Photo courtesy of the author
On February 7th, Howard University School of Law, working with Steve Solow (Baker Botts), Preston Pugh (Crowell & Moring), and Ben Wilson (Beveridge and Diamond), hosted the 2nd Annual Charlotte E. Ray Lecture. The program featured keynote speeches by Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri, former Attorney General Loretta Lynch, and panels with esteemed members of the Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s offices, and private practice. The event provided an intimate look into the career trajectories of the speakers, the impact that the totality of their lives has played in their career and the influence of their personage on their respective communities. Most pertinent to this piece, which focuses on diversity of compliance teams as a central factor in effective risk management, the event emphasized two broad themes: first, the importance of cultivating and carrying forward a sense of service and responsibility towards one’s community; and second, that in order to understand the difference one can make as they advance in the field of law, individuals need to ask themselves why their presence in a particular role matters uniquely. Below, these themes are extrapolated to trace the relationship between diversity (including age, gender, race, and ethnicity), universal (or communal) norms, individual determination of what is “good” and “right”, and effective compliance programs.