Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Protests Lack of Diversity at Top Delaware Law Firms with Billboard Truck Outside Skadden Arps' Wilmington Office, Where the Firm is Without a Single Black Partner
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 12, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the grassroots advocacy group Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware sponsored a billboard truck highlighting the lack of diversity at top law firms in the state, specifically citing Skadden Arps as one of the most egregious examples.
The billboard comes just weeks after civil right activist Reverend Al Sharpton penned a letter to Robert Saunders, the head of Skadden Arps' Wilmington, DE office, calling for more diversity at the firm and others like it.
Said Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware Campaign (CPBD) Manager Chris Coffey, "For months now our members have been calling for Delaware to make progress in diversifying its court system, but to no avail. We said from the beginning we weren't going to be afraid of calling out those we see responsible for perpetuating a rigged system the only helps a select few, and this billboard shows how serious we are about that.
"The inequities in Delaware's justice system, caused by a court system run by mostly white judges is a direct result of firms like Skadden Arps denying opportunities to people of color. We can't possibly expect the judges in our courts to accurately reflect the racial, ethnic, gender, and socioeconomic diversity of this state if they aren't given the opportunity to gain the relevant experience.
"Of 282 law partners listed at Wilmington firms, not even 5% are racial minorities. Per their own reporting, Skadden Arps epitomizes the problem ? out of 10 partners in the Wilmington office, not a single one is black.
"Lacking diversity in our justice system is a national and systemic issue. But in a state that's home to the country's busiest corporate courts, where judges are handpicked to join an old boys' club from top firms like Skadden, it's critical we end the status quo."
Contact: Chris Coffey, [email protected]
SOURCE Citizens for a Pro-Business Delaware
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