identify as LGBTQ.”
The article further explores the impact of this lack of adequate representation on the bench, stating that the impact can be especially devastating in criminal cases. However, attorneys have the ability to create positive change in their environments. The article lists a number of different ways in which attorneys can engage with the LBGTQ+ community to narrow the gap between proportionate LGBTQ+ representation in the judiciary and the current reality.
Click here to read the full article.