Grace Martinez receives 2024 Diversity Champion Award
Grace Martinez will receive this year’s Missouri Bar Diversity Champion Award for her commitment to inclusion and gains toward increasing the retention, advancement, and promotion of lawyers of color.
“It has long been my passion to develop and implement meaningful and impactful initiatives that drive diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession,” Martinez said. “I am humbled and very grateful to The Missouri Bar for honoring those who continue to do this crucial work despite increasing barriers.”
The Missouri Bar Board of Governors established the Diversity Champion Award in 2022 following a recommendation of the Special Committee on Lawyers of Color to help encourage lawyers, legal employers, and our broader communities to be inspired by their example.
Martinez will receive her award in St. Louis during the Annual Meeting of The Missouri Bar and Judicial Conference, Sept. 18-20.
Martinez practices with the Business and Commercial Disputes Practice Group at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner in Kansas City. She is on the firm’s recruiting committee and actively works with leadership to ensure the recruitment process reflects the firm’s commitment to inclusivity.
She also developed a pro bono practice under the Hague Convention's Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, representing parents in Spanish-speaking countries whose children have been taken, without their consent, to the United States.
A graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law, Martinez also founded UMKC Law’s Diverse Alumni Network to support diverse law students and lawyers in Kansas City. Through the network, Martinez has helped raise over $250,000 in scholarships offered to students who demonstrate a commitment to serving the legal needs of diverse communities.
Martinez served as 2023 president of the Hispanic Bar Association of Greater Kansas City. During her tenure as president, the HBAGKC raised over $20,000 in scholarship funds and hosted programming aimed at promoting the professional development of lawyers of color, including partnering with the National Women's Law Center to host a panel of dignitaries focused on promoting diversity in the federal judiciary.
Martinez encouraged lawyers, especially new lawyers, to “always ask why.”
“While it is important to learn the lay of the land and respect traditions, it's also healthy to question whether there is a better or different way to do things,” she said. “Ask yourself how you can contribute to positive change and growth. There is always room and a need for evolution. Be it your day-to-day practice, office culture, or volunteer work, be creative, strategic, authentic, and intentional about what you do.”
Click here to learn more about annual awards presented by The Missouri Bar, the Missouri Bar Foundation, and other entities. Read about other 2024 award winners here.