Byron McLain Discusses New LA U.S. Attorney’s Minority Recruitment Efforts

Foley & Lardner LLP Partner Byron McLain is quoted in the Bloomberg Law article, “Los Angeles US Attorney Sells Diverse Lawyers on Jobs in Office,” discussing some of the inherent difficulties facing Martin Estrada, the new U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, in convincing lawyers of color to join his office as prosecutors.

McLain said, “You don’t want to be put in a position where your entire responsibility in the job would be to prosecute Black and Brown people, particularly in relation to drug crimes, and particularly small drug crimes that have sometimes draconian results and penalties.”

“That is a significant hurdle for Martin to overcome, but I also think that he is in prime position to be the type of person who is willing and able to do that,” noted McLain. He added he is impressed with Estrada’s “assertive” outreach to minority legal organizations so far.