Lawyers for Civil Rights, WilmerHale and the larger Boston community will gather together on Thursday, September 26 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at WilmerHale's Boston office for a panel entitled, “Police and Fire Department Diversity: Past, Present, Future." Partner Kevin Prussia will join his fellow panelists in discussing and reflecting on the end of two long-running consent decrees.

A discrimination lawsuit filed in the 1970s led to these court-ordered “consent decrees” which have governed the hiring of entry-level police officers in Massachusetts for the last five decades. A comprehensive new study by The Brattle Group finds that the decrees substantially boosted the ranks of Black and Hispanic police officers in the Commonwealth—but that those gains are at risk now that the decree is slated to end later this year. Officers of color in the long-running litigation are represented on a pro bono basis by WilmerHale and Lawyers for Civil Rights. The evening will highlight the important role these landmark consent decrees played in integrating and democratizing our public safety agencies to make them more reflective of the vibrant communities they serve.

All staff and lawyers are invited. For more information and to RSVP, please contact Corporate Social Responsibility Manager Anne Bowie.