Ms Brown said: 'I look forward to leveraging the power of the nearly 400,000 ABA members to promote full and equal diversity and to end bias in the legal profession and the justice system. If we are true to our calling as lawyers, we must address this issue. Working to eliminate bias and enhance diversity and inclusion is one of the four goals of the ABA and it is critically important that the ABA increase its efforts at this time in our nation’s history.'

Young people

She took over at the ABA's annual meeting in Chicago and will head the organisation for 12 months. Based in the Morristown, New Jersey office, she has a distinctive profile through her practice. Micro-inequities are otherwise known as small slights. She plans to use her term in office to find ways to encourage young people in the legal profession. She is also a former president of the National Bar Association, former president and founder of the Association of Black Women Lawyers in New Jersey and a trustee of the New Jersey State Bar Foundation.