TCDIP is a consortium of over 70 Member law firms and corporate legal departments, which collectively employ over 3,400 lawyers across the Twin Cities. Member Organizations demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusion within their organizations and participate in TCDIP programs and initiatives to help our Members build a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive legal community.

Each Member Organization appoints a Member Representative, who acts as the primary liaison with TCDIP, sharing information about TCDIP’s programming and initiatives, and helping to engage more people in our work and mission. Member Representatives are also invited to shape our programming by joining a committee, participating in our Annual Meeting and twice yearly General Member Meetings, and voting annually to approve the slate of Directors for our Board. Member Organizations are also invited to nominate an attorney of color with up to eight years of experience to participate in the Emerging Leaders Group. Serving as a Member Representative, means being a champion for TCDIP within your organization and for advancing inclusion and diversity in the legal community.

The TCDIP Leadership Council is a forum for General Counsels and Managing Partners to engage with TCDIP’s work. Through the Leadership Council, high-level leaders at our organizations challenge each other and hold each other accountable, share resources and best practices for spurring innovation, extend the impact of individual Member activities, and evaluate collective efforts to increase diversity. The Leadership Council also serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Directors, providing feedback on strategic priorities for the organization and making recommendations for the future.

At each year’s Annual Meeting, Representatives from Member Organizations elect the Board of Directors, which is comprised of attorneys at Member Organizations who are passionate about diversity and inclusion. The Board of Directors includes attorneys at law firms and corporate legal departments, at large and small organizations, and at all stages of their careers including General Counsel and Managing Partners. Our Board works to ensure that TCDIP is leading the way in diversity and inclusion initiatives in the legal field and that our Members are actively engaged in this work.TCDIP’s seven Board committees (Outreach, Professional Development, Recruiting, Member Engagement and Innovation, Emerging Leaders Group, Executive Committee, and Nominating Committee) report to and inform the Board. Because each committee targets a different aspect of TCDIP’s work, committee membership provides another opportunity to maximize diverse perspectives in our legal community. If you are interested in committee work, reach out to your organization’s Member Representative.

The Executive Committee, which includes the Board Co-Chairs, Treasurer and Assistant Treasurer, and Secretary and Assistant Secretary, and Executive Director, meets on a monthly basis to engage in big picture planning, provide support to the Executive Director and to set agendas for Board meetings. By design, the Executive Committee represents diverse perspectives within the legal field by ensuring that one Co-Chair is from a law firm and the other is from a corporate legal department. The Executive Committee also appoints early-career attorneys to the Assistant Treasurer and Assistant Secretary positions to ensure that early-career perspectives are represented and to provide these rising leaders with an opportunity to learn more about TCDIP’s operations and functions.

The Emerging Leaders Group (ELG) provides business development, mentorship, and networking opportunities for newer attorneys of color with zero to eight years of experience. Each TCDIP Member Organization is invited to choose an attorney of color with up to eight years of experience as its ELG Representative. These ELG Representatives are invited to participate in a range of targeted programs and opportunities designed to enhance leadership skills and create a stronger community of diverse lawyers in the Twin Cities Metro area, from practice roundtables with General Counsel to networking events with Board Members and other community leaders. ELG Representatives additionally work as leaders within their organizations to engage their colleagues in TCDIP’s work and mission.

The Member Engagement &Innovation Committee (MEIC) is charged with delivering value and increasing engagement within our Membership by collecting and communicating resources, opportunities and best practices. The Committee also looks for opportunities to develop and implement innovative diversity and inclusion tactics and programs for Members. MEIC develops content for our quarterly newsletter, selects the area of focus for the presentation at our Annual Meeting and General Member Meetings. Working with ELG, MEIC is instrumental in shaping our mentoring program. MEIC Members are interested in bringing innovative ideas to our membership to further TCDIP’s mission.

The Nominating Committee identifies candidates for Board membership and proposes a slate of candidates to Members at the Annual Meeting. The Nominating Committee develops a proposed slate of candidates, with the goal of maximizing the representation of diverse perspectives within the legal field. Using a matrix that considers various characteristics, the Committee solicits statements of interest from candidates and then makes a recommendation to the Board. The Nominating Committee Members are chosen from the Board and from our membership at large. Committee Members are focused on finding people who are dedicated to TCDIP’s mission and are ready to engage in our work.

The Outreach Committee brings together the expertise of attorneys and marketing professionalsto develop innovative strategies for communicating TCDIP’s mission and value to our Member Organizations and the Twin Cities legal community. This committee also forges stronger relationships with community stakeholders to work on issues impacting attorneys of color and our Members, including other bar organizations and affinity bar organizations. This committee also shapes our annual Summer Social and Women of Color in the Law Forums, develops the Making MN Home section of the website, and works on other community-building initiatives like TCDIP Tables. Members of this committee are passionate about communications and relationship building.

The Professional Development Committee (PDC) is where we design, plan and execute programs and CLEs to help TCDIP Members attract, recruit, advance and retain attorneys of color, with a focus on successful career development for attorneys of color. The PDC also focuses on providing programming for decision-makers to facilitate organizational transformation and create more inclusive workplaces. PDC Members bring ideas about professional development from their own organizations and personal experiences to create insightful programs for TCDIP’s membership.

The Recruiting Committee, which is primarily comprised of recruiting and HR professionals, innovates, strategizes and implements TCDIP’s initiatives and programs designed to attract and recruit attorneys of color to the Twin Cities. This committee shapes the TCDIP 1L Clerkship program and the Minnesota Minority Recruitment Conference (MMRC), while also providing input on mentoring and lateral hiring. Our Recruiting Committee is plugged into national trends in recruiting and shares these best practices with all of our Member Organizations.

TCDIP Members know that to move the needle on diversity and inclusion, we must devote resources to support a full-time Executive Director and dedicated professional staff. TCDIP staff serve as the foundation of TCDIP, ensuring that member-driven initiatives are implemented effectively. Staff manage the implementation of the strategic plan, serve as the liaison between all stakeholders, and provide administrative support for all organizational activities. The staff care about and are committed to supporting our Members in their mission of developing a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive legal community. You can learn more about our Executive Director and each member of our staff on the staff page.