Communities of color are disproportionately hurt by corporate misconduct involving product defects, device malfunctions, and environmental hazards.
Yet, very few Black and Brown lawyers are appointed to lead the key mass tort cases that directly affect millions of their own community members. It’s time to remedy this inequity.
Communities of color are disproportionately hurt by corporate misconduct involving product defects, device malfunctions, and environmental hazards.
Yet, very few Black and Brown lawyers are appointed to lead the key mass tort cases that directly affect millions of their own community members. It’s time to remedy this inequity.
It’s time for attorneys who truly represent the communities disproportionately affected by corporations’ wrongful conduct to advocate for and get appointed to lead and co-lead counsel roles in litigations seeking justice for these populations.
Historically, an embarrassingly small number of Black and Brown lawyers have been appointed to lead the large-scale cases that directly affect the lives and finances of millions of people – most often BPoC. The number of diverse attorneys appointed to MDL leadership roles is dismal; and the few who are appointed rarely exercise significant leadership roles, almost always being relegated to secondary appointments.
Through collaboration, shared resources, education, and networking opportunities, and pressure on our profession, Shades of Mass aims to rectify this inequity and achieve the diversity missing in mass tort and complex litigation case leadership.
“MDL includes some of the most high-profile torts of our day —opioids, talc, Roundup — but the attorneys who spearhead these proceedings [are] predominately white and predominately male.”
University of Missouri-Kansas City Law Review
Data from Law.com shows little progress in the ethnic diversity of MDL plaintiffs’ leadership teams: from 2016 to 2019 only 5% of appointments in MDLs went to nonwhite lawyers.
Law.com
The legal profession has made great strides over the last 15 years to address diversity and inclusion issues. But when it comes to representing plaintiffs
The First Annual Shades of Mass Conference will bring together attorneys of color and allies to provide mentorship, advocacy, networking, and educational opportunities to help