Members of Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) believe that diverse workplaces benefit all of us. We are committed to attracting and recruiting highly qualified law students of color for employment at Member law firms and corporate legal departments. Whether you are a local or a recent transplant, TCDIP provides opportunities for you to participate in meaningful conversations with experienced attorneys, to spend the summer clerking with top-notch employers, to connect with mentors who can play a role in developing your career, and to participate in our job fair with both private practice attorneys
and government employers who hold TCDIP programming in high regard.

Student and Attorney Networking

We know that one of the best ways to ensure a vibrant and diverse legal community is to invest in initiatives that facilitate personal connections, especially between law students of color and practicing attorneys. That’s why Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) provides opportunities for local law students to network with our Emerging Leaders Group and senior attorneys from local employers.

TCDIP 1L Clerkship for First-Year
Law Students of Color

Twin Cities Diversity in Practice (TCDIP) has sponsored the TCDIP 1L Clerkship for over a decade because we know that our nation and our state’s true diversity is not reflected in the legal field. According to the National Association for Law Placement’s 2019 Report on Diversity, in the US only 17% of attorneys (including summer associates, associates, counsel, partners, and staff attorneys) are people of color. In Minnesota, close to 20% of the general population are people of color, but in the Twin Cities only 7.2% of attorneys are people of color. In response to these disparities, TCDIP facilitates strategic partnerships between Member law firms and corporate legal departments to sponsor the TCDIP 1L Clerkship program. TCDIP’s competitive 1L Clerkship program strengthens the talent pipeline for future attorneys of color, drawing highly qualified first-year law students from across the country to interview for Clerkship positions with Member Organizations. Over the course of the summer program, Clerks gain valuable insights about working within both a law firm and a corporate legal department setting. The TCDIP 1L Clerkship program has launched the careers of hundreds of exceptional law students of color in the Twin Cities. In fact, in 2019 over 85% of our 1L Clerks were invited to return as summer associates in their 2L year. The TCDIP 1L Clerkship program is a pipeline program that works for students and employers.
Find out more on the TCDIP 1L Clerkship page!

Minnesota Minority Recruitment Conference (MMRC)

For over 15 years, the Minnesota Minority Recruitment Conference (MMRC) has connected legal employers in the Twin Cities metro area with diverse rising 2L and 3L candidates from around the country. MMRC is a day of formal interviews where we invite small, medium, and large firms; corporate law departments; and public interest, nonprofit and government entities to interview students of color for summer associate or post-graduation employment. Students and employers are matched through a pre-selection process. You can find more information here.