DOVER — The Delaware judiciary announced Monday an initiative aimed at increasing diversity in the legal field.

The Delaware Bench and Bar Diversity Project, launched in collaboration with the National Center for State Courts and AccessLex Institute, will be led by a committee composed of judicial officers, individuals and organizations working to build a more diverse Delaware bench and bar.

The project, the first of its kind, will make recommendations to help attract and retain diverse members to the legal community. Its process and outcomes will serve as a national model that others can adapt to address their own state-specific diversity challenges.

“With Supreme Court Justice Tamika Montgomery-Reeves as a co-chair, we are going to study diversity issues in the Delaware legal community from top to bottom,” Chief Justice Collins J. Seitz Jr. said in a statement. “We need to ensure the public is being served by a high-quality legal profession that reflects the diversity of our society.

“I recognize it will take some time. But we’re excited to get started. I know our effort will make Delaware a national leader in tackling diversity issues and bring us closer to the goal of a diverse and welcoming legal community in the First State.”