Shiva
is
the
Hebrew
word
for
Judaism’s
week-long
mourning
period
for
the
deceased’s
relatives.
With
the
“off
with
their
heads”
attitude
of
the
new
administration,
many
of
us,
regardless
of
religious
affiliation,
are
in
mourning
for
the
killing
off
of
DEI
initiatives.
So
many
questions.
Is
DEI
dead?
Seems
that
way.
If
two
absolutely
equally
qualified
lawyers
interview
for
the
one
vacant
position,
who
gets
it?
Female
or
male?
Majority
or
minority?
Women
lawyers
have
not
been
as
successful
as
men
in
the
rainmaking
aspect
of
the
profession.
With
the
ever-increasing
emphasis
on
business
development,
what
does
that
mean
in
choosing
that
successful
candidate?
You
tell
me.
If
the
law
schools
are
now
majority
women,
what
does
this
order
do
to
all
those
women
and
minority
lawyers
looking
to
succeed and
finding
that
doors
may
once
again
be
hard
to
pry
open.
Do
firms
and
corporate
legal
departments
continue
to
observe
DEI
principles
but
on
a
sub
rosa
basis?
Or
do
they
choose
to
not
continue
DEI
efforts
concerned
about
antagonizing
those
in
power
and
those
who
can
and
do
control
where
legal
business
goes?
What
does
this
say
about
the
lack
of
appetite
for
speaking
truth
to
power?
And
what
does
this
say
about
how
the
administration
views
efforts
to
level
the
playing
field
for
those
who
weren’t
even
allowed
on
the
field
for
so
many
years?
Efforts
by
the
ABA
and
state
and
local
bar
associations
to
increase
diversity? What
happens
to
them?
What
about
the
Mansfield
Rule
that
requires
women
and
minority
attorneys,
along
with
disabled
and
LGBTQ+
attorneys
be
considered
for
leadership
roles?
There’s
been
some
wordsmithing
about
the
Mansfield
certification
at
the
Diversity
Lab
website.
What
about
the
Rooney
Rule?
Since
NFL
football
is
the
quintessential
“old
boys
club,”
will
Roger
Goodell
and
the
league
get
a
pass? (Pun
intentional)
Cynical
about
all
this?
Yup. One
example:
MCLE
programming,
which
30
years
ago,
was
exclusively
all
white
men
as
speakers.
When
pressed
as
to
why
no
women
or
minorities
were
on
panels,
the
lame
excuse
was
that
they
couldn’t
find
any.
Really?
It
was
only
when
women
lawyers
started
jumping
up
about
the
lack
of
panel
diversity
that
speakers
became
more
diversified.
Nothing
is
worse
than
a
panel
of
homogeneous
speakers
who
drone
on
in
the
same
monotonous
tones.
So
are
program
chairs
now
free
to
ignore
DEI
in
putting
panels
together?
Is
there
no
longer
any
need
or
desire
to
put
panels
together
that
resemble
the
changing
face
of
this
country?
And
like
it
or
not,
our
face
is
indeed
changing.
What
about
law
schools?
What
happens
to
their
DEI
efforts/programs?
If
DEI
efforts
are
being
dismantled,
then
how
will
law
schools
react?
Since
women
now
make
up
the
majority
of
incoming
law
school
classes,
what
happens
now?
Will
the
federal
student
loan
program
look
at
law
school
composition
and
decide
that
it
won’t
lend
to
students
at
certain
schools
because
the
law
schools
pride
themselves
as
diverse
student
classes?
Businesses
now
wimp
out
on
their
purported
promises
for
diversity
and
equal
opportunity.
Is
“equal
opportunity”
an
oxymoron?
Think
about
it.
How
can
you
have
equal
opportunity
if
you’re
not
even
allowed
in
the
room?
How
do
you
change
the
mindset
of
cultures
that
backslap
the
old
boys
network
and
ignore
changing
demographics?
The
field
is
once
again
tilted
in
favor
of
those
who
have
always
had
the
deck
stacked
in
their
favor.
It’s
not
back
to
the
future,
it’s
back
to
the
past,
a
past
that
many
of
us
dinosaurs
would
prefer
to
not
relive.
On
another
topic
perfect
for
ranting,
AI
is
imperiling
the
work
of
the
junior
puppies.
Remember
those
hours
and
days
of
necessary
drudge
work
that
we
all
did
as
a
rite
of
passage
as
new
lawyers?
Learning
how
to
write
motions,
craft
discovery
and
responses
thereto,
researching
the
law
for
that
one
case
the
partner
knew
was
out
there.
And
then
the
partner
cutting
the
hours
that
she
could
bill
on
that
case
because
that
junior
puppy
took
way
too
long
to
find
the
answer?
It
looks
as
if
AI
(aka
ALSP
—
Alternative
Legal
Service
Providers)
may
soon
have
even
a
lock
on
the
grunt
work
we
all
did.
DEI
initiatives
are
in
tatters,
and
jobs
for
new
associates
may
be
even
tougher
to
come
by.
Not
an
appetizing
future
for
women
who
comprise
more
than
50%
of
incoming
law
school
classes
and
certainly
no
better
for
minority
attorneys.
So
between
the
death
of
DEI
and
the
ever
increasing
prominence
of
AI,
why
would
anyone
want
to
navigate
law
school,
the
bar
exam,
and
student
loans?
Would
a
career
performing
frontal
lobotomies
with
ice
cream
scoops
be
a
better
career
path?
Jill
Switzer
has
been
an
active
member
of
the
State
Bar
of
California
for
over
40
years.
She
remembers
practicing
law
in
a
kinder,
gentler
time.
She’s
had
a
diverse
legal
career,
including
stints
as
a
deputy
district
attorney,
a
solo
practice,
and
several
senior
in-house
gigs.
She
now
mediates
full-time,
which
gives
her
the
opportunity
to
see
dinosaurs,
millennials,
and
those
in-between
interact
—
it’s
not
always
civil.
You
can
reach
her
by
email
at
[email protected].