This year’s theme is “Where We’ve Been & Where We’re Going.” Through this lens, the 2022 Diversity Conference aims to look at ongoing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the legal industry and society as practitioners move forward in a post-COVID world. Panels will explore progress, setbacks, and opportunities in these areas, including how California state courts can increase diversity and representation through novel initiatives, how leaders in the legal industry can move past performative diversity and towards meaningful cultural change, how inside and outside counsel can work together to promote, advocate and ensure diverse attorneys receive meaningful opportunities, and the importance of these efforts to our community as a whole.

Session 1 | 9:15-10:30 a.m.
A Jury of Your Peers
A Look at Past Issues and Future Solutions for Increasing Juror Diversity
MCLE: 1 Hour in Elimination of Bias

Join Berkeley Law Professor, Elisabeth Semel, Brendon Woods, the first African-American Chief Public Defender of Alameda County, and Tamani Taylor, San Francisco Deputy Public Defender, for a discussion of the history of racial discrimination in jury selection in California.  In 2020, Semel and students in Berkeley Law’s Death Penalty Clinic published, “Whitewashing the Jury Box: How California Perpetuates the Discriminatory Exclusion of Black and Latinx Jurors,” which provided evidentiary support for the California Legislature’s passage of AB 3070.  Woods, Semel, and clinic students played instrumental roles in the legislative process.  This statute dramatically reforms jury selection in criminal trials, and in 2026 it will also apply to civil jury selection.

Panelists
Elisabeth Semel, Co-Director, Death Penalty Clinic, Berkeley Law
Brendon Woods, Chief Public Defender, Alameda County Public Defender's Office
Tamani Taylor, Deputy Public Defender, San Francisco County Public Defender's Office

Moderator
Cara Sandberg, Of Counsel, Conrad Melitzky Kane

Session 2 | 10:40-11:55 a.m.
Diversity of California’s Legal Profession Report
MCLE: 1 Hour

A presentation on the State Bar of California’s "diversity report card" and strategies for attorneys and employers to increase diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplaces and the profession. Participants will learn about the current demographic composition of California attorneys, including analyses that explore where attorneys work, their leadership experiences, and satisfaction with workplace experiences crucial to advancement and retention. While the State Bar’s report shows that the profession has become increasingly diverse in recent decades, an analysis of women of color in the profession highlights that there are great opportunities to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the profession. Calls to action, or strategies, for both legal employers and attorneys, will be shared to help employers and attorneys advance an inclusive workplace in support of a profession that reflects the diversity of California. 

Presenters
Lisa Chavez, State Bar of California
Elizabeth Hom, State Bar of California

11:55 - 12:05 p.m.
Yoga Break
A brief yoga practice that you can do right from the comfort of your desk

Facilitator
Jacqueline M. Simonovich, Yoga for Lawyers

Session 3 | 12:05 p.m. - 1:20 p.m.
Diversity and Inclusion in a Post-COVID Environment
Coming Out of the Pandemic  
MCLE: 1 Hour

Join San Francisco Superior Court Judge Samuel Feng, Shantel Williams, Associate General Counsel at Quora, Angelique Magliulo Hager, Director of Diverse Talent & Firmwide Training at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe as they share best practices on demonstrating an authentic commitment to diversity and will explore legal issues that may arise as some return to the office, while others continue in remote or hybrid settings.

Panelists
The Honorable Samuel K. Feng, Presiding Judge, San Francisco Superior Court
Shantel Williams, Associate General Counsel, Quora
Angelique Magliulo Hager, Director of Diverse Talent & Firmwide Training, Orrick
Miki Clayton, HR and Organizational Strategy Advisory - Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, Justice, Nonprofit HR; Founder at Miki Clayton Talent

Moderator
Kevin Benedicto, Associate, Morgan Lewis

Session 4 | 1:30 - 2:45 p.m.
Moving Past Performative Diversity and Inclusion
Transformational Leadership
MCLE: 1 Hour

Join California Lawyers Association CEO, Oyango Snell, SF City Attorney, David Chiu, Thumbtack Senior Counsel, Nima Rahimi, and the head of Greenberg Traurig’s Government Law & Policy group, Alice Kessler, for a panel exploring the responsibilities of law firms, in-house legal departments, nonprofit organizations, and government to effectuate meaningful cultural change in recruiting, retaining, and promoting underrepresented attorneys in 2022, rather than making diversity an extracurricular or selling point.

Panelists
Oyango A. Snell, CEO & Executive Director, California Lawyers Association
Nima Rahimi, Senior Counsel, Thumbtack
David Chiu, San Francisco City Attorney, former State Assembly Member
Alice Kessler, Head of Government Law & Policy Group, Greenberg Traurig

Moderator
Lindsey Mignano, SSM

Session 5 | 2:55 - 4:10 p.m.
Stronger Together. Diversity and Inclusion in Project Staffing
Learning from the Experiences of Inside and Outside Counsel
MCLE: 1 Hour in Elimination of Bias

Join Executives, In-House Counsel, and Partners from Intuit, Intel, Flynn Restaurant Group, Greenberg Traurig and Reed Smith to learn how in-house and outside counsel can collaborate to ensure that diverse attorneys are staffed on pitches and projects, provide effective mentorship and sponsorship opportunities, overcome implicit bias that stands as an obstacle to these goals, and create legal policies and procedures to enforce diversity goals. Participants will learn how implicit bias can show up in project staffing, pitch make-up and participation, and mentorship, and how to interrupt implicit bias in these settings.

Panelists
Philip Person, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig
Maytak Chin, Partner, Reed Smith
Adam Kaplan, Associate Director and Technical Assistant and Counsel to Chief Legal Officer, Intel
Kerry McLean, Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Intuit 

Moderator
Cherise Latortue, Lecturer, USC Gould School of Law; Associate General Counsel, Flynn Restaurant Group

4:10 - 4:20 p.m.
Yoga Break
A brief yoga practice that you can do right from the comfort of your desk.  

Facilitator
Jacqueline M. Simonovich, Yoga for Lawyers

Diversity Awards Reception

Location
BASF Offices
201 Mission Street, Suite 400
San Francisco, CA

Please join the Barristers Club Board of Directors in honoring Kelly Matayoshi and Ernest Hammond III at the 14th Annual Barristers Club Diversity Reception. This award reflects an individual’s efforts to increase awareness of diversity issues in the Bay Area Legal Community.

Honorees

Kelly Matayoshi	Ernest Hammond III

Health and Safety: Will be in guidelines pursuant to SF health orders. Please note that all attendees will be required at check-in to show proof of full COVID vaccination. We kindly ask that anyone experiencing symptoms consistent with COVID remain home.

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
(as of 10/4/22)

GOLD SPONSORS




PARTNER SPONSORS












FRIEND SPONSORS

Minority Bar Coalition Co-Sponsors: 

Black Women Lawyers Association of Northern California; American Constitution Society-Bay Area Lawyer Chapter; Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom; Alameda County Bar Association; East Bay La Raza Lawyers Association; Women Lawyers of Alameda County; Business Law Section of the California Lawyers Association; Queen's Bench Bar Association; The Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area; Jewish Bar Association of San Francisco; San Francisco La Raza Lawyers Association

Sponsorship inquiries contact mmartin@sfbar.org or click here for sponsorship form. 

Planning Committee Chair
Anthony Guzman, Greenberg Traurig

Committee Members
Sydney Allen, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff
Kevin Benedicto, Morgan Lewis & Bockius
Miguel Gradilla, San Francisco City Attorney's Office
Kelly Matayoshi, Farella, Braun + Martel
Lindsey Mignano, SSM
Danté Taylor, Legasse Branch Bell + Kinkead
Jacqueline Simonovich, Weintraub Tobin

For a printable flyer, click here. 

Cost
FREE

To Register:

1. Sign-in to your account and select Register Myself at the bottom of the page.
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Program Access

A link to access the Zoom webinar will be sent in your confirmation e-mail prior to the start of the event. If you do not receive login credentials, please double check your Spam Folder. If you have any trouble, please contact cle@sfbar.org as soon as possible before the program starts so we can assist with troubleshooting. You may need to consult your local IT technician for connection issues.

Program recordings are not guaranteed, nor immediately accessible to registrants. Approved recordings of live programs are converted to On-Demand CLE Courses and available for separate purchase through a third-party library 7-10 business days after the live recording. Thank you for your support.

Substitution, Cancellation, and Refund Requests

For CLE events of 1.5 hours or less, Lunch & Learn programs, Happy Hours, Receptions, and Mixers, a refund is available if you submit your cancellation request at least 48 hours prior to the event. A $10 handling fee will deducted from your refund. Please complete the Event Cancellation Form.

For CLE events longer than 1.5 hours, and for special events such as conferences, symposiums, professional development training programs, a 50% refund is available if you cancel at least 10 business days prior to the event. Please complete the Event Cancellation Form.

If you are unable to attend, you may send a substitute. Please complete the Event Cancellation Form.

MCLE Notice

To receive MCLE credit, you must sign in during the designated MCLE registration period. This activity is approved for Minimum Continuing Legal Education credit by the State Bar of California. BASF is a certified provider: Provider #103

Accessibility

People with disabilities and/or special requests should contact BASF regarding reasonable accommodations.