position to increase the fi rm’s presence at recruitment events. T e coordinator, Tamara Toussaint, J.D., has a background in diversity initiatives in legal education and works closely with the manager of associate development, Michelle Carter. Working under the leadership of Dawn Siler-Nixon, the fi rm’s diversity chair, they recruit at minority law schools and job fairs, identify minority lateral candidates whose practice fi ts with the fi rm, and work with recruiters who specialize in the hiring of minority lawyers. T e strategy is working: 28 percent of the fi rm’s new hires are minorities, and 52 percent are women. T e commitment to diversity makes Ford & Harrison a standout among large fi rms. It wasn’t a runaway victory. Last year’s winner, Baker
Botts L.L.P., was recognized as a fi nalist during the event, along with Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Baker Botts is a longtime champion of diversity. In addition to last
Baker Botts retains its talented attorneys by holding
fi rm-wide unconscious bias training. T ese events were attended by approximately 90 percent of the fi rm’s partners. T e fi rm started two-day diversity retreats in 2009 to allow attendees to develop relationships with lawyers from other departments and offi ces. T e retreats are attended by all minority and LGBT attorneys, as well as members of fi rm management and the diversity committee. Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP was the other fi nalist at the
THE THOMAS L. SAGER AWARD IS GIVEN TO LAW FIRMS THAT DEMONSTRATE SUSTAINED COMMITMENT TO IMPROVING THE HIRING, RETENTION, AND PROMOTION OF MINORITY ATTORNEYS.
year’s Sager Award, the fi rm received a perfect score on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign. Yet the fi rm continues to move forward. Women will constitute more than 50 percent of the sum- mer associate class and minorities will constitute more than 35 percent. In addition, the fi rm’s new 2010 associate class was the most diverse in the fi rm’s history with 37.5 percent minorities, far exceeding the national average of 22.65 percent for large law fi rms.
MCCA.COM
Regional Networking Forum. Another former Sager Award recipient, the fi rm is at the vanguard of diversity practices. It was the fi rst New York City-based law fi rm to institute a fi rm-wide diversity training program and a formal diversity policy in 1984. In the South/Southwest region, the Dallas offi ce topped the rankings in the Dallas Diversity Task Force law fi rm diversity report, achieving the only composite score above 70 among all the surveyed fi rms. It was the fourth consecutive year that Weil, Gotshal & Manges topped the list. T e fi rm’s regional success is not limited
to the Dallas offi ce. In 2010, the Houston offi ce achieved the top score and the only A+ awarded in the Houston Multi-Bar Diversity Committee diversity report. Overall, in its South/Southwest offi ces, 26
percent of the fi rm’s attorneys are minorities and 42 percent are women. Among equity partners, 19 percent are minorities and 34 percent are women. With numbers like that, Weil, Gotshal & Manges will continue to
remain in the diversity conversation. T e South/Southwest region is the fi rst of fi ve regions to
host a Regional Networking Forum. Chicago will hosted the Midwest Regional Networking Forum March 15, 2011. T e Western regional event will be held in San Francisco in May (date to be determined) and the Mid-Atlantic regional event will be held in June (date to be determined). New York City will host the fi nal Regional Networking Forum of the year before MCCA’s Honors Gala. D&B
MARCH/APRIL 2011 DIVERSITY & THE BAR® 47
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