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4 ¦ AUGUST 31, 2020 NEWS

¦ From BLACK on PAGE 1 impacted them. It was an eye-opener for many in-
Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of Minneapolis po- dividuals.”
lice.
It was that incident and the reaction to it, Ogilvie Optimism
said, that sprouted the opportunity to showcase the For Ogilvie, these exercises can help heal the di-
experiences of Black people and people of color to a vide.
wider audience, primarily their peer attorneys. “It was difficult to share those experiences with
So in early July, Ogilvie and McCarter & Eng- our colleagues,” she said. “It was important for us to
lish colleagues worked on creating the firm’s Social give our colleagues a sense of what it’s like for a per-
Justice Project. The mission: Dismantle structural son of color in society.”
racism, and combat racial inequities in communi- Ogilvie said she’s optimistic for the future, espe-
ties. cially after seeing the outpouring from people of
Ogilvie, one of three co-chairs, said the project all races who took part in the protests sparked by
looks within the firm and outside. Floyd’s death. She said her message for fellow attor-
“The external portion focuses on issues impact- neys of color is to keep their heads up high and don’t
ing the community,” she said. “We be distracted.
chose to start with racial dispari- “I would tell any Black attorney
ties in the criminal justice system. to be confident in who they are, in
We also focus on housing and the education they received and
eviction issues across the region. know that they are prepared for
We already have a significant In July, McCarter & English the job they’d been hired to do,”

eviction defense program.” announced the formation Ogilvie said. “I’d tell them not to
The internal part, Ogilvie of its Social Justice Project, let anyone stand in their way of
said, dealt with “educating our the brainchild of Ogilvie and getting their work done, and do
colleagues about the history of not let anyone shake your con-
structural and systemic racism in two other firm attorneys. fidence. The worst thing for any

this country.” attorney of color, or any woman
It was the internal part where attorney, is feeling like they are
Ogilvie’s colleagues took part in alone and isolated. They are not.”
two town hall discussions earlier Murchison agreed.
this month. Most of the firm’s 375 attorneys in nine Race “has been the elephant in the room for a long
offices, including Hartford and Stamford in Con- time,” she said. “It’s important that the legal profes-
necticut, took part. sion has been willing to face it head-on.”
Leading the town hall discussions was moderator
Joelle Murchison, executive director of Lawyers Col- About The Social Justice Project:
laborative for Diversity in Connecticut. Murchison, In July, McCarter & English announced the for-
a Black woman, held similar meetings for attorneys mation of its Social Justice Project, the brainchild of
at both Robinson & Cole and Shipman & Goodwin. Ogilvie and two other firm attorneys.
“There was active engagement from the partici- The project, the firm said, has and will continue
pants,” she said Tuesday. “It’s important to recognize to coordinate initiatives aimed at fostering racial
that in this society, many of us do not have the op- equality.
portunity to access the lived experiences of people
different from us.” They include the following:
The takeaway, Murchison said, “Was that all of the • Building on the firm’s pro bono practice in the
employees could see and hear from their colleagues, areas of economic justice and criminal justice
who shared their own experiences on how racism reform.

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