Commitment to Diversity

The Court has a strong commitment to fostering the development of new and diverse lawyers in the legal community. Consequently, the Court strongly encourages litigants to provide opportunities for less experienced lawyers or lawyers whose identities and/or backgrounds further the diversity of the legal profession to conduct hearings before the Court, particularly where they contributed significantly to the underlying motion or prepared the witness. While typically only one lawyer may argue on behalf of a Party at a hearing, the Court may allow multiple attorneys to argue on behalf of a client to achieve this end. Counsel should advise the Court prior to the hearing if they intend to have multiple lawyers argue a case pursuant to the Court’s commitment to diversity. Of course, the ultimate decision of who speaks on behalf of the client is for the client and not the Court.