Gregory H. Williams, dean of the College of Law at The Ohio State University, will be among nearly 150 leaders of the legal community who will meet with President Clinton at 2:45 p.m. Tuesday (7/20) in the East Room of the White House. The president is expected to issue a call to action to the legal profession for racial justice and diversity.

   Also at the meeting will be representatives of the Department of Justice; civil rights leaders; representatives of the American Bar Association and other bar association leaders; and leaders in corporate counsel, law firms, academics, and state and local minority bar association leaders. Carl Smallwood, a 1980 graduate of the College of Law and the first African American to be elected president-elect of the Columbus (Ohio) Bar Association, also will attend.

   "This is a historic gathering," said Williams, who is president of the Association of American Law Schools. "As a result of the Supreme Court ruling in Regents of the University of California vs. Bakke more than 20 years ago, the number of persons of color has increased in the nation's law schools. We need to continue to support the entrance of minority students into law school and promote and encourage their achievements. The AALS is committed to helping law schools achieve their goals of increasing diversity among their students."

   Williams will further address that theme when he speaks at a news conference in the West Wing Entrance at approximately 3:30 p.m., following the president's remarks. The dean will outline a strategic plan that will promote diversity in the nation's law schools.

   Williams, also the Carter C. Kissell Professor of Law, has led the College of Law at Ohio State since 1993. He is the author of the nationally acclaimed book Life on the Color Line: The True Story of a White Boy Who Discovered He Was Black, an autobiography that details his youth growing up in the housing projects of Muncie, Ind.

   The Association of American Law Schools was organized almost 100 years ago to improve the legal profession through education. For more than 50 years, it has devoted energy and resources to the goal of racial justice.

Contact: Liz Cutler Gates, College of Law, (614) 292-0283.
For press clearance in Washington, call (202) 456-7150.

Editors and news directors: Dean Williams will be available for interviews while in Washington, D.C. He may be reached through Wednesday morning at either the AALS, (202) 296-8851, or at (202) 638-6600.