2018 Third Extraordinary Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 5
BY SENATOR BISHOP
A RESOLUTION
To commend Dillard University and its Pre-law Program on being awarded the 2018 ABA
Section on Litigation's Diversity Leadership Award.
WHEREAS, competing against law schools, firms, and organizations across the
country, the Dillard University Pre-law Program received the prestigious 2018 Diversity
Leadership Award from the American Bar Association (ABA) Section on Litigation; and
WHEREAS, the Section on Litigation created this honor to recognize those who have
made outstanding commitments to promoting full and equal participation in the legal
profession through the encouragement and inclusion of women, people of color, persons
with disabilities, and persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities; and
WHEREAS, the Diversity Leadership Award was presented to Attorney Adria
Kimbrough, Dillard's Pre-law Program advisor, during the Annual Conference Luncheon on
Thursday, May 3, 2018, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront in San Diego, California; and
WHEREAS, the award is evidence that the Dillard Pre-law Program is competitive,
cutting edge, and committed to ensuring that its students are prepared and to increasing
diversity in the legal profession; and
WHEREAS, Dillard's Center for Law and Public Interest Pre-law Program is
designed to prepare students interested in a career in law and consists of a mock trial team,
an LSAT boot camp, and field opportunities including workshops with attorneys and judges;
and
WHEREAS, barely in its third year, the Dillard Pre-law Program has captured the
national spotlight as the University's Mock Trial team has quickly become a formidable
opponent, finishing its 2017-2018 competition season ranked in the top thirty percent of
college mock trial teams nationwide; and
WHEREAS, in February, the team made history with its first-ever qualification to
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the Opening Round Championship held March 23-25 at the D'Army Bailey Courthouse in
Memphis, Tennessee; and
WHEREAS, notably, the Dillard University Pre-law Program received $180,000 in
grant funding to increase diversity in law schools and the legal profession; and
WHEREAS, last year, Dillard University was awarded the AccessLex Institute Legal
Education Diversity Pipeline Grant, which funds programs that provide students from
historically underrepresented groups with resources to aid them in successful matriculation
into law school and the legal profession, which is significant in that Dillard University is the
only undergraduate institution and the only Historically Black College and University
(HBCU) in the nation to be awarded a grant through this program; and
WHEREAS, Dillard University received $125,000 in funds to launch a brand new
program called LEAD (Legal Education Advancing Diversity) that provides students and
graduates from the three HBCUs in New Orleans with a comprehensive year-long program
that includes intensive preparation for the LSAT, law school admissions support, and a
mentor in the legal profession; and
WHEREAS, the University also received an additional $55,000 to launch a second
program called "Foundation to LEAD" that will provide rising college juniors from Dillard,
SUNO, and Xavier with exposure to analytical and logical reasoning skills, and participants
will gain hands-on experience with a local public interest law organization and gain
exposure to the legal profession through guest lectures by prominent members of the New
Orleans legal community; and
WHEREAS, Loyola University College of Law and Tulane University College of
Law will collaborate with the LEAD program to assist with law school admission workshops
and other opportunities to expose the scholars to law school as the program plans to accept
twenty new HBCU scholars each year, with a total of forty LEAD scholars over the course
of two years; and
WHEREAS, only in its third year, the Pre-law Program continues to grow and excel.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana that
Dillard University and its Pre-law Program are hereby commended on being awarded the
2018 ABA Section on Litigation's Diversity Leadership Award.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Adria Kimbrough, Dillard University Pre-law Program advisor.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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