Jennifer Salinas, Esq. asked a room full of high school students interested in the law to close their eyes and conjure up the image of a lawyer. “Then I said to them, ‘I suspect that many of you saw a white man.’ They all (nodded) their heads yes,” she says. “We hope to change that so you see people of all different races and ethnicities.”

For the duration of her presidency at the Hispanic National Bar Association, which wrapped on September 28, Salinas offered programs, held symposia and ran campaigns, all in the name of attracting more Hispanics to the profession to which she’s dedicated her life.

One of those campaigns challenged Hispanic youth to imagine a different type of lawyer. It was called This is What a Lawyer Looks Like. “(We) would wear T-shirts that actually had that on the front. We’d go into heavily populated Latino schools and these kids were amazed. They’d say, ‘You’re a lawyer? You don’t look like a lawyer.’ And that’s kind of the point,” says Salinas.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, law is one of the least racially diverse professions in the nation. Hispanics comprise just 4.8% of U.S. lawyers, and Latinas are less than 2% of that. “That number hasn’t moved that much at all…We are aggressively working on that, going to middle schools and high schools. We have the Pearls of Wisdom Program, as well as others that I’ve been heavily involved in. But unfortunately those numbers are pretty stagnant,” says Salinas.

Geared to female students in middle school, high school and law school the HNBA’s Pearls of Wisdom Program is designed to strengthen the Hispanic pipeline. Distinguished women attorneys address female students and share stories about their personal paths to the law profession and their strategies for breaking the glass ceiling. Salinas and other Latinas in the law profession believe it’s “mission critical” to introduce students to the law profession while they’re still in middle school. In 2019, HNBA hosted 162 events, 24 of which were for high school students or younger.

A Broken System

Because of their financial situations, many Hispanics can’t afford to attend America’s most prestigious private or public law schools. Salinas, like many first-generation Hispanic college students, had to work while attending classes. Although she qualified for scholarships based on her grades, the money they provided only went so far. “It’s very difficult. In addition to dealing with the regular stress of going to law school, which is stressful in and of itself. Adding to that the question, ‘how am I going to feed myself,’ or ‘if you have a family like I did, how am I going to feed my family?’ It’s a miracle sometimes that you can actually get through and do well,” says Salinas.

The dearth of Hispanic lawyers is a multi-faceted problem that has no simple solution. The current cultural climate, according to Salinas, doesn’t help. The anti-Latino and anti-immigrant movements have existed for generations, with no improvement in rhetoric. “(Hispanics) are treated like wallpaper. People are not addressing issues that are impacting our community specifically as it relates to us. And it’s frustrating,” says Salinas. “

One of the sources of her frustration is a U.S. higher education system that she calls broken, especially in terms of funding. If not fixed, larger nations will surpass the U.S. in high-skilled employees. “For those who are against providing funding, especially for those (individuals) who are really low income and can’t afford it, it’s a misstep. It will actually hurt us financially and it will actually hurt our economy. It’s incredibly short sided,” says Salinas. Schools should continue offering scholarships and providing opportunities, but this is a problem that the federal government must address, she says.

Diversity Of Thought

Although the federal government is failing to tackle diversity issues Salinas is encouraged by actions taken by America’s corporations. “I think companies have decided that they have to come in and do what government is not doing to fix some of these problems,” says Salinas. “With pressure from the corporate world maybe we’ll finally see some change in these areas.”

In law, in commerce, in every aspect of life diversity of thought is important. Everyone benefits when a variety of individuals from a variety of backgrounds bring their diverse perspectives to a social problem, a project or a product design. “We all bring our own backgrounds that inform us and inform our decisions and that’s incredibly important,” says Salinas. When companies test a new product they expose it to a varied demographic. “What may appeal to one person may not appeal to someone else. It’s a basic understanding when it comes to the corporate side. It’s no different when it comes to being represented,” says Salinas.

Individuals who need legal representation should have the option of choosing counselors to whom they can relate based on their shared cultural experiences, says Salinas. When it comes to gender that’s not an issue. But it’s a different story when race or ethnicity are concerned. “I’m not sure why that is. But it’s like with anything you need diversity of thought. You need people who bring a different perspective and there are some things that certain cultures do differently. We might think differently. I don’t want to overstate that or make it overly simplistic, but we all bring our own background that informs our decisions,” says Salinas.

Salinas recognizes the scores of individuals who are committed to improving the Hispanic pipeline in the law profession and encourages them to remain proactive. “What I want to (impress) upon people is that it takes the smallest of efforts. Just going and visiting schools and talking about our experiences can be incredibly impactful. I know that because I’ve received cards from students years later saying that I made an impact on their life,” says Salinas. “We don’t have to think this is an insurmountable problem. Yes, we do need to move a mountain in some regards, but we can start with everyone just doing their part and that will make a significant difference,” she says. •