UC reinvents job fairs with nation’s first diversity law competition

When more than 40 attorneys, Keating Muething & Klekamp PLL (KMK) partners, associates and in-house counsel came together to coach, judge and mentor 34 diverse 1L law students, the nation’s first and only law student diversity case competition was born. Held in the KMK law office in downtown Cincinnati Jan. 18-19, the University of Cincinnati College of Law's Center for Professional Development and KMK partnered together to offer this unique opportunity.

The students had less than 24 hours to solve real-life based client scenarios. This show-and-tell event allowed diverse students to demonstrate the skills necessary to succeed in a law firm setting, a place where diversity is stagnant at best.

According to National Association for Law Placement’s 2018 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms, while there are overall gains in the representation of women, minorities, and LGBT lawyers, the representation of African-American associates remains below 2009 numbers.

At a time when the legal profession once again laments the lack of diversity and 170 general counsels pledge to only use law firms that promote diversity, KMK is a law firm doing it in an innovative way – enter Cincinnati Law.  

The university's cutting-edge strategic direction, Next Lives Here, calls for innovative programs like the law competition and community partnerships to promote an inclusive culture in the world.

At the January 2019 competition, 34 diverse students from seven tri-state law schools competed,  gaining hands-on legal experience and demonstrating what they can do. They also created invaluable professional connections that they may not have had the opportunity to do elsewhere. Not to mention cash awards provided by KMK.

Teams were comprised of students from the University of Kentucky College of Law, Chase College of Law (Northern Kentucky University), Moritz College of Law (Ohio State University), Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Maurer School of Law (Indiana University), McKinney School of Law (Indiana University) and Cincinnati Law.

Kamesha Anderson, Jamila Batchelor and Clyde Dean, part-time law students from Chase College of Law, explained that the event sharpened their professional skills and gave them an edge for when they apply for jobs. The team also noted that “the diversity and inclusion aspect of the competition is important because the real world is diverse, and we need lawyers that represent the diversity.”

Myles Chaney, Jonas Bastien and Erik Mcarley, students from the University of Kentucky College of Law, joked that they enjoyed the competition so much, they’re going to re-register as first year law students so they can come back next year.

Joel Chanvisanuruk, Cincinnati Law’s assistant dean and director of Academic Success and a nationally known bar prep expert, spearheaded the creation of the two assignments for the competition. The scenarios spotlighted labor and employment law, business law, corporate law, as well as the day-to-day functions of a lawyer in the field.

Students were given the cases and, working with their coaches, had under one hour to prepare before meeting with a KMK partner to receive additional information about the assignment.  As the competition unfolded, participants were thrown a curve ball immediately before round two, which occurs often in the real world.

After a panel of speakers answered student’s questions about life after law school, the winners were announced and prizes awarded.

First place was awarded to Elizabeth Gatten and Sol Ouzounian from Cincinnati Law. Gatten and Ouzounian explained that they represent another minority in the legal field: the LGBT community. “The queer community,” Gatten said, “does not have enough representation in the legal community, and we’re hoping to change that.”

Second place was awarded to Kanisa Ervin, Sarah Ochieng and Ja'Nae Powell, also from Cincinnati Law; third place was awarded to Zeynep Kart, Thomas Pope and Keri Richardson from Moritz College of Law.

Sometimes practicing a scenario before the stakes are high can generate the confidence to  perform successfully in the real-world and provide law firms a different set of metrics to use when hiring. The case law competition did just this. By providing diverse talent the opportunity to showcase their legal abilities and sharpen their professional skills, both employer and employee benefit.

Cincinnati Law and KMK may have just changed the way law firms identify and hire diverse talent for summer jobs. In fact, several interviews have occurred since the competition and other law schools are inquiring about bringing the competition to their campus.