Dr. Artika Tyner Honored as Attorney of the Year 2022 by Minnesota Lawyer

ST. PAUL, Minn. - Jan. 1, 2023 - PRLog -- The Minnesota Lawyer has recognized Dr. Artika Tyner as an Attorney of the Year 2022 for outstanding service to the profession. This prestigious award is in recognition of Tyner's work in promoting racial justice, training and inspiring lawyers and law students to serve as leaders, and developing pioneering research related to diversity, equity and inclusion. Official ceremonies will be held Wednesday, February 15, 2023 at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis

Minnesota Lawyer recognized Tyner and Adine S. Momoh, Partner at Stinson LLP, for creating a multi-part Continuing Legal Education (CLE) program to support a national pro bono challenge. The CLE Challenge urges attorneys to perform at least 50 hours of pro bono work.

Momoh initiated the StepUp Pro Bono Challenge following the death of George Floyd in 2020 and the civil unrest that ensued. Momoh was serving as Chair of the Federal Bar Association Younger Lawyers Division (YLD) and developed the Challenge. The initiative is designed to provide a training program for lawyers to support the program's goals, improve access to justice, and remove systemic, racial, and socioeconomic disparities for nonprofit organizations and low-income individuals.

Momoh partnered with Tyner and the result is "A Call to Action: Stepping Up to Effectuate Change in a  Time of Crisis" training program. It explores ways lawyers can develop leadership skills and utilize their knowledge and legal training to facilitate the program's goals. The program was first conducted in October 2021 and the second session is set for 2023.

"This award recognizes the power of lawyers to lead change," said Tyner. "We can help to create new inroads to justice and freedom."

Tyner (http://www.artikatyner.com/) received her B.A. from Hamline University, with a certificate in Conflict Studies, and pursued graduate studies at the University of St. Thomas. Tyner developed educational materials for K-12, college, and graduate students, and is well-known nationally and internationally for her research.

The honoree has been a staunch supporter of racial justice and equity. Notable accomplishments include helping to organize the Campaign for Prison Phone Justice, serving on the ABA Joint Task Force on Reversing the School to Prison Pipeline and U.S. Bank Access Commitment Advisory Group, and developing the Law and Public Policy Scholar program.

She is the founder of the non-profit organization Planting People Growing Justice™ Leadership Institute (PPGJLI). Tyner is dedicated to educating and training the next generation to act as social engineers. This commitment is inspired by Charles Hamilton Houston, who encouraged leaders to serve as social engineers who serve as "a mouthpiece for the weak and sentinel guarding against wrong."