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W W W. M A I N E B I Z . B I Z 15 N OV E M B E R 1 6 , 2 0 2 0 F O C U S L AW as difficult as it may seem." Equally interested in criminal justice reform and business transactions, he's open to different career opportunities after he graduates. In a profession where men outnum- ber women by about 2-to-1, women of color must often overcome a host of additional prejudices. Bernstein Shur attorney Asha Echeverria, whose parents were born in India, recalls one instance where opposing counsel referred to her as a "girl" and she responded as "the woman over here." She chairs the firm's construction practice group and is a member of the Maine State Bar Association's new Diversity Committee and BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color) Lawyers Section. State bar group moves Besides the new committee and sec- tion, the Augusta-based Maine State Bar Association aims to gather statis- tics — for the first time — on diver- sity among its 2,900 members. In the dues renewal process that started in September, it added questions on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, military status, along with type of and years in practice, with plans to publish the data in an annual report. e 12-member Diversity Committee, formed in June and chaired by Murray Plumb & Murray's Kelly McDonald, has also conducted a survey of member experiences with racial equity and racism, whether as a witness or firsthand. It received around 1,400 responses it's now evalu- ating, according to MSBA Executive Director Angela Armstrong. "Even though we've been dealing with sexism and women's issues in the Maine bar as well as ageism, racial diver- sity is not something we've focused on, and clearly need to," she says. "I've been hearing these conversations for years at national meetings, and I'm glad it's now come to the forefront in Maine." C O N T I N U E D O N F O L L OW I N G PA G E » There's a burgeoning immigrant community here, so the ability to see people with my skin color isn't as difficult as it may seem. — Ambrose Dawson Military veteran and first-year law student VIEW FROM TWO DEANS, IN THEIR OWN WORDS We have a platform as leaders, as law school deans, to break through what could have been a paralyzing experience" after the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and other Black and Brown people. We have a platform, we have a voice, let's use the power that law schools have to begin to work together to solve problems. — Danielle Conway Penn State Dickinson Law Dean and former Maine Law Dean, on the creation of the Law Deans Antiracist Clearinghouse Project PHOTO / COURTESY UMAINE SCHOOL OF LAW What helps diversity of all types is to create a welcoming environment, so that when people arrive and they don't see a lot of other people like themselves, they still feel welcomed and valued. That's something that's hard to do when we have a pandemic, but it's absolutely something we are working on. — Leigh Saufley Maine Law Dean and former Maine Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice F I L E P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY P H O T O / C O U R T E S Y O F F E L I X H A G E N I M A N A Rwanda native Felix Hagenimana, a Portland- based immigration lawyer, says he isn't bothered when he's mistaken in court for an interpreter. P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Maine Law student Ambrose Dawson said he's glad to be in a city with a burgeoning immigrant community.

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