#MeToo Challenges in the Legal Profession
An interview with Paulette Brown
In the current climate of #MeToo, prominent cases of sexual harassment and misconduct are bringing new light to bad behavior across American industries, and the legal profession is no exception. According to recent reports, lawyers are in one of the professions with the highest reported levels of sexual harassment. In this moment of reflection and scrutiny, we sit down with an employment law expert to take a hard look at our own industry and learn more about some of the misconduct that is often swept under the rug. Former ABA president Paulette Brown explains some of the strategies deployed and the challenges faced in preventing sexual harassment.
About Paulette Brown
“We are naturally inclined to move towards people who we think are like us..... We need to start moving towards things that are not necessarily comfortable for us.”
Paulette Brown served as the 2015–2016 President of the American Bar Association, the first woman of color to hold that office. During her presidency she created the ABA's Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission, championed Resolution 113 and the ABA Model Diversity Survey, and developed implicit bias training for judges, prosecutors, and public defenders. She is also a past president of the National Bar Association. A labor and employment lawyer for more than four decades, she is a retired senior partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer of Locke Lord LLP (now Troutman Pepper Locke). She previously served as a municipal court judge in Plainfield, New Jersey, and held in-house counsel positions at major corporations. Her honors include the ABA's Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award. She is a graduate of Howard University and Seton Hall University School of Law.
