Black Law Matters Podcast: Recent Episodes
Jennifer Grieco
Jennifer Grieco, founder of Peak Law, talks to a range of guests from the legal community about social justice and other ways law can make the world better. The Peak Law Movement is a group of lawyers committed to using our legal expertise to make the world a better place through our actions and our impacts.
Retired Circuit Court Judge Wendy M. Baxter talks with Peak Law Founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about the roadblocks to diversity in mediation and arbitration and the need for gate-keepers, corporate clients and insurance carriers to request diverse members of the bar if the profession wants to offer diverse mediators and arbitrators in this essential sphere of litigation as well as to improve the opportunities for people of color in this practice. Judge Baxter shares her frank and honest observations about the struggles for people of color and why allies continue to be important to diversity and inclusion in our profession and society.
Director of Compliance for the Michigan Department of Civil Rights and former Deputy Legal Counsel to Governor Gretchen Whitmer, attorney Shenique Moss talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about the experience of working in the Governor’s office during the early stages of uncertainty with the global pandemic. She also discusses the importance of diverse judicial appointments and what the American Bar Association is doing to help change the statistic that only 5% of lawyers in the United States are African-American. Shenique shares the difficulty she faced dealing with racism on the job as a young lawyer and how she believes we should truly recognize Black History Month.
Attorney Ronda Tate Truvillion, Shareholder and Co-Chair of the Litigation Practice Group of Lewis & Munday, P.C., and a Past President of the Wolverine Bar Association and attorney Rita O. White, owner and manager of the Law Offices of Rita O. White, PLLC and Past President of the Black Women Lawyer’s Association of Michigan talk with Peak Law founder Jennifer M. Grieco www.peaklawmovement.org about the legacy of the Honorable Judge Karen Fort Hood who passed away on August 15, 2021. Judge Karen Fort Hood was the first African American woman elected to the Michigan Court of Appeals and the first African American woman to chair the Judicial Tenure Commission. She is remembered for her positive outlook and her professionalism as well as her passion for improving education as a means to promote equal opportunities. Attorney Truvillion also discusses the importance of the 50-year anniversary of Lewis & Munday, P.C., one of the country’s oldest law firms founded by African Americans and Attorney White shares the role of the Black Women Lawyer’s Association of Michigan in increasing and retaining lawyers of color in the profession.
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Kameshia D. Gant talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about her experiences as a child, student and even as a lawyer, where she was made to feel different because of her race. She discusses the significance of her appointment to the Oakland County bench and the reaction of some members of the bar to her appointment. Judge Gant also explains the need for more diversity on the bench in Michigan as well as for the legal community to be more welcoming and inclusive to African-American lawyers and judges.
Wayne County Business Court Judge Edward Ewell, Jr. talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about an encounter he had with the police as a teenager as well as his thoughts on the impact of George Floyd's murder, the Black Lives Matter protests across the country, and the Derek Chauvin trial and verdict. Judge Ewell also shares experiences that he had both as a lawyer and a judge where his colleagues treated him differently and unfairly because of his race. Judge Ewell lives by the Golden Rule - to treat others as you want to be treated - which, he believes, if followed more by members of our society could go a long way towards ending racism in this country.
Diversity Development Program Director for the State Bar of Michigan, Gregory Conyers talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about the State Bar’s work to promote and increase diversity and inclusion. That work has changed since George Floyd’s murder, which created an outcry in the legal community and resulted in the virtual Race and Justice Forums for Michigan lawyers. Gregory and Jennifer also cover the wealth of resources, and opportunities to get involved, in the mission of equity and equality (as highlighted in the SBM’s Race and Justice Resources Page www.michbar.org/generalinfo/raceandjustice).
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for REE Automotive Angelique Strong Marks (www.1strongsister.com) talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about a range of social justice topics, including the importance of friends in the legal profession who believe in truth, justice and equality for all human beings and not just "allies", and the connection between recent events and the country's history of inequality, slavery, and white-skin superiority.
Wayne County Probate Court Judge Terrance A. Keith talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about the creation of the D. Augustus Straker Bar Association, an African-American bar association in Oakland County and the reasons that Black lawyers in Oakland County felt that such an organization was necessary in 1990 as well as the association's mission to have an African American judge appointed to the Oakland County Circuit Court. Judge Keith also provides listeners with a passionate plea to revisit history as we consider the racism and inequality that still exists today in our society.
Wayne County Executive Court Administrator and Detroit Bar Association board member, Zenell Brown talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovement.org) about her new book entitled, “Coffee and Conversations, Inclusion and Belonging”, her experiences as a woman of color in the practice of law and the need for members of the profession to have conversations about diversity and inclusion every day, over coffee like we discuss the weather and sports and not just at an annual conference. Zenell also provides lawyers with suggestions for those who want to remove systemic racism from our profession and society.
Business lawyer and former Straker Bar Association President, Kimberley A. Ward talks with Peak Law founder Jennifer Grieco (www.peaklawmovemnt.org) about what she has had to overcome as a woman of color to enter the practice of law as well as the racism that she has experienced since being admitted to the bar in 2016. Kimberley will also provide lawyers with concrete steps to combat systemic racism.