DEI Committee Report
Creating a Seat at the Table By Shalini Quattlebaum Diversity is not achieved by simply opening the door; it is achieved by intentionally reaching those who have historically been left outside of it, creating meaningful access to opportunity, and ensuring that once they enter, their voices are heard and their presence is valued. That has been a major focus of CAOC’s DEI Committee this year, particularly through our Southern and Northern California outreach. Our monthly DEI meetings are an important part of that effort. On Thursdays each month, we bring together our members with accomplished trial attorneys, judges, legislators, and other leaders who can share their experiences and provide insight into different areas of the profession. These meetings are intended to be more than another networking event. They create opportunities for mentorship, candid conversations, and relationships that can continue well beyond the meeting itself. Our outreach also extends beyond practicing attorneys. We have made it a priority to reach law students throughout Southern and Northern California and introduce them to CAOC at the very beginning of their legal careers. For many minority and first- generation law students like myself, entering the legal
profession can mean walking into rooms where few people look like us, share our background, or understand the path we took to get there. For these students, we should not wait until they have spent years navigating those rooms alone before telling them that there is a community ready to support them. Representation must begin early. By reaching students while they are still in law school, we can connect them with mentors, expose them to leaders who reflect what is possible, and give them the relationships and opportunities that too often come through connections they may not have inherited. We want these students to see CAOC not simply as an organization they might join someday, but as a community and a home where their voices are safe and needed. There is tremendous power in ensuring that the voices within our profession reflect the communities we are entrusted to serve. Our clients do not come from one background, one culture, or one life experience, and neither should the attorneys advocating for them or the leaders shaping the future of our profession. The goal is to ensure that diverse attorneys are not merely present, but heard, supported, and given meaningful opportunities to lead. We have more work to do. But every law student we introduce to CAOC, every attorney we encourage to become involved, and every new voice we bring into the conversation moves us closer to a legal community in which representation is not the exception, but an expectation. True progress is achieved when the people who once had to fight for a seat at the table are empowered to help shape what happens around it, and to open the door for the generation coming behind them.
Shalini Quattlebaum is a first- generation attorney and the founder of Shalini Law, a law firm focused on litigating cases involving juvenile sex abuse, civil rights, and personal injury. She also serves as the Southern California Outreach Chair for CAOC’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee, and on the CAOC Board.
Sq@shalinilaw.com
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Consumer Attorneys of California
FORUM September/October 2026
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