EMPL O Y ER OF CH O I CE
UPS LEGAL DEPARTMENT > South/Southwest Region
W TERI MCCLURE
ith more than 400,000 UPS employees spread over more than
220 countries, the global shipper and freight transporter’s work- force is diverse by defi nition.
“UPS is in the business of linking people, cultures,
and commerce, with diversity as an integral part of its global strategy,” says Teri Plummer McClure, senior vice president, legal and compliance, general counsel, and corporate secretary for the company. “In today’s world, we understand that diversity encom-
passes more than race and gender. It extends to the full myriad of issues ranging from ethnicity to sexual orienta- tion to physical ability.” T e legal department established a diversity committee
that is made up of lawyers, paralegals, and legal assis- tants, she explains. It has developed initiatives to build “a stronger diversity pipeline in the legal profession and has provided regular updates on progress,” she says. UPS participates in the “Street Law” education program
through the Corporate Legal Diversity Pipeline Program, which yearly gives more than 50 Atlanta high school stu- dents the opportunity to explore legal careers, interact with professional role models, and learn about the law. “We teach students about employment law, contracts,
and intellectual property, and provide a window into the lives of corporate lawyers,” she said. “T rough interac- tions with our staff , the students are able to consider career options, envision a pathway to legal careers, and lay the groundwork for the pursuit of that pathway.” In addition, McClure says UPS expects law fi rms with
which it does business to be committed to diversity. “I, as general counsel, and the senior leadership within
the department, also communicate to the fi rms represent- ing UPS our expectation that these fi rms distinguish themselves in the area of diversity,” she says. “As part of our commitment to diversity, we intend to limit our rela- tionship with any fi rm whose performance consistently lacks meaningful interest in diversity. “To highlight this commitment, we report monthly on
diverse timekeepers’ hours billed from our top twenty- two fi rms,” she continues. “T is is used as a department metric to review the allocation of work to diverse attor- neys. It ensures there is fair representation of diversity on our legal matters. Firms are required to categorize the gender, ethnicity profi le, and timekeeper classifi cation.”
MCCA.COM ANDREA REISTER
SA G E R A W A R D S
COVINGTON & BURLING LLP > Mid-Atlantic Region
C
ovington & Burling LLP., a leading international law fi rm, views diversity
“not as an endpoint or a statistic to report but more of a way of thinking and doing business,”
says Andrea G. Reister, a partner and co-chair of the fi rm-wide diversity committee. In the fi rm’s diversity initiatives, Reister says, “T e
focus for us is not on a particular objective or a particular number but on achieving real inclusion and integration so that we are in the best position to provide the best services to our clients.” T e winner of the T omas L. Sager Award for the mid-
Atlantic region is a fi rm that represents clients in matters related to technology, white-collar allegations, litigation, transactional, government aff airs, international, and life sciences. It has offi ces in Washington, D.C., New York, San Diego, San Francisco, and the Silicon Valley in the United States, as well as in Beijing, Brussels, and London. Covington is consistently in the top 20 on T e American Lawyer’s prestigious A-list, based on fi nancial performance, pro bono activity, associate satisfaction, and diversity. One the fi rm’s more unusual diversity initiatives is
part of an eff ort to identify attorney prospects early in their careers through participation in Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Corporate Law Program in Washington, D.C. Reister, who is based in Washington, says the pro-
gram “focuses on college graduates who haven’t started law school yet and enables them to have an opportu- nity to work in a law fi rm and experience the law fi rm practice from the very beginning before they actually go to law school.” While major law fi rms have been shrinking staff s and
deferring hiring during the recession, often resulting in less diversity, Reister has pointed out that Covington has maintained its summer associate program, honored off ers to incoming fi rst-year associates, and continued to promote associates into the partnership. In 2010, more than half of the 85 associates who joined
the fi rm were women and 18 associates were ethnically diverse or lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender. In the D.C. offi ces, 55 percent of the 60 new associates were women and 27 percent were ethnically diverse or LGBT. Half the 72 summer associates were women and more than 41 percent were ethnically diverse or LGBT. More than 10 percent of the summer associates were African American.
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2011 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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