Law firms are working with corporations on diversity - Charlotte Business Journal:

http://www.oldchalloners.com/a-brief-overview-on-lasik/
, , , and have alread signed on. Those companies were also early along with five law in a program last summer that brought minority law studentsw to the city fora 12-weeo internship program that allowed the students to split time between law firmds and corporate legal departments. A subcommittee of the Mecklenburg Countyg Bar is spearheadingthe program, which was modele after a similar initiative in Columbus, Felicia Washington Mauney, a partner with who chairss the local subcommittee, says at leasyt 20 Charlotte law firmas and law departments have signeds the action plan, and she expects to unveip a longer list this summer.
Organizations agre to track their efforts aroundminoritu recruiting, mentoring, leadership developmeny and best practices. "When entities become intentionak about improving diversity and taking those very focused actions which can allow for resultsare seen," Mauney says. Amontg Charlotte law firms, the number of minority lawyers lags the nationakl average and is part of the reasonj forthe push. Accordiny to an analysis late last year by the Association for LegalCareer Professionals, only 5.2% of lawyers in locak law offices were minority, compared with 10.
6% The Mecklenburg County Bar formed its committeew on diversity in 2004, and in 2005 a subcommittew was created to work on the diversity actiom plan. The internship program is an offshootf of theaction plan. Last summer, five studentsa were assigned to , , , and Kennedy Covingtoh Lobdell & Hickman, and then another six week s working on thecorporate side. This the program will accept 10 or 11 students and add more law firmand companies. Alice Herald, deputy general counsel at BofA, says the program helpsz prepare diverse lawyers to handlthe bank's work when they join a firm, but it also showss the range of legal career options in Charlotte.
"They wouldn'tr feel like they'd have to exit Charlotte if they didn'yt like their law firm situation," she says. Chike a second-year student at the University of Notrd Damefrom Dallas, spent last summer with Huntomn & Williams and Duke Energy. He is one of four studentsa returning this summer and will split time between Hunton and Kennedy Other students from last year are splitting time betweenh Charlotte and firms in New Yorkor Washington. "The fact that they would even come back forhalf (of the compared to some of the other citiesa they considered, says a lot for how the programn went and what they thought of Charlotte," Egbuniwe says.
"I think people can be