'The Value of Effective DEI Practices Cannot Be Overstated,' Says James Lewis V

James Lewis V of Cole Schotz is a Diverse Attorney of the Year honoree. The below responses were lightly edited for style. 

What are some of your proudest achievements of the past two years?

My proudest achievements over the last two years include becoming the president of the Garden State Bar Association 2023-2024. Over the last two years, I have had the opportunity to support the organization in raising over $250,000 to be provided to law students as scholarships and in funding the newly created Garden State Bar Foundation. As an organization, we are motivated to create more opportunities for our membership to continue to excel in all facets, and at the highest levels, of the profession.

Additionally, nearly two years ago, I received an appointment as the inaugural chief diversity equity and inclusion officer for Cole Schotz. In this capacity, I have supported the firm in deepening our relationships and impact with law schools and student scholars through informal mentorship, programmatic initiatives, and doubling the size of the firm’s DEI Committee. In addition to the innovations over the last two years, we have stayed true to the firm’s tradition spanning over a decade of providing scholarship to extraordinary, students committed to diversity. This year, we doubled down on our efforts and in our scholarship amount increasing the scholarship to $10,000.

I’m excited about what is on the horizon for the firm as we continue our mentorship model with a DEI lens.

“Making a difference” can have many meanings. What does it mean to you?

For me, “making a difference” is always about bringing truth to power. As a litigator, as a counselor, as a leader, and as a DEI advocate, my north star has always been creating positive and lasting impact in the communities and organizations that I’m privileged to serve. Sometimes making a difference means encouraging a colleague to put in for that dream job or promotion. Other times, making a difference looks like being a listening ear when a young attorney hits a wall and connecting them with resources to evaluate the next steps in their career. In essentially every circumstance, making a difference means offering support through actively and conscientiously problem solving in a culturally competent and self-aware manner.