McCarter & English Partner and former United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery joins fellow panelists at the Connecticut Bar Association’s 2026 Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Summit: The Collaborative Blueprint.
For more than a century, Connecticut legal aid organizations have advanced diversity, equity, and inclusion as a core part of their mission, working to combat discrimination, promote equal opportunity, and address the intersection of poverty, exclusion, and racial justice within the legal system.
During “Compelled to Act, Proceeding with Caution: Legal Aid and the Advancement of Lawful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” Vanessa discusses the challenges and opportunities legal aid organizations face in advancing lawful DEI initiatives while serving vulnerable communities.