The Intersection of Professional Responsibility and Unconscious Bias

Uncovering, confronting, and mitigating unconscious bias is a core legal skill – and an ethical imperative.  The ethical duties of competence, diligence, communication, and more compel attorneys to spot the presence of and analyze the effects of unconscious bias alongside other factors to provide a client with the best possible representation and advice. In addition, institutions must ensure compliance with civil rights laws, as well as maintain a welcoming and inclusive environment for faculty, students, and staff. This requires campus counsel to be ever mindful of the role that personal and systemic bias can play in shaping various decision points and outcomes across the institution.

Please join us for this two-hour webinar where expert presenters with substantial on-campus experience will discuss the ethical imperative to identify and eliminate bias in your legal team, in your client relationships, and in the campus community as a whole.  The webinar will include:

• Overview of research defining unconscious bias, how unconscious bias results in mental shortcuts and biased behaviors, and the resulting impacts on workplace and other settings;
• Discussion of the relevant ethical framework applicable to attorneys as defined in the Model Rules of Professional Conduct and formal ABA opinions;
• Examination of case studies from the college and university setting in which bias is often present;
• Practical and tested strategies and resources for identifying and mitigating unconscious bias.

2:00 P.M. ET

• I. Welcome and Introductions
• II. Overview of Implicit Bias and How it Manifests
• III. The Ethical Framework: Why Attorneys Must Confront Bias
• IV. Case Studies
• V. Q&A
• VI. Case Studies
• VII. Practical Strategies for Mitigating Bias
• VIII. Q&A

4:00 P.M. ET

• IX. Conclusion