By Sarcout “Sed” Zangana
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit us unexpectedly, accompanied by stay-at-home orders and newfound limitations on social gatherings, many of us in the legal community wondered what we could do to stay engaged with our community during uncertain times.
Members of the SDCBA’s Committee on Diversity & Inclusion (CDI) came together to tackle multiple projects aimed at furthering diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). One such project was revising the SDCBA Diversity Pledge, which had not been updated since 2007. While the 2007 pledge served a purpose, it had become stale and needed a revitalization. CDI Chair Blanca Quintero and I led these revival efforts. On March 9, 2021, after nearly a year of diligent work, the CDI was proud to launch the updated pledge, which has secured over 53 area firms, government agencies, and legal organizations as signatories thus far.
The Diversity Pledge, true to its name, encourages law firms and other legal organizations to pledge to increase the number of diverse attorneys being hired and promoted to management and leadership positions within their organizations. Diversity is an inclusive concept that encompasses, without limitation, a set of characteristics, experiences, conditions, and perspectives that make each person unique. The Diversity Pledge recognizes that to better reflect the diversity in our community and serve our clients, we must take action to include historically underrepresented groups. It has been well established in multiple studies that, among other benefits, diversity improves innovation, profitability, and performance. Diversity is beneficial for the legal profession, for business, and for our communities.
The concepts of DEI are critical to enhancing the public’s confidence in the judicial system. Embracing DEI is an active process that includes educating oneself on the diversity of others; developing an appreciation for the cultures, backgrounds, and experiences of people who are different from oneself; creating an environment where everyone feels welcomed, accepted, and valued; and enabling underrepresented, underserved, or historically disadvantaged groups to succeed as equal participants by creating equitable access, opportunity, and advancement.
Signatories of the Diversity Pledge commit to hiring and retaining attorneys that represent the diverse population of San Diego County, supporting the promotion and leadership of diverse attorneys, engaging diverse attorneys from outside law firms, and participating in legal community diversity initiatives. Signatories are expected to complete an annual survey that describes their progress toward these goals. CDI anticipates using the aggregate data from the surveys to better track our efforts in DEI.
The SDCBA has committed to assisting signatories in this quest by providing them with a private listserv, promoting them on the Diversity Pledge webpage (https://www.sdcba.org/diversity-pledge), recognizing them at Dialogue on Diversity series events, publicizing their names in the annual diversity issue of San Diego Lawyer magazine, and encouraging them to use the Diversity Pledge seal on their promotional materials.
It takes readers like you to make further movement toward increasing DEI. You can become an advocate by encouraging law firms and legal organizations to sign the Diversity Pledge and actively promoting these critical concepts whenever possible.
If you are an attorney interested in participating in diversity-related discussions, please feel free to join our regularly scheduled CDI meetings, which are held every first Thursday of the month beginning at noon. To learn more about the diversity efforts being made by the SDCBA and ways to get involved, visit https://www.sdcba.org/diversity.
Sarcout “Sed” Zangana (szangana@gmail.com) is a native San Diegan, born and raised. Sed is a Real Estate Attorney at So Cal Realty Law. Sed vice-chairs the SDCBA’s CDI, serves on the Board of the ACS SD Lawyer Chapter, and serves as President to the IABA’s San Diego Chapter.