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| Overview
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Chief Diversity Officer Theresa Cropper discusses diversity at Perkins Coie. |
Perkins Coie deeply values diversity as an integral part of our culture. We are committed to supporting the growth and development of a workplace that reflects the richness of the communities in which we live and work. Since 1991, we have offered diversity fellowships to deserving candidates. Recipients of our 1L Diversity Student Fellowships receive a paid position as a summer associate and a $7,500 scholarship. In 2007, most of our offices with summer associate programs offered at least one fellowship. In total, 10 diverse first-year law students have received fellowships.
We host campus outreach receptions targeted at diverse law students at a number of schools across the country. We also provide a diversity contact list so that law students with questions can contact lawyers of color or other diverse backgrounds here at the firm.
Our Diversity Committee was chartered with the mission to foster a supportive and collegial atmosphere at the firm all attorneys no matter their gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability. To this end, the committee develops, promotes and implements firmwide strategies to promote diverse attorneys - women, lawyers of color, GLBT and disabled.
Call to Action
As part of our commitment to increasing the number of women and minority lawyers in our ranks, we have become a signatory to two different calls to action: The Chicago Bar Association Call to Action on Women’s Leadership in the Legal Profession and the Bar Association of San Francisco’s 2010 Diversity Goals and Recommendations. We have pledged, among other things, to increase the number or percentage of women and minority partners in our offices in these cities through recruiting and lateral expansion.
We are active in supporting diversity bar associations and other diversity professional organizations, sponsoring a number of their events at both the local and national level. We also partner with our clients to support events and programs that enrich the diverse communities where we live and practice.
Women's Forum
In 2006, we established a Women's Forum, co-chaired by two of our senior women partners. The forum, which has seen broad participation from women attorneys throughout the firm, provides leadership on issues impacting our female lawyers.
In addition, Theresa Cropper, our Chief Diversity Officer, works with the firm’s practices, committees and administrative professionals to further the firm's diversity and development goals, including marketing, recruitment, professional development, legal training and partner and associate review and compensation. Her efforts are focused on enhancing the firm’s commitment to recruiting, developing, retaining and promoting diverse attorneys by working with each of our offices to further infuse the concepts of diversity and professional development into the firm's culture.
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