MIP’s Diverse Perspectives is a monthly blog feature to spotlight a member from North Carolina’s diverse community of attorneys and legal professionals. Each month, an MIP member shares their personal perspective through a brief set of interview questions.
This month’s perspective is courtesy of Clayton Morgan.
What law school did you attend, and when did you graduate?
I attended the Wake Forest University School of Law and the Wake Forest Graduate School of Management, and graduated with my joint JD/MBA degree in May, 1991.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBA MIPhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA MIP2023-01-05 15:15:532024-05-07 10:29:19MIP's Diverse Perspectives: Clayton Morgan
Lawyers are increasingly exposed to gender identity, sexual orientation, and other LGBTQ+ related topics as awareness, acceptance, and open expression of such identities continues to increase in modern society. To honor International Pronouns Day, which was October 19, 2022, we have created a five-step primer to help guide legal practitioners through understanding gender identity, using proper personal pronouns, and acting with best etiquette practices for interacting with LGBTQ+ clients and colleagues.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBA YLDhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA YLD2022-11-30 11:25:412024-05-07 10:29:56A Pronouns Primer for Practitioners
You may be unintentionally excluding a quarter of your clients and coworkers.
Twenty-six percent of adults living in the United States live with some sort of disability. However, fewer than one percent of American attorneys report having a disability, which can include sensory, physical, emotional, cognitive, and psychological conditions, many of which are not immediately perceivable by the public. It is unsurprising that most legal providers do not know how to make their services, offices, and products accessible to persons with disabilities (PWDs). When our profession is not conducted with a focus on accessibility for clients, and when we lack disabled coworkers to provide their lived and learned expertise, we are giving up, or greatly limiting, the chance to work for, and with, PWDs. Obviously, law schools have a vital role to play in expanding opportunities in the practice of law for PWDs, but that is the subject of a different post. Today, I am going to focus on why ensuring accessibility is both a legal and ethical obligation for attorneys and firms, in addition to simply being good business sense. Read more
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBA Bloggerhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBA Blogger2022-05-16 09:13:522024-05-07 10:33:30Disability Access in the Practice of Law – Begin Making Your Law Firms More Accessible for Disabled Employees and Clients with this Simple Checklist
It’s no secret that the ability to form a trusting relationship with clients is one of the most important skills a lawyer can have. As a rule, “when a client’s capacity to make adequately considered decisions in connection with a representation is diminished because of minority . . . the lawyer shall as far as reasonably possible, maintain a normal client-lawyer relationship with the client.”[1] However, additional considerations should be made when the client is a minor child.
Part I: What to Consider When Working with Interpreters
By Larissa Mañón Mervin, with the assistance of Aaron Jacobson and Jennifer Robinson [1]
When ensuring access to justice, an attorney should consider a variety of factors. One of the most important factors is access to foreign language services when a client speaks limited English. According to Charlotte Stories, over 40 million Americans speak Spanish at home. [2] In N.C., the most common foreign languages spoken after English are Spanish and French.[3] Therefore, it is imperative that we consider “language justice” when ensuring our clients are represented as best as possible. The term language justice means the fundamental right to have one’s voice heard in their native language.[4] Groundswell: Oral History for Social Change defines the term further, by the following three characteristics:
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00NCBARBLOGhttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngNCBARBLOG2021-04-16 17:16:272024-05-07 10:32:52Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Series: Tools to Consider When Working With Interpreters
Recent studies indicate that more than 1.4 million transgender adults live in America. That’s around 0.5% of adults. If you’ve encountered 200 clients in your practice, odds are at least one of them is transgender, even if you didn’t know it.
Transgender people are those whose gender identity is different than the gender assigned at birth. Gender identity is one’s innermost concept of self and gender. For example, a person may identify as transgender if they were assigned female at birth, but identify as a man or non-binary (or something else like genderqueer or gender fluid). This article provides four tips for working with transgender clients, regardless of whether you know they are transgender when they first walk in (or videoconference in) your office. Read more
“A provider should ensure that its staff has the skills, knowledge and resources necessary to provide assistance in a culturally competent manner.” – ABA Standard 2.4 For the Provision of Civil Legal Aid
By Nisel Desai Diversity and Inclusion trainings seem to have surged since the tragic killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. The Black Lives Matter movement has seen an outpouring of solidarity and support, but we, as attorneys and officers of the court, must grapple with the difficult question: Why Now?
Perhaps it is the dual disasters of police brutality amidst a raging pandemic that have forced us all to participate in difficult conversations with each other, with our families, and within our communities. Whatever the root of this self-reflection may be, it is absolutely overdue, and such trainings and conversations are not intended to advance a particular political agenda, but rather to reframe these issues in the name of preserving human dignity and the equitable provision of justice. Two ends, that most attorneys can agree are the pillars of our profession.
https://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.png00Pro Bonohttps://ncbarblogprod.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Blog-Header-1-1030x530.pngPro Bono2021-03-10 12:26:262024-05-07 10:34:18Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) Series: Microaggressions, Building Rapport and Recovering from Blunders – Resources for Harmonious Pro Bono Client Interactions
As humans, we are multi-dimensional beings made up of several identities, including race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and ability. Cultures are inextricably connected to these identities and are learned from what we see, read, hear and experience. We carry them with us wherever we go and, collectively, they make up who we are at any particular point in our lives. They may influence our decisions, impact our lived experiences, play a role in how we choose to engage with others, and provide the lens through which we see the world. Acknowledging this truth is a good starting point when engaging in equity and inclusion work.
As chair of the Pro Bono Committee’s Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion subcommittee, I am pleased to announce the launch of a multi-part blog series surrounding DEI issues in legal work. Each entry will provide a high-level view of a resource relevant to a particular topic, which we encourage you to review as a follow up. While many of the topics may relate to sects of the population that are served by pro bono projects, historically under-supported communities, the information presented is not exclusive to pro bono work and should be applied as you engage with any client.
By 
By 
By 
By 
By Nisel Desai