Mainebiz

V O L . X X V I N O. X X V I I N OV E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 0 12 L AW A multilingual immigration law- yer from Rwanda who repre- sents clients in asylum cases and is sometimes mistaken for an interpreter. A Black energy attorney at Maine's largest law firm who stood up to controversial remarks made by a white attorney with a broader call to end systemic racism in the profes- sion. A Black real estate lawyer and Portland City Council member who ran for mayor last year. All are blazing trails in a field where the odds are stacked against them as racial minorities, in one of the coun- try's whitest states. e profession remains predominantly white, 176 years after Macon Bolling Allen passed the Maine bar exam. Born in Indiana in 1816, he was the first African- American to become a lawyer, argue before a jury and hold a judicial posi- tion. He passed the Maine bar exam in 1844 and became a justice of the peace in Massachusetts in 1847. Today in Maine and nationwide, individuals of color are still vastly underrepresented among law stu- dents and practicing lawyers. eir voices are getting stronger after George Floyd's death at the hands of a white policeman in Minneapolis this summer gave new impetus to the Black Lives Matter movement. In Maine and elsewhere, that's prompt- ing reflection and sometimes difficult conversations around diversity and racism in legal circles. "What it did is really galvanize the white community, and made it more acceptable for Black professionals to talk about their experiences, that in no way were as extreme as death, but are still significant," says Bernstein Shur's Krystal Williams, of counsel at the Portland firm and a member of its energy and environmental practice group. "It made what was invisible to the majority of Americans visible." Williams is an active participant in those conversations, starting with her widely circulated response to contro- versial remarks made during a June 15 Maine State Bar Association "Bar Talk" on Zoom. Twenty-three minutes into the 30-minute talk, Augusta attorney Leah Baldacci objected to applying the term "white privilege" to attorneys "of the white race" as a "racist comment." Williams argued in her five-page response that white privilege is a necessary part of any discussion on racism. She also called on Maine's legal community to "model the change that America needs," adding, "Even though it's messy, let's change anyway — together." F O C U S P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Krystal Williams, left, is an energy attorney, corporate strategist and business operations expert at Bernstein Shur, while Asha Echeverria chairs the Portland-based law firm's construction law practice group. S O U R C E : ABA Profile of the Legal Profession, 2020 PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN AND PEOPLE OF COLOR AT LAW FIRMS, 2019 24.2% 3.5% 9.6% 36.9% 5.5% 11.5% 36.3% 8.7% 16.9% 46.8% 14.5% 25.4% 57.5% 14.1% 23.2% 52.7% 21.2% 35.3% S O U R C E : NALP Report on Diversity Women Women of Color People of Color LAW STUDENTS BY RACE, ETHNICITY AND DEBT First Year Law Students by Race and Ethnicity Average Cumulative Student Law School Debt by Race and Ethnicity, 2016 1 1 Not enough available data for Asian students. Legal diversity by the Numbers DIVERSE LAWYERS MATTER Black Lives Matter spurs Maine's legal community to promote diversity and tackle racism in the profession B y R e n e e C o R d e s Partners Non-trad. Track / Staff Attorneys All Attorneys Summer Associates Counsel Associates White Hispanic Black Asian Unknown Other White All students Hispanic Black 5K 0 0 10K $50K 15K $100K 20K $150K 25K $200K 24,377 4,912 3,035 2,494 2,596 1,856 $100,510 $120,406 $149,573 $198,760

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