Hispanic National Bar Association

The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization representing Hispanics in the legal profession, including attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistant and paralegals, and law students in the United States and its territories.

The current National President and Chief Executive Officer is Ramona Emilia Romero [http://www.hnba.com/leadership-detail.aspx?ldId=26] of Delaware and Pennsylvania. The President-elect is Roman Hernandez of Portland, Oregon. The Immediate Past President is Victor M. Marquez of San Francisco, CA . The Executive Director/Chief Operating Officer is Marisel Morales.

The organization was founded in California in 1972 as the La Raza National Lawyers Association. It is a nationally recognized professional association that represents the interests of the more than 100,000 Hispanic attorneys, judges, law professors, law students and paralegals in the United States, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. National officers are elected by the membership at large, and Regional Presidents are elected by their regional members. Individual attorneys may join, and local Hispanic bar associations may become affiliated with the HNBA. The HNBA collaborates with the local Hispanic bars in over 100 cities in the Unites States, as well as with other specialty bars and the American Bar Association.

The HNBA holds an Annual Convention, an Annual Mid-Year Conference and Moot Court Competition, an Annual Legislative Day and an Annual International Conference open to all attorneys and affiliates from around the country. Each year, the HNBA also organizes a variety of events for lawyers and law students throughout its 19 regions, and several community outreach and education initiatives. During the 2008-2009 term, the HNBA's flagship initiatives include:

"Project S.A.F.E. ™" is a voter protection initiative undertaken by the HNBA every two years to ensure that the Latino community experiences Safe And Fair Elections when going to the polls during congressional and presidential election years. There is a well documented history of voter suppression tactics aimed at the Hispanic community, and the threat grows greater as Latinos become an increasingly important part of the electorate. To help Hispanic citizens exercise their right to vote, the HNBA conducts voter education, recruits volunteers to provide live assistance to voters who have questions or need to report problems at the polls, and creates teams to monitor polling places. All HNBA election protection activities are strictly non-partisan and are generally undertaken in collaboration with other non-partisan entities, including the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, among others. Project S.A.F.E. is conducted under the auspices of the HNBA's Voting Rights Section.

"La Promesa en el Derecho™ (The Promise in the Law) is an HNBA community outreach and education initiative designed to instill confidence and trust in the U.S. legal system. The HNBA has published a booklet (a PDF is found at http://www.hnba.com/DocumentUploaded/La%20Promesa_br_web.pdf) that provides one page explanations of ten basic features of the American system of government: (1) The Constitution of the United States; (2) Separation of Powers; (3) The President of the United States; (4) The Congress of the United States; (5) The Supreme Court of the United States; (6) The Courts; (7) The Jury Process; (8) Basics Rights in a Criminal Proceeding; (9) The Freedom to Engage in Civic Activities; and (10) Voting. The booklet is written in both English and Spanish at the 9th grade reading level. While the program targets the Latino community because so many of its members are recent immigrants, it is a wonderful civics education tool for all Americans regardless of ethnic background or national origin. In addition to being a community education tool, La Promesa is intended to foster interest in the law among Latino students, and thus is another HNBA effort to promote the growth of the Hispanic pipeline. La Promesa is distributed through a variety of avenues, including Bar associations, community service organizations, HNBA events and the Mexican consulates in the United States. Stage 2 of the La Promesa program will involve the creation of a DVD featuring Latino leaders explaining the concepts discussed in the booklet.

Recognizing that an informed citizenry is vital to a viable democracy, in May 2009 the HNBA will launch its first national "HNBA Law Day" program throughout its 19 Regions. This program will target elementary, middle school, and high school students and have as its educational center piece La Promesa en el Derecho.™ We believe the time for this initiative is now. Civics education has been on the decline since the 1960s. SeeCenter for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement, The Civic Mission of Schools (New York: Carnegie Corporation, 2003). Without passing judgment on its merits, it is clear that No Child Left Behind has further aggravated this decline. As noted in a recent study, “The movement for high-stakes testing . . . has had a huge impact on education nationally: schools are under unprecedented pressure to raise student achievement, which is now measured by standardized examinations of reading and mathematics.” Id. As the Latino population increases, its civic engagement is ever more important to the future of our community and our Nation. HNBA Law Day is designed to provide the tools that enable and promote such engagement.

The "HNBA National Mentoring Program" was launched in 2006, in collaboration with our sister organization, the Hispanic National Bar Foundation. It was created to address the needs of aspiring Hispanic law students and new lawyers for mentors. The Mentoring Program is a formal system through which Hispanic students at all stages in their education and new attorneys will have the access and opportunity to communicate and learn from HNBA members. Law school students and recent graduates are paired with a practicing attorney-mentors for guidance, information and networking opportunities for professional development. Additionally, college and high schools students are paired with law student and attorney mentors to expose them to the legal profession and provide guidance and support on the road to law school. This model provides several benefits. First, it offers mentors the opportunity to contribute and students the benefit of a mentorship. Second, it addresses the needs of individuals at every level in the pipeline to a successful legal career. Third, the program is coordinated by a National Mentoring Program Committee that functions as a facilitator and a clearinghouse of information on best practices.

Through "Breakfast at the HNBA"™, HNBA Regional Presidents organize Continuing Legal Education programs and discussion forums designed to educate the legal community in their regions about emerging legal and policy issues relevant to the Hispanic community and/or Latino lawyers. The first Breakfast at the HNBA™ took place in Washington, D.C. in December, 2006 and has served as a model for other programs across the country.

The "Presidential Commission on the Status of Latinas in the Legal Profession" was established in September 2008 by President Ramona E. Romero to explore and assess the status of Hispanic women in the legal profession. Recent statistics demonstrate that Latinas are severely under-represented in most segments of the profession. For example, according to Diversity & the Bar, in 2007 there were only 2 Hispanic women serving as general counsel of Fortune 1000 companies. The under-representation at major law firms, where Latinas comprise only .39% of partners and 1.8% of associates, is both marked and troublesome, since such law firms serve as talent sources for other segments of the profession, including the judiciary, high level government appointments and corporate legal departments. While much has been written about the status of minorities and women in the profession, there has been little, if any, focus on the particular issues facing Latinas. The Commission is tasked with identifying barriers to the professional development and advancement of Hispanic women attorneys, and with developing and recommending solutions to overcome those challenges. The Commission is also charged with developing both short-term and long-term strategic and programmatic recommendations for implementation by the HNBA. Information about these events and initiatives is available on the association's website. The HNBA actively works on developing opportunities for Latino lawyers and the Latino pipeline. The HNBA also focuses and conducts advocacy on public policy issues pertinent to the Latino community, including access to justice, a diverse and independent judiciary, immigration reform, and laws that further equal educational and economic opportunities.

External links

* [http://www.hnba.com/ Hispanic Nation Bar Association website]
* [http://www.larazalawyers.net California La Raza Lawyers]
* [http://www.mabalawyers.org Mexican American Bar Association of Los Angeles County]