Minority recruitment and retention are two of the most pressing issues facing the legal profession today, according to the National Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Midwest Region.

At the first Midwest Recruitment and Retention Conference, sponsored by the BLSA, participants will discuss strategies and set new goals in improving recruitment and retention. The conference will be held at NIU Saturday.

The conference, entitled “Planning Successful Strategies for the 1990s,” will feature speakers from around the country including Board of Regents member Clara Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick was unavailable for comment.

“The problem is more acute within the legal profession because the justice system should be representative of all Americans,” said Dan Reynolds, NIU School of Law interim dean.

Groups within the legal profession have gone to great lengths to improve the situation. “There is agreement that improvements have been made, but there is also agreement that there is still a long way to go,” Reynolds said.

One of those groups, the Council for Legal Education Opportunity (CLEO), sends eligible students to an intensive six-week training seminar the summer before they are to attend law school.

“The seminar prepares financially and educationally disadvantaged students for law school,” a CLEO spokesman said.

“Once the students complete the program they receive a stipend ($2800 this year) and, if they need it, placement assistance,” the spokesman said.

Recruitment at NIU is done through a combined effort of students and faculty. “The faculty checks with historically black colleges for potential law students and recruitment of undergraduate minority students goes on here on this campus,” Reynolds said.

“The BLSA also identifies prospective minority undergrads, recruits within the NIU minority community and provides peer support for one another once they’ve entered law school,” Reynolds said.

“Minority students on this campus have a certain cohesiveness that is not found on most campuses,” he said. “There is a lot of mutual support.”