With the help of Dr. Arin Reeves, a leading diversity consultant, Crowell & Moring has developed a comprehensive “Strategic Plan for Increasing Diversity” to formalize and update its long-standing commitment to enhancing diversity in the firm. The Plan has set the tone for a renewed focus and energy on diversity-related efforts in the areas of leadership and firm governance; firm culture and education; recruiting, retention, mentoring and professional development; and outreach to the community and profession.

As part of our diversity strategic plan, in 2006 we combined the more than ten-year-old Diversity Committee and the Diversity Advisory Council into a single Diversity Council, which combines and expands upon work previously undertaken by those and other committees. The Council meets monthly and is charged with implementing the goals and objectives of our diversity strategic plan and spearheading the firm’s overall diversity efforts. The leadership of this group includes the firm’s full-time Diversity Counsel, Monica Parham, and Co-Chair Jennifer Waters.

Highlights of our diversity calendar include film screenings during heritage months that focus on major legal developments as they pertain to diverse communities and the “Celebrating Diversity” Speaker Series, for which the firm invites prominent individuals to speak about diversity-related issues of interest to our lawyers and staff.

In addition, the firm sponsors monthly informal diverse attorneys’ lunches where diverse attorneys socialize, form informal mentoring relationships, and discuss substantive diversity issues. Finally, following a tradition over a decade old, the Council hosts an annual Diversity Dinner for our summer associates, diverse attorneys and senior firm management.

The Women Attorneys’ Network is an initiative for women attorneys that focuses on improving retention, advancement and leadership opportunities for women attorneys in the firm, networking, and furthering the firm’s relationship with its female clients, prospective clients and alumnae. Led by Kirsten Nathanson, a Partner in the firm, WAN’s activities range from small informal mentoring luncheons within the firm to CLE-offerings and client-development events.

The firm participates in a number of programs and activities aimed at making connections with diverse law students. The Recruiting Department advertises in minority law student association publications; participates in job fairs such as the DuPont Minority Job Fair and Lavender Law Career Fair and fairs hosted by the Hispanic National Bar Association, National BLSA, Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association, and Harvard BLSA, and the Vault/MCCA Legal Diversity Career Fair. In California, the firm is a member of the Orange County Diversity Task Force (OCDTF), a collaborative effort of lawyers from leading law firms and businesses committed to achieving cultural diversity in recruiting and retaining law students and attorneys in Orange County. Each year, the OCDTF sponsors recruiting events at local law schools specifically to meet diverse summer associate candidates and educate them about members’ business, practice groups and diversity efforts. Click to learn more about careers at Crowell & Moring and for our on-campus recruiting schedule.

Crowell & Moring also hosts or participates in special events for diverse students, including the firm’s own 1L Diversity Reception for diverse students who are in the Washington, D.C. area for the summer, and has sponsored GAYLAW’s “Law Student Job Talk.” Our California office participates in OCDTF’s annual reception for its members’ summer associates, which precedes the Public Law Center of Orange County's Volunteers for Justice Award Ceremony in July.

The firm actively recruits diverse lateral attorneys through referrals, use of the MCCA Job Bank, and active communication of the firm’s commitment to recruiting diverse lawyers to the recruiting consultants it hires. The firm’s commitment to diversity is at the core of the Lawyer Development Committee’s professional development, promotion, and retention efforts. The LDC recently implemented quarterly meetings with individual associates and counsel to ensure that the firm is supporting its lawyers in advancing their professional objectives. It also revamped the firm’s evaluation, mentorship and compensation programs to improve their effectiveness and transparency.

In addition, the firm’s benefits policies recognize diversity—for example, Crowell & Moring offers domestic partnership benefits, flexible hour arrangements, and adoption leave benefits. We also sponsor, just steps away from our office, a daycare center that offers full time and backup day care.