Crowell & Moring Receives MCCA'S Western Region "Thomas L. Sager Award" for Commitment to Diversity

Washington, D.C. – May 31, 2012: The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), in partnership with the California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP), has awarded Crowell & Moring LLP the 2012 Thomas L. Sager Award for the Western region. The prestigious Sager award is presented annually to one firm, in each of MCCA’s five regions, that has demonstrated a sustained commitment to diversity and inclusion. The firm received the award at the MCCA’s West Regional Networking Forum at the California African American Museum in Los Angeles on May 16. In 2010, the firm was recognized with the Thomas L. Sager Award for the Mid-Atlantic region.

“MCCA is pleased to acknowledge Crowell & Moring LLP with the Thomas L. Sager Award,” said Joseph K. West, MCCA President and CEO. “They have gone beyond ‘having a diversity program’ by working to make inclusion part of their daily culture. Everyone is encouraged and enabled to work up to their full potential. This is an example the entire legal industry would do well to follow.”

The Sager Award was created by the MCCA to honor Thomas L. Sager, DuPont Company’s senior vice president and general counsel and MCCA Board member, as a champion of change whose relentless commitment to increasing diversity in the legal profession has inspired others to do the same.

"Crowell & Moring is proud that our firm-wide culture of inclusion has taken hold with equal force in our  three California offices. Our West Coast attorneys are, like their colleagues firm-wide, fully committed to achieving a truly diverse and inclusive workplace," said Crowell & Moring managing partner, Ellen Moran Dwyer.

In selecting award recipients, the MCCA Board of Directors examines firm statistical data and efforts in areas such as recruitment, retention, and promotion; mentoring and sponsorship; pipeline initiatives; work-life initiatives; collaborative efforts with community and bar associations; and other innovative practices that result in sustainable efforts to increase diversity. In particular, Crowell & Moring was recognized for enhancing the visibility of and showcasing diverse attorneys by highlighting their expertise, accomplishments, and contributions, and for rolling out senior level training geared towards ensuring Crowell & Moring leaders have the tools for identifying, retaining, and promoting diverse talent.

In addition to this most recent honor, Crowell & Moring has received other recognitions for its diversity efforts. In 2011, the firm received the CMCP’s Drucilla Stender Ramey Law Firm Award, presented annually to a CMCP majority-owned law firm member that demonstrated the strongest commitment to diversity, based on minority attorneys in partnership, leadership, and other special roles within the law firm, and community service. In 2010, the firm received its fourth DuPont Challenge Award for, among other things, sustained and increased diversity efforts. The firm is consistently ranked among Multicultural Law Magazine's "Top 100 Firms for Diversity," and has also been recognized among Women 3.0 magazine's "Top 100 Law Firms for Women," and by Vault.com as one of the top 20 firms in the nation on issues of concern to LGBT and women lawyers. Finally, the firm received a 100 percent ranking on the 2012 Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index, and has been awarded other honors.

Crowell & Moring LLP is an international law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients in litigation and arbitration, regulatory, and transactional matters. The firm is internationally recognized for its representation of Fortune 500 companies in high-stakes litigation, as well as its ongoing commitment to pro bono service and diversity. The firm has offices in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Orange County, Anchorage, London, and Brussels.