They come together for a bigger cause

They come together for a bigger cause

Dinsmore & Shohl partners with Procter & Gamble and Cincinnati Law to launch Innocence Project fellowship to boost diversity in the legal profession and promote justice system reform

US law firm Dinsmore & Shohl has joined hands with Procter & Gamble and Cincinnati Law for a bigger cause of addressing inequalities in the US criminal judicial system. To achieve the target, they have launched a fellowship programme for young law graduates.

The recent law school graduates will get the fellowship for a two-year apprenticeship at the Ohio Innocence Project (OIP) to get the requisite exposure and gain experience in civil rights litigation and policy-making along with developing their general lawyering skills.

The 'Black Life Matters' movement launched following last year's police brutalities in the US against members of the African-American community has emerged as the guiding force behind the launch of the fellowship and the need to sensitize recent law school graduates.

"As the events of the past year demonstrate, the tentacles of racism run deep in the criminal justice system, working grave injustices on communities of colour. Meaningful change is long overdue. That's why collaborating with Dinsmore and P&G is so exciting. Together, we will help build a cadre of attorneys to address this crisis," Verna Williams, Dean and Nippert Professor of Law at the University Of Cincinnati College Of Law explained.

The fellowship entails mentoring by experienced lawyers to prepare apprentices for a career in law. They will work as a member of OIP staff, managing legal cases and supporting its legislative agenda to help reform the criminal justice system. The programme will also give priority to candidates from underrepresented groups in the legal profession.

George Vincent, chairman and managing partner of Dinsmore, said: "Dinsmore's long and successful partnership with P&G and our consistent support of OIP, as well as our commitment to community service, diversity, equity and inclusion, have fuelled our passion and excitement for this fellowship programme."

The much talked about diversity in the US legal industry has achieved a very little tangible result as the diversity level has gone up only marginally.

According to an American Bar Association study, the percentage of lawyers identified as black or African–American and Hispanic or Latino had gone up from four per cent each to five per cent each over a decade.

"This fellowship is a step toward addressing barriers that prevent diverse candidates from entering the legal profession generally and the innocence movement specifically. We hope to diversify the cadre of attorneys who do innocence work, an area that is so significantly impacted by systemic racism and bias. We're excited to partner with P&G and Dinsmore in this work to provide hands-on, meaningful work experiences for new attorneys as they embark on their legal careers," OIP said in a statement.