Press Releases

Press Releases

Law Students Complete 5th Annual Leadership Program

Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Jul 2, 2015

18 graduate from Diversity Leadership Institute at TBA Convention

NASHVILLE, July 2, 2015 — Law students participating in the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division’s Diversity Leadership Institute (DLI) joined lawyers across the state at the TBA Convention in June for a final program and graduation.

The group’s heard presentations on the role the city of Memphis played in the civil rights movement, the history and impact of the Tennessee same-sex marriage case and how to develop a vision for one’s professional self and legal career. On Saturday, the group volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House in Memphis, helping with administrative tasks and cleaning.

The DLI is a six-month leadership and mentoring program for Tennessee law students in their second, third or fourth years of study. Now in its fifth year, the program is designed to:

  • Develop skills to succeed as a law student and attorney;
  • Empower students to contribute more to the legal community;
  • Match students to mentors in a diverse variety of practice areas; and
  • Build relationships among students of diverse backgrounds

Students graduating as part of the 2015 class are:

Belmont College of Law
Charmarus Floyd
Ardath Griffin

Nashville School of Law
Tian “Grace” Gao
Kelley  Groover
Jordan Laxton
Tiffani Pope
Terrence Rand
Roderick White

University of Memphis School of Law
Ariel Anthony
Crystal Johnson
Jana Mitchell
Rodrequez Watson

University of Tennessee College of Law
Jennifer Dobbins
Casey Duhart
Jerry Long
Patrick Morrison
Christina Moradian

Vanderbilt University Law School
Antonio Carroll

The YLD serves close to 3,000 young lawyers across the state, providing continuing legal education for new lawyers and opportunities for public service, networking and professional development.