Diversity in the Firm
With the help of Dr. Arin Reeves, a leading diversity consultant, Crowell & Moring continues to build upon and implement its "Strategic Plan for Increasing Diversity," which sets the tone for our 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. Our Diversity Council meets monthly and spearheads the firm's overall diversity efforts. The leadership of this group includes Diversity Counsel, Monica Parham, and Partner Co-Chairs Jennifer Waters and Andy Liu.
Highlights of our diversity calendar include heritage month film screenings focusing on major legal developments impacting 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. Click here to read more about the series. In 2007 the Council rolled out "diversity dialogues" - small group discussions led by teams of attorneys and non-attorney staff, which focused on issues of diversity and inclusion. These dialogues in turn generated a new set of firm-wide diversity and "firm life" initiatives. The Council has also launched firm-sponsored Affinity Groups for Latino attorneys, Asian-American attorneys, African-American attorneys, and GLBT attorneys and staff. Members of these groups meet formally in group luncheons, and informally throughout the year. The firm also sponsors monthly informal diverse attorneys' lunches where diverse attorneys socialize, form informal mentoring relationships, and discuss substantive issues. Following a tradition over a decade old, the Council also hosts an annual Diversity Dinner for our summer associates, diverse attorneys and senior firm management.
The Women Attorneys' Network (WAN), under the leadership of Partner Kirsten Nathanson and a national steering committee, is an initiative for women attorneys that focuses on improving retention, advancement and leadership opportunities for women attorneys in the firm; networking; and enhancing the firm's relationship with its female clients, prospective clients and alumnae. To read more about WAN, please click here. The firm participates in a number of programs and activities aimed at enhancing our connections with diverse law students. The Recruiting Department advertises in minority law student association publications; participates in diversity-promoting 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. 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 has sponsored GAYLAW's "Law Student Job Talk."
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.
Crowell & Moring's commitment to diversity is at the core of the Lawyer Development Committee's professional development, promotion, and retention efforts. The Lawyer Development Committee recently implemented quarterly meetings with individual associates and counsel to ensure that the firm is supporting all of its lawyers in advancing their professional objectives. It also revamped the firm's evaluation, mentorship and compensation programs to improve their effectiveness and transparency. Diversity Council leadership also meet with the heads of firm practice groups to evaluate each group's efforts to retain and recruit diverse attorneys.
The firm's benefits policies recognize the diversity among our attorneys and staff. Among other benefits, Crowell & Moring offers domestic partnership benefits, flexible hour arrangements, and adoption leave benefits. We also sponsor and provide attorneys and staff with access to a nearby, a daycare center that offers full time and backup day care.