Diversity in Law Banquet

30th Annual Diversity in Law Banquet

Friday, March 7, 2025
6 p.m. Cocktails | 7 p.m. Dinner
Jayhawk Club | Lawrence, Kansas

Mark your calendars and make plans to attend the 30th Annual Diversity in Law Banquet. This year's event will be on Friday, March 7, 2025, at The Jayhawk Club in Lawrence. The banquet will be hosted by the Black Law Students Association (BLSA).

Registration is now closed.

Keynote Speaker

Cynthia Bryant, L'95, is certified as a mediator/negotiator from the Harvard Negotiation Institute, CliftonStrengths coach and diversity practitioner.  She presently conducts workshops on the art of practicing empathy and keynotes on sensory mindfulness – engaging all senses – for elevated perception and understanding. With more than 20 years at the Federal Communications Commission, Bryant served as Special Counsel for alternative dispute resolution in the Office of Workplace Diversity. She also handled foreign ownership licenses and telecom mergers, investigated/adjudicated anti-fraud and anti-competitive telecom carrier behavior impacting consumers and tackled telecom barriers affecting Tribal communities through directed outreach and regulatory initiatives. Under the Clinton Administration, Bryant joined the Presidential Task Force on Employment of Adults with disabilities, collaborating with senior federal government executives on equal employment and telecommunications access for people with disabilities. 

Bryant recently completed her chairwomanship on the Board of Trustees for the Seeing Eye, Inc., a guide dog school in Morristown, New Jersey.  She is a former chapter president and regional representative of Blacks In Government, and a former vestry member of Chevy Chase Maryland’s All Saints Church where she served as a delegate to the 2022 and 2023 Washington National Cathedral Diocesan Convention. Bryant also served on the Board of Governors for the University of Kansas Law School, and the Advisory Board for the law school’s 6th Semester D.C. Program.

Her present board service includes National Industries for the Blind and the Spencer Museum of Art. She is an African American Federal Executive Association Fellow, and barred in Missouri, the District of Columbia and admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court.

In 2024, the University of Kansas Alumni Magazine in its February 2024 feature article described Bryant as the “translator” – bridging people.  That same year, Bethesda Magazine featured and honored Bryant to be among the “Women Who Inspire.” 

Event Sponsors

For more information, contact Jamila Jefferson, Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, at jefferson@ku.edu.

Platinum

Gold

Silver

Rev. Stan Basler

Bronze

Judge Hugh Means American Inn of Court

Morris Laing Law Firm

Rebein Brothers Trial Lawyers

Spencer Fane

Wallace Saunders

Ally

Asian American Bar Association of Kansas City

Baird Holm LLP

Kansas Bar Association Diversity Committee

LGBTQ Bar Association of Greater Kansas City

Wichita Women Attorneys Association

2024 Diversity in Law Banquet

Thank you to everyone who supported the 29th Annual Diversity in Law Banquet, KU Law's annual celebration of diversity in the legal profession! This year's banquet was hosted by the Native American Law Students Association (NALSA) and KU Law. Layatalati Hill, L'12, Chief Trial Court Judge and a peacemaker for the Oneida Judiciary was the keynote speaker.