American Journal of Law & Medicine Special Issue on National Study of Discrimination in the Legal Profession Facing Lawyers with Disabilities and Who Identify as LGBTQ+, by BBI Chairman Peter Blanck, Fitore Hyseni, and Fatma Altunkol Wise

The Spring 2021 issue of the American Journal of Law & Medicine (AJLM), the country’s leading health law journal, presents the research of Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, Fitore Hyseni, and Fatma Altunkol Wise, who have conducted a seminal national study on reported discrimination and bias in the legal profession facing lawyers with disabilities and lawyers who identify as LGBTQ+ — with additional commentary by prominent legal practitioners and scholars.

Full article:  Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession: Discrimination and Bias Reported by Lawyers with Disabilities and Lawyers Who Identify as LGBTQ+
Full journal: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/american-journal-of-law-and-medicine/latest-issue

The new study reports on 3,590 lawyers located across all states in the United States and working in most types and sizes of legal venues. The data were collected between 2018 and 2019, before the 2020 pandemic. Lawyers with disabilities, and those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer show a higher likelihood of reporting discrimination in their workplaces. Minority identities, as identified by disability, sexual orientation, gender, race and ethnicity, and age, are associated with reports of discrimination and bias in the legal workplace.

Jessa Boubker, AJLM Editor-in-Chief, says that in this first-of-its-kind study, “Professor Blanck and colleagues take an intersectional perspective of lawyers with disabilities and lawyers who identify as LGBTQ+ to unpack how the legal profession continues to reinforce discrimination and bias in the workplace through outdated policies and procedures, as well as individual negative attitudes.” Blanck notes that “the harmful impact of discrimination and bias is evidenced in accessing workplace accommodations and appropriate work-life supports, and the situation has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.” To address these concerns, many legal workplaces and law schools are attempting to craft new policies and procedures that foster healthier and productive work environments.

AJLM invited esteemed authors to comment on Blanck’s new study, such as Michael Stein, co-founder and Executive Director of the Harvard Law School Project on Disability, along with his colleague Ryan Nelson; Wesley Bizzell, President of the National LGBT Bar Association; Shain A. M. Neumeier and Lydia X. Z. Brown of the Committee for Public Counsel Services and Georgetown University; Kellye Testy, President and CEO of the Law School Admission Council, along with her colleague Elizabeth Bodamer; Angela Winfield, chief diversity officer at LSAC; and Elyn Saks, the Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law at USC Gould School of Law, director of the Saks Institute for Mental Health Law, Policy, and Ethics, and a MacArthur Foundation Fellow.

For information on the AJLM Special Issue go to https://www.bu.edu/ajlm/, and for Blanck and colleagues’ articles and writings in this series go to https://bbi.syr.edu/bio/peter-blanck/.

American Journal of Law & Medicine
The American Journal of Law & Medicine (AJLM) is the country’s leading health law journal. Its scope is broad, covering topics ranging from health law and policy to the legal, ethical, and economic aspects of medical practice, research, and education. The journal publishes articles written by professors, attorneys, and other professionals, as well as student notes and comments. AJLM is a peer-reviewed journal, with leading experts in health law reviewing every manuscript selected for publication. It is published by the Boston University School of Law in conjunction with the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics.