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“...As the first woman lawyer admitted to the bar in the District of Columbia, Charlotte Ray was denied opportunity based on her race and based on her gender...at Howard University over 70 percent of our first classes are made up of women, overwhelmingly women of color and the hope...is that these women, the Charlotte Rays of today, will have every opportunity that was denied her.” -Adjunct Professor at Howard School of Law Benjamin F. Wilson
“The Justice Department...was founded in 1870 with a principal purpose to defend the rights of Blacks and secure voting rights during Reconstruction...and that thread of Justice which has cut through the Department over that entire time is also the same thread that has cut through Howard Law.” -U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail Ramsey
“...We discussed the notion of an event that would do three things: first, we thought it was important to address the important issues related to White-Collar Crime enforcement by the Department of Justice, [second] we wanted to bring together some of the most important leaders in the Justice Department with Howard students to share with them the rewards, challenges, and responsibilities with becoming an attorney in the Justice Department, and finally we wanted to undertake all of this in recognition of and in the name of a remarkable woman, Charlotte E. Ray.” -Dean of Howard School of Law Danielle R. Holley
“Just 10 years before Ms. Ray graduated from law school, slavery was legal right here in our national’s capital. The Civil War had ended just seven years before her graduation. Consider the weight and magnitude of those biases, which spanned society and were woven into the laws and the courts – the structural, foundational, and institutional racism and sexism that restrained all but a privileged few.” -Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Criminal Division
“And yet, Ms. Ray pressed on. She opened her own law practice in Washington, where, according to Professor Smith, she ‘established a reputation for being one of the best lawyers in the area of corporations law.’ That is what we call a trailblazer...But as Ms. Ray’s career shows, those who blaze the trail cannot always walk on it all the way to the end. These figures may create the path, but it is up to all who come after to continue onward – and also to make that path wider and more accessible to those who come next.” -Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Criminal Division
The Assistant Attorney General then opened the panel to discussion, questioning the U.S. attorneys about what inspired them to enter the field of law, the types of white collar crimes they encounter in their respective offices and their priorities when resolving these types of crimes, examples of good and bad advocacy in white collar crime situations, and why a law student should consider choosing a career as a prosecutor.
“My goal has always been to do what I can to take what God has given me to try to have a positive impact on the community I live in and serve...I am in a position now to deploy resources to make sure that we are (not only) doing all we can to keep the community safe, but also to improve the lives of the people in our community.” -U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace
“Our goal is not to put anybody out of business; our goal is to uphold the rule of law and hold businesses accountable. We want to see you as partners with our non-profit sectors, law enforcement, and regulatory agencies...making sure that we are doing beneficial things in our jurisdictions.” -U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery
“Sometimes I think the perception of unfairness, or two different systems of justice, can persist when white collar investigations take too long and accomplish too little in terms of deterrence…I’m trying to reduce that space, so that people can see that the Justice Department is taking swift action to address bad conduct.” -USAO for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams
On April 11, 2023 Howard University Law School hosted its inaugural White Collar Crime Conference in Washington, D.C. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Criminal Division delivered the keynote address and was joined by U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Ismail Ramsey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Breon Peace, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut Vanessa Roberts Avery, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California Stephanie Hinds, and U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams.