BOSTON, March 3, 2016—Students at Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel F. Conley’s alma mater have honored him as a “trailblazer” in efforts to serve underrepresented communities and increase diversity within the legal profession.
The Suffolk University Law School Student Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion Committee recognized Conley with the Trailblazer for Social Change award at its annual Diversity Dinner last night. Conley, a 1983 graduate of Suffolk Law, called the award “one of the greatest honors of my career and one that every prosecutor should aspire to.”
The award is presented each year to those who have “made a significant effort to contribute to the Boston community and the legal profession by uniquely addressing a problem or improving a situation that affects members of particularly vulnerable or underrepresented populations.”
In addition to hosting mandatory trainings on unconscious bias for every member of his office and actively recruiting lawyers from varied ethnic, social, and cultural backgrounds, Conley this year launched a diversity fellowship within his office that assigns law students to prosecution teams for a period of three to five months. The students, who must have a record of academic achievement and a proven commitment to inclusion, will receive stipends of $4,000 and a first-round employment interview.
“When a Suffolk County prosecutor makes a case to a jury, he or she speaks to a body that represents one of the most diverse regions in New England and even the country,” Conley said. “It’s comprised of people from every race and ethnicity. It reflects every religious, cultural, and social background. It makes room for the immigrant and native born alike, regardless of age, income, or gender identity or expression. In almost every single case, from those multitudes of backgrounds, that jury manages to reach a unanimous decision. And its legitimacy comes not in spite of those individual differences, but because of them. Our office benefits from that same inclusion and diversity: a variety of backgrounds, viewpoints, and life experiences makes us more accessible to the people we serve and better informs our policy decisions and day-to-day work.”
Conley is also a past recipient of the Person of the Year award from the Suffolk Law School Irish-American Law Society; the Lawyer of the Year award from the Frank J. Murray Inn of Court for promoting ethics, civility, and professionalism in the courtroom; the Beacon of Light award from My Life My Choice for efforts to protect the child victims of commercial sexual exploitation; and the Distinguished Public Service award from the Boston Bar Association for his work to identify, correct, and prevent wrongful convictions.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
