ABA Young Lawyers Division accepting applications for Leadership Academy
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The ABA Young Lawyers Division has launched the Leadership Academy to continue to promote and advance lawyers who have been historically marginalized and underrepresented in the legal profession.
The two-year program will provide participants with hands-on training and networking opportunities to help them succeed in bar service and their careers, according to a March 22 ABA press release. They will also receive travel scholarships and mentorships during the program, which begins in August.
Darryl Wilson, who is the diversity and inclusion director for the YLD, says the academy will give participants direct access to past and present division leaders and sponsors.
“The academy will create opportunities for the participants to ask questions but also participate and take active roles in the division’s programming and initiatives,” Wilson says. “It is our hope that after successful completion of the academy, participants will seek out leadership opportunities in the YLD and continue to strengthen the pipeline of diverse leaders.”
Sarah Saint will help coordinate and lead the Leadership Academy as the YLD’s next director of diversity, equity and inclusion for personnel and policy. She agrees that its goal is simple—to develop more diverse lawyer leaders.
She adds that lessons learned from two previous leadership programs “led to a more formalized curriculum designed by the YLD’s leadership as an answer to the question of, ‘What do I know now that I wish I knew when I was starting out?’”
“The hope is that it will fast-track diverse lawyers into leadership equipped with the skills and the knowledge to be successful,” Saint says.
Lawyers who are interested in applying for the Leadership Academy must be in good standing with the YLD. The application deadline is April 15.
For more information, visit the YLD Leadership Academy website.
