Eight Tactics to Interrupt and Combat Implicit Bias in the Legal Profession

"Implicit Bias" - and its potential impact on diversity and inclusion initiatives in the legal profession - has become a bedrock of anti-bias training, although the efficacy of elimination of bias training is controversial. As attorneys, how can you take stock of your biases, including ones you didn't even know you had, and modify your behaviors accordingly? This course answers the following questions - What is implicit bias? Why should you care? What can you do about it? - and then offers attorneys practical, effective, and evidence-based methods to interrupt and combat implicit bias. 

The course looks at ABA 8.4(g) which already prohibits harassment and discrimination based on "known" or "explicit" bias and how this area of potential misconduct is likely to be expanded (and has already been expanded in some jurisdictions)  to include "unknowing" or "implicit" bias. Will you be ready when that happens? Get ahead of the curve by getting the tools now for what is coming down the pipeline.

Learning Objectives: 

1. Discuss what constitutes unconscious/implicit bias and how it plays out in the legal profession

2. Explore the impact of unconscious/implicit - from benign to inappropriate biases - including stereotypes that breed biases, create barriers to inclusion, and impact the law office and relationships with colleagues, peers, and even clients

3. Recognize and manage implicit bias in the legal workplace

4. Use eight evidence-based tactics to interrupt and combat unconscious/implicit bias