IBA: IndyBar Hosts Luncheon for 2011 Diversity Job Fair Alumni

One key point of difference consistently emphasized by participants in the IndyBar Diversity Job Fair — both employers and by students — is the personal attention and consideration provided both prior to and during the job fair.

The IndyBar Diversity Job Fair Committee has taken this hallmark one step further by actively engaging students who successfully obtained employment through last year’s Job Fair in the bar association with the hope of communicating the value of IndyBar membership. Seventy-eight students participated in the 2011 Diversity Job Fair; thirty offers of employment were made, and 13 students accepted and are working in Indianapolis this summer.
 

Students at the 2011 Diversity Job Fair smile during the Diversity and the Law Luncheon. Show your support for local diversity initiatives and make plans to attend this year’s luncheon on Friday, July 27. Featured at the luncheon will be keynote speaker Thea Kelly, Senior Counsel, Dow AgroSciences. Table sponsorships are available for $500 and include reserved seating and eight tickets to the luncheon. Individual registrations for the luncheon can be purchased for $35 per person. Visit www.indybar.org for details.

On Wednesday, June 20, 2012, the committee hosted a welcome and networking luncheon for these students. Over lunch, committee chair Brita Horvath, Faegre Baker Daniels LLP, welcomed the students and congratulated them on their successes. Other committee members in attendance were 2011 committee chair Tamara McMillian, Bingham Greenebaum Doll LLP, and 2012 committee members Emily Campbell of Faegre Baker Daniels; Joseph Delamater of the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office; Shelley Jackson of Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP; and Jimmie McMillian of Barnes & Thornburg LLP.

IndyBar Young Lawyers Division chair Stephanie Eckerle, Plews Shadley Racher & Braun LLP, also attended the luncheon and discussed the many benefits of membership in the YLD. IndyBar Review staff representative Sarah Garrison was available to highlight the key aspects of IndyBar Review, the IndyBar’s bar exam prep program that features local practitioners lecturing in their specific practice area.

Law student attendees were encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback about their summer experiences and their participation in the 2011 Job Fair. Students posed a wide range of questions on various topics, including IndyBar involvement, time management, law firm dynamics, and effective networking. The luncheon concluded with a brief discussion of how students can make the most of their summer associate experiences.

According to Job Fair chair Brita Horvath, “We hope that the students found this lunch to be a meaningful experience. They not only landed a job through the IndyBar Diversity Job Fair, but they now have been introduced to various resources within the IndyBar and a network of people who are committed to their success in Indianapolis.”

The IndyBar’s 2012 Diversity Job Fair will take place on July 26 and 27, 2012, and will connect nearly 70 students with 27 Indianapolis area legal employers. Information is available at http://www.ibadiversityjobfair.org/.•