Minority Bar

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Mission

The mission of the Minority Bar Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (hereinafter PBA) is to assure full and equal participation of minorities in the PBA, the legal profession, and the justice system in general. In order to achieve this mission, the Minority Bar Committee will:

  • Identify and promote opportunities that allow minorities within the legal profession to participate fully in the work, responsibilities, and rewards of the PBA and the legal profession in general. Included in this objective are matters relating to the advancement of minorities within law firms and other professional and business entities, job opportunities for minorities, elimination of racial discrimination in the legal profession and within the broader community, and effective avenues for minority lawyers and judges to avail themselves of opportunities within the PBA to address issues of special interest to minority lawyers.
  • Monitor the current status of minorities in the legal profession and the justice system in general, identify their career paths and goals, and actively promote their advancement and achievement.
  • Develop educational programs in the way of seminars and surveys, among other measures, to address discrimination against minorities within the legal profession, and the justice system in general.
  • Make recommendations to the PBA Board of Governors and House of Delegates for action on issues affecting minorities within the legal profession and the justice system in general.
  • Make recommendations to the judicial, legislative, and executive branches of government, and other groups within the justice system on issues affecting racial minorities and their communities in accordance with the PBA Bylaws.

Featured Member: Beverly H. Rampaul

Ms. Rampaul works in the Governor’s Office of General Counsel as Assistant Counsel in the Office of Chief Counsel at the Department of Environmental Protection, where she counsels the Waste Management program. Prior to DEP, she served as Assistant Public Defender Manager with the Lancaster County Office of the Public Defender for over 20 years, handling major criminal matters, including death penalty cases.

She is an active member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association (PBA), where she holds several leadership roles, including council member of the Environmental and Energy Law Section and the Minority Bar Committee. She is a member of multiple PBA committees such as the Commission on Women in the Profession, Civil and Equal Rights Committee, Civility in the Profession Committee, LGBTQ+ Rights Committee, and the Membership Development Committee. She also served as the immediate past Secretary of the PBA, completing a 3-year term as an officer and was Minority Governor on the PBA Board of Governors, serving a 3-year term. Additionally, Ms. Rampaul chaired the PBA Minority Bar Committee and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Team for 2 years, and was tri-chair of the Bar Leadership Institute.

In the broader legal community, she is involved in several American Bar Association (ABA) committees, including the Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), where she is currently vice-chair of the Law in Public Service Committee and a past chair of the Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. Currently, she serves as a Hearing Committee Member of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania’s Disciplinary Board.

Ms. Rampaul is a graduate of Lafayette College and the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University, where she was senior associate editor of the Dickinson Journal of International Law. She also completed the National Criminal Defense College and the National Judicial College’s ABA/ABOTA National Trial Academy.

Past Featured Members

Rakim M. Solomon

Norris E. Benns, Jr.

Rodney R. Akers

Voci Ravenell Bennet

Antoinette Hubbard

Verdell Dean

Samuel G. Encarnacion

Judge Carolyn H. Nichols

Jasmine Butler

Tsiwen Law

Kristine L. Calalang

Tyesha C. Miley

Jada Greenhowe

Obinna I. Abara

Morgan M. Bonekovic

Jacqueline B. Martinez

J. Lynette Carter

LaToya Winfield Bellamy

Arlene Marshall-Hockensmith

Su Ming Yeh

Trent Hargrove

Judge Cheryl Lynne Austin

Philip Yoon

Gina M. Thomas

Nigel Scott

Judge Stephanie Domitrovich

Ana Paulina Gomez

Judge Nicola Henry Taylor


Leaders Learn From Associates: An Associates Perspective, Webcast

Associates identify what they need from their firms to succeed. Co-sponsored with the PBA Large Law Firm Committee and Young Lawyers Division.

Women in Leadership in the Legal Profession, Oct. 26, 2023, Webcast
A timely and relevant conversation about the top challenges lawyers face in running their business, different career paths and how to thrive as a hybrid-working law firm.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the Law Firm and the Path to Success
This webinar held on July 12, 2021, centered on diversity, equity and inclusion in a large firm context, identifying ways that firms can be intentional in embracing diversity, equity and inclusion in the business of law, initiatives that eliminate barriers and create opportunities for diverse attorneys, leadership paths to success and more. Watch the recording here.

Business and Practice of Law Post-COVID-19: How Will it Change?
This webinar held on Nov. 11, 2021, discussed the business and practice of the law post-COVID, focusing on large law firm workspaces, engaging with the workforce, attracting and retaining talent, processes for onboarding and mentoring, business development, maintaining client relationships and more. Watch the recording here.