Diversity & Inclusion · 2017-06-16 · survey, a major firm client recognized Jackson Lewis as an...

Chairman's Message

A Message from Board of Directors Liaison to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee

A Word from Our Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair

Diversity Advisor’s Update

Attorney Resource Group Updates

African American ARG

Asian American ARG

Hispanic ARG

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender ARG

Women’s Interest Network

Additional Items of Interest

Diversity Calendar

In this Issue

Chairman’s Message…

I recently read a quote about business di-

versity that nicely stat-ed Jackson Lewis’ goals as relates to D&I:

Diversity means all the ways we differ. Some of these differences we are born with and cannot change. Anything that makes us unique is part of this definition of diversity. Inclusion involves bringing together and harnessing these diverse forces and resources, in a way that is beneficial. Inclusion puts the concept and practice of diversity into action by creating an environment of involvement, respect, and connection—where the richness of ideas, backgrounds, and perspectives are harnessed to create business value. Organizations need both diversity and inclusion to be successful.

T. Hudson Jordan

Director, Global Diversity & Talent Strategies

Pitney Bowes, Inc.

We have changed the name of our “Diversity” Committee to the “Diver-sity & Inclusion” Committee (“D&I”). This is in acknowledgement of the fact that we need to broaden our focus from diversity to diversity and inclu-sion to be successful. While we will

continue to make strides in improving our workforce demographics, we are expanding our focus on inclusion, as defined in Mr. Jordan’s quote, in an effort to ensure our lawyers have the tools and support they need to succeed and grow. I hope you will all join in celebrating and incorporating the many differences we each bring to make Jackson Lewis the special place that it is.

We are enhancing our D&I Committee in a number of other important ways to engage the talents of more of our attorneys and to improve our results, as Greg Alvarez, Board of Directors Li-aison to the D&I Committee, explains in more detail below.

The changes build on our successes to date. I trust everyone saw my message in the last Newsletter about JL endors-ing the new ABA Law Firm Diversity Survey supported by scores of major Corporate General Counsel. Based on the progress we reported in this year’s survey, a major firm client recognized Jackson Lewis as an “Outstanding Firm in Diversity Performance” at a ceremony at company headquarters with the General Counsel and other key employment lawyers with whom we work.

Jackson Lewis P.C. ©2017

Vincent A. CinoChairman

Diversity & InclusionN E W S L E T T E RQuarter 1 2017

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www.jacksonlewis.com


A Message from Board of Directors Liaison to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee...

W ith the help of our Corporate Diversity Counseling Practice

Group and the Human Resources Department, the Board of Directors recently developed an Action Plan to significantly expand the efforts of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee. While we will continue to enhance

efforts to increase our numbers of diverse lawyers (i.e., minorities, women, LGBT and lawyers with disabilities, which is the American Bar Association “Goal III” definition), we are adding resources to the Committee to ensure that all our lawyers have the resources and support to develop and succeed as Jackson Lewis attorneys. To emphasize these ex-panded priorities, we have changed the name of the Committee to the Diversity and Inclusion Committee (“D&I Committee”).

Over the past several years, we have sought to en-hance firm diversity; that is, increasing the number of diverse lawyers. Among other efforts, we have: commissioned and received an internal assessment of firm D&I efforts by our Corporate Diversity Coun-seling Group; upgraded our Summer Clerk program with a focus on recruiting attorneys from groups that are underrepresented in the legal profession; and reminded all offices of the expectation that they award a Jackson Lewis Scholarship. Now that these initiatives are in place, through its new Action Plan, the Board of Directors is asking Office Managing Principals to do a more thorough/efficient job of recruiting, hiring and retaining diverse attorneys in all offices. In order to make JL a diverse workplace, we need to retain the diverse lawyers we hire. Thus, we now need to focus on inclusion—that is, we must ensure our diverse attorneys have the support they need to develop their professional and client devel-opment skills, advance to partnership (for Associ-ates), assume leadership positions within the firm and become leaders in their field.

To implement these expanded priorities, we have enlarged the size of the D&I Committee. Specifical-ly, four additional Principals are joining the Com-mittee as Co-Chairs to focus on both diversity and inclusion efforts: Cindy Filla (LA), Maurice Jenkins (DET), David Jimenez (HFD), and Michelle Phillips (WP). Weldon Latham (DC) will remain Committee Chair, with a focus on external activities, including addressing increasing client demands regarding the firm’s D&I. The new Co-Chairs are all busy lawyers and we are grateful to them for agreeing to share their time and talents to promote diversity and inclusion at Jackson Lewis. Mike Hatcher (DC), who has served as firmwide Diversity Manager for the past 6 years, and the firm’s CHRO, Gretchen Reising (NOC), will serve as advisors to the Commit-tee. Director of Professional Development, Tammie Garner, will provide HR-related and administrative support to help execute D&I initiatives.

Initially, the expanded Committee will focus on two goals. First, the Committee, which includes the Chairs of our five Attorney Resource Groups (“ARGs”), will develop and implement processes for the ARGs to share best practices and work togeth-er effectively to foster an inclusive environment. A good example of this was the joint effort by the LBGT and Hispanic ARGs after the tragic shooting at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando last year.

Second, the Committee will implement a newly created Diversity Coordinator role in each office. The Diversity Coordinators, who will be appointed by their respective Office Managing Principals, will bring more energy and attention to the D&I needs in the individual offices.

Our Chairman, Board, and the D&I Committee lead-ers are very excited about the work of this endeav-or and look forward to continuing to improve the firm’s D&I performance as our clients are encourag-ing us to do.

Gregory T. AlvarezDiversity and Inclusion

Committee Liaison

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A Word from Our Diversity and Inclusion Committee Chair…

O ur clients are encouraging their major law firms to become more

diverse: Jackson Lewis was recently recognized as one of our largest cli-ent’s “outstanding firms in diversity performance,” based on the results of its annual outside counsel diversity survey (now the Annual ABA Survey).

The Senior Vice President and Chief Counsel for Global Human Resources stated “Jackson Lewis has an outstanding record in the area of promoting diversity in the legal profession, so its strong perfor-mance each year is not at all surprising.”

On April 5th, a team of Vincent Cino (MOR), Wel-don Latham (DC), John Bryson (DC), Chris Patrick (DEN), and Krystal Welland (DEN) attended the “Outside Counsel Diversity Recognition Day” event at the company's headquarters. At a formal presen-tation, Vincent accepted this diversity award on be-half of the firm from the company's Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary.

During the event, our client expressed two clear

messages: (1) the company will send most of its legal work to firms that have strong D&I perfor-mance, and (2) it expects its law firms to continually enhance their diverse representation, particularly on the company's legal matters.

This was an outstanding opportunity for the firm to be recognized for its successful D&I efforts, to enhance professional relationships with the client's lawyers and to pursue additional business. The company's senior employment lawyers went out of their way to express to Vincent their praise for the firm’s efforts on the company’s behalf. They gave special recognition to Chris Patrick and Krystal Welland for their superior responsiveness and sus-tained performance.

Obviously, we will seek to expand our work for this company, utilizing the firm’s commitment to en-hance visible JL attorney diversity. The lesson is one that the firm is already seeking to replicate. Please help us by reporting other examples of the value of JL D&I efforts in gaining and expanding client rela-tionships for future D&I Newsletter reports.

Diversity Advisor’s Update...

I want to congratulate and thank Jason Gavejian (MOR) for becom-

ing Co-Chair of the Hispanic ARG. The ARGs are a key part of Jackson Lewis’ D&I strategy and having Princi-pals, such as our past and current Co-Chairs, volunteer their time and energy is critical to ARG success.

Also, as a follow up to Vinny’s email in March, I too would like to welcome Guillermo Escobedo (SD) back to our San Diego office. Guillermo is actively

involved in the San Diego La Raza Lawyers Associ-

ation, where he is a member of the Board, and the Hispanic National Bar Association (“HNBA”), where he is Co-Chair of the Labor & Employment Section and a member of the Human Resources Committee. Welcome back, Guillermo!

As previously reported, more than 60 Fortune 500 General Counsel have signed a pledge to implement ABA Resolution 113 and require their outside law firms to complete a survey on firm diversity. To date, we have received and responded to ABA diver-sity surveys from 10 client companies. If you receive a survey request from a client, please let me know as promptly as possible.

Weldon H. LathamDiversity and Inclusion

Committee Chair

Michael R. HatcherDiversity Manager

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Attorney Resource Group UpdatesThe Attorney Resource Group Chairs provided the following updates on behalf of their members. Please note that our diverse attorneys regularly receive accolades for their professional and community activities. They contribute articles and give presentations on a broad range of topics, and they attend a variety of conferences and meetings. The items below, however, specifically pertain to diversity-related activities.

African American ARG | Led by Maurice Jenkins (DET) and Marlo Johnson Roebuck (DET)

On Monday, March 20th, the Morristown office held its tenth annual diversity luncheon.

On February 15th, Allison Dearington (HFD) host-ed a Junior Achievement career panel in our office and arranged speakers on a variety of career topics for the students. Junior Achievement USA is the nation’s largest organization dedicated to giving young people the knowledge and skills they need to own their economic success, plan for their future, and make smart academic and economic choices. The organization reaches more than four million students per year in 183,000 classrooms and af-

ter-school locations. Its programs are taught by volunteers in inner cities, suburbs, and rural areas throughout the United States, in more than 120 Area Offices in all 50 states. Peggy Strange, Bev Garofalo, Sarah Skubas, David Salazar-Austin, Justin Theri-ault, and Tanya Bovée (all HFD) spoke.

Sean Herring (CHI) attended the annual National Bar Association Commercial Law Section Annual Conference in Atlanta, and the Charting Your Own Course conference in Orlando. Both were in February.

Asian American ARG | Led by Tanya Bovée (HFD) and Monica Khetarpal (CHI)

On January 5th, Tanya Bovée (HFD) conducted mock interviews with UCONN law students for the Con-necticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association. On

January 6th, she attended the organization’s Lunar New Year event.

Hispanic ARG | Led by James Botana (CHI) and Jason Gavejian (MOR)

The Hispanic ARG is pleased to announce that Jason Gavejian has been appointed as Co-Chair by our

Chairman. We look forward to Jason’s leadership!

Morristown Office’s Annual Diversity Lunch

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On February 28th - March 1st, Hispanic National Bar Association (“HNBA”) Pres-ident, Pedro Torres-Díaz (PR/MIA), joined leaders of HNBA’s sister affinity bars to conduct an Advocacy Day for the Coalition of Bar Asso-ciations of Color (“CBAC”). CBAC was established in 1992 and is comprised of the HNBA, the National Bar Association (“NBA”), the Na-tional Native American Bar Association (“NNABA”), and the National Asian Pacific

American Bar Association (“NAPABA”). Leaders from these organizations meet annually in Washington, D.C. to discuss issues of mutual concern and to ad-vocate in support of their shared interests with the

executive branch and with elected officials. At this year’s meeting, the participating bar associations adopted several joint resolutions, and advocated for them with members of Congress and the Senate, including Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer. In addition, Cyndie Chang and Pankit Doshi, Pres-ident and President-Elect (respectively) of NAPABA, attended this year’s HNBA Corporate Counsel Con-ference in Miami, which was held March 30th - April 2nd, with Pedro as host as President of the HNBA.

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender ARG | Led by Michelle Phillips (WP) and Pedro Forment (MIA)

During the first quarter, Michelle Phillips (WP) gave multiple trainings and presentations on sexual stereotyping and gender identity in the workplace, and misgendering and transitioning in the work-place. She and Pedro Forment (MIA) also presented a webinar on LGBT employment law issues with best practices regarding gender transition plans to the Association of Corporate Counsel’s Employment & Labor Law Committee.

In February, Jessica Källström-Schreckengost (OMA) gave a three hour presentation on gender identity

in the workplace to one of the largest employers in Nebraska. Although the presentation was held in Omaha, the employer live streamed the presenta-tion so their employees in facilities throughout the state could watch.

On February 1st, Tammy Baker (BHM) co-presented “Emerging LGBTQ Civil Rights and Employment Is-sues” at the Kansas Legal Revitalization Conference at the invitation of Kansas Chief Judge Tom Marten.

Michelle Phillips (WP) was quoted in numerous arti-cles addressing LGBT issues, including:

Pedro with Chuck Schumer

From L – R: Juan Thomas, Presi-dent-Elect, NBA; Pankit Doshi, Presi-dent-Elect, NAPABA; Pedro Torres-Diaz, President, HNBA; Kevin Judd, President, NBA; Cyndie Chang, President, NAPABA; Jennifer Weddle, President, NNABA

Date Title Publication

3.17.17 Appeals Court Rules Sexual Orientation Discrimination Is Not Prohibited SHRM

3.06.17 High Court's Punt Draws Out Wait For Clarity On Trans Bias Law 360

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3.01.17 Federal Departments' Withdrawal of Gender Identity Guidance Doesn’t Change EEOC's Position SHRM

2.23.17 Trump's Trans Bathroom Access U-Turn May Not Slow EEOC Law 360

2.23.17 Trump Administration Rescinds Guidance on Transgender Rights under Title IX JL Legal Update

2.17.17 Will Trump Administration Retreat on LGBT Protections? BNA

1.28.17 Obama's LGBT Order More Likely to Be Amended Than Rescinded BNA

1.26.17 New Proposed Anti-Harassment Guidance Addresses Many Issues JL Legal Update

1.13.17 How Employers Can Accommodate LGBTQ Workers Law 360

1.04.17 CA court to hear rare reverse sexual orientation discrimination case HR Dive

Women’s Interest Network | Led by Stephanie Adler-Paindiris (ORL), Susan Corcoran (WP), Peggy Strange (HFD) and Samantha Hoffman (OC)

In March, Jackson Lewis sponsored the National Association of Women Lawyers’ (“NAWL”) Mid-Year Meeting and Awards Luncheon held in Chica-go. Kathryn Moran (CHI) joined Lynne Matuszak, Counsel, Commercial and Transactions, Ford Motor Company, and Jayne Reardon, Executive Director, Il-linois Supreme Court Commission on Professional-ism, for a panel presentation, “From Brief to Tweet: Communicating in the World of Social Media.” Kristin Bauer (DAL), who is a NAWL board member, and Julia Argentieri (CHI) attended the meeting and related events. Jackson Lewis was proud to honor NAWL’s awardees such as Caterpillar—the recipient of the NAWL Challenge Award (presented annually to an in-house legal department that has either met or adopted policies designed to meet NAWL’s One-Third By 2020 Challenge to advance women in the

highest levels of the profession). On May 9th, Jack-son Lewis sponsored NAWL’s “Succeeding In-House and Navigating the Pipeline to Equity Partnership” program in Seattle, bringing together in-house and law firm attorneys to explore pathways to advance-ment. Jackson Lewis is sponsoring NAWL’s Annual Meeting and Awards Luncheon, which takes place in July in New York, and its “Meeting the Challenge” program, which takes place in September in Boston. Attorneys interested in participating in these events should contact Kristin Bauer, Emily Borna (ATL) or Susan Corcoran (WP).

Collin Udell (HFD) participated in the National As-sociation of Women Lawyers’ Supreme Court Com-mittee vetting of Judge Gorsuch for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Additional Items of Interest

O n January 16th, Mike Hatcher (DC) attended “A Commonwealth Coffee with Virginia’s Afri-

can-American Leaders” at the invitation of Senator Mark Warner (D-VA). This is an annual event with African-American Business Leaders from Virginia,

hosted by the state’s Democratic Congressional del-egation, all of whom participated.

On March 3rd, Mike Hatcher and John Bryson (both DC) represented the firm at Howard University's Charter Day Gala.

Diversity Calendar

I n order to better track and plan for diversity events, we have started a Diversity Calendar.

The goal is to capture all diversity-related events in which the firm may want to participate. Adding an event to the calendar does not mean the firm has committed to participate, just that it is worth con-sidering, and diversity-minded attorneys should be aware of it. If you have an item to contribute to

the calendar, please send it to Regan Harrison and include (a) the name of the organization holding the event (b) the name of the event (c) the date and loca-tion of the event (d) the attorney willing to take the lead on coordinating the firm’s involvement and (e) whether or not there is a job fair opportunity includ-ed (if you know).

Month Day(s) Event

March 30 - 4/1 Hispanic National Bar Association Corporate Counsel Conference (Miami)

April 19 - 21 Minority Corporate Counsel Association General Counsel Summit (Miami)

26 - 28 National Employment Law Counsel Annual Conference (Denver)

May 17-18 HNBA Advocacy Day (DC)

July 13 - 16 South Asian Bar Association of North America Annual Convention (DC)

September 6-9 HNBA Annual Convention (Kansas City, MO)

24 Congressional Black Caucus Gala

27 - 29 Corporate Counsel Women of Color Annual Career Strategies Conference (Las Vegas)

October 4 Minority Corporate Councsel Association Diversity Gala (NYC)

November 2 - 5 National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual Convention (DC)

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