Our Commitment To Diversity
Patterson Belknap is committed to employing a diverse workforce of attorneys and staff. We consider a diverse workforce to include people of all social, racial, economic and cultural backgrounds. As firm Co-Chair, Bill Cavanaugh has said, "[c]reating opportunities for all lawyers to succeed, in providing legal services to our clients and developing their own skills, is critical.”
Patterson Belknap takes its commitment to diversity seriously. A number of factors demonstrate the firm's commitment and success:
- Our Diversity Committee meets regularly to address ideas and issues.
- The Firm recently undertook a diversity assessment to provide a basis for future diversity initiatives.
Peter C. Harvey, former Attorney General of the State of New Jersey, joined the firm as a partner in March 2006. Mr. Harvey has been recognized as one of
Black Enterprise Magazine's "Top Black Lawyers in America" and
Ebony Magazine's "100 Most Influential Black-Americans."
We provide mandatory diversity training for both staff and attorneys.
We have successfully encouraged the formation of Affinity Groups.
We have a Flexible Work Arrangements Committee that supports and discusses issues associated with attorneys who work part-time.
We recently modified our parental leave policy to guarantee 18 weeks paid time off for new primary parental caregiver and guaranteed four weeks paid time off to new non-primary parental caregiver.
In 1990, the firm was one of the first major New York law firms to select a woman as managing partner.
Rochelle Korman, our second woman in that position, served as Managing Partner from 2003-2007.
Through Legal Outreach we participate in pipeline projects including mock trial and oral argument programs as well as its summer internship program.
We support a number of legal organizations aimed at increasing diversity, including AALDEF, PRLDEF, NAACPLDEF, LeGAL, LAMBDA, area LSAs and the New York City Bar.
We are a signatory to the New York City Bar's Goals for Minority Recruitment Hiring and Retention.
We are a signatory to the New York County Lawyers' Association's Statement regarding Diversity in the Legal Profession.
We hold monthly ethnic nights designed to celebrate our diverse community.
Diversity Committee
Our Diversity Committee was formed in the 1990s as a forum to discuss and address issues surrounding diversity. The Committee consists of partners, including our Managing Partner, Chair of the firm's Hiring Committee, and associates. Among the issues pursued by the Committee is improving diversity at the firm, retaining minority and women associates and increasing diversity at the partnership level. Committee members attend CLE classes and other programs outside the firm to help the firm develop ideas to accomplish its goals to increase diversity. The Diversity Committee has worked with the firm's Management Committee to organize diversity training for partners, associates and staff.
Members of the Diversity Committee also participate in the New York City Bar's Diversity Working Sessions and sit on its Committee for Improving Diversity in the Profession.
RecruitingThe goal of furthering diversity requires hiring law students from different backgrounds. Accordingly, we partner with student groups at law schools to present informative programs about law firm opportunities and actively recruit their members. In addition, we encourage applications from lateral associates of color and other diverse backgrounds.
One of our partners sits on the board of a minority mentorship program at an area law school, and one of our associates is a board member of PALS - Practicing Attorneys for Law Students - an organization dedicated to increasing diversity in the legal profession.
Affinity GroupsTo further our diversity efforts, the firm currently supports three affinity groups - Patterson Attorneys of Color or "PAC," Women Lawyers at Patterson or "WLAP" and Out at Patterson or "OAP," a group focused on issues relevant to the firm's LGBT attorneys. These groups provide space for members to address any issues of concern and assist the firm in its recruitment efforts.
To access PAC's brochure,
click here.
To access OAP's brochure,
click here.
The Numbers Women currently account for 47% of our associates and approximately 19% of our partners.
Nearly 21% of associates and 5% of partners and counsel are minorities, including former New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey and
Karla G. Sanchez, named in 2006 as one of
Crain's New York Business's "'40 under Forty' - New York's Rising Stars" and dubbed a "rising star" by Puerto Rican Legal Defense & Education Fund, a legal defense fund dedicated to justice for Latinos.
Nearly 9% of associates and 5% of partners and counsel identify themselves as openly gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender. Of the law firms with the "most openly gay and lesbian lawyers," as surveyed by The National Law Journal, Patterson Belknap is ranked #2.
In the words of former Patterson partner and current Chairman of the Board of Time Warner Inc., Richard D. Parsons, "[d]uring my 12 years at Patterson, I learned that what defined success wasn't pedigree or ethnicity but an undiluted devotion to the law and an unqualified commitment to give every client the most effective representation possible." It is this culture that the firm strives to achieve and believes cultivates a diverse and successful environment.
To learn more, please contact any member of the Diversity Committee:
Karla G. Sanchez, Chair
Patrick S. AlmonrodeKaren R. BerryMarvin J. Brittman David M. GlaserPeter C. HarveyPaul G. HawthorneAmin KassamNivritha KettyRobin L. Klum
Robert W. LehrburgerRobert P. LoBue
John P. Schmitt
Elizabeth ShofnerJean L. Tom