Briggs committed to increasing diversity of Wisconsin's legal profession.

Byline: Michaela Paukner, mpaukner@wislawjournal.com

Dr. Jeneise Briggs, the State Bar of Wisconsin's diversity and inclusion specialist, is passionate about doing the work to make the legal community more welcoming for all.

"When you think of diversity, a lot of people think that it's just race, but there's so many different dimensions to it," Briggs said.

Since joining the State Bar in August, she's been building and strengthening relationships that will help the organization reach its diversity and inclusion goals. Briggs is full of ideas about how different groups around the state and the country can combine resources to increase representation in the law and ensure access to justice for citizens.

"We're listening to our communities that we're serving," Briggs said. "I can't wait for this pandemic to be over, so I can start going out into communities and see what people need and how I can help."

Briggs employed a similar strategy with success at Marian University in Fond du Lac as senior assistant to the president for diversity and inclusion. She established the university's diversity office and increased retention among students from marginalized communities.

At the State Bar, she's excited to continue her work with students and cultivate the organization's already-established commitment to diversity.

"I really loved the fact that I would still be working with students," Briggs said, "as well as helping with growth making sure that we're creating a welcoming and inclusive environment."

Briggs talked with the Wisconsin Law Journal about her plans to build on the State Bar's ongoing diversity and inclusion initiatives.

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Wisconsin Law Journal: What have you been working on in your first six months with the State Bar?

Dr. Jeneise Briggs: One of my approaches when I start with an organization is to learn as much as I can from the rich institutional knowledge that existed before I started, so meeting with people, learning their history, what they have done and what areas they see my skill sets helping them to continue advancing the work.

The legal field is very new to me, but the challenges and opportunities when it comes to the realm of diversity, equity, inclusion and access are really the same, such as lack of representation. We know that women and minority attorneys have not been well represented in the legal profession, and so (I've been) trying to see what initiatives exist in challenging the status quo.

I'm reaching out to...