Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Diversity Profile on Martindale.com

Diversity at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Commitment to Diversity

"Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day." – Anonymous

At Baker Donelson, we understand that people from different cultures and backgrounds provide unique perspectives and approaches to solving legal problems. Diversity, whether in person or thought, is an integral part of our Firm's culture and values. Diversity includes, but is not limited to race, gender, age, language, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation and religious belief. Diversity also refers to the many ways we are different in other respects such as educational background, socio-economic background, personality profile, geographic location, job duties, marital status and whether or not one has family. Diversity is that quality of each of us being different but still distinct.

Our goal is to continue to move the discussion and action on diversity in a positive direction. As an AmLaw 200 firm and one of the largest firms in the south central United States, diversity is more than just a catchphrase at Baker Donelson. We strongly encourage inclusion in our hiring, retention and professional development.

"Getting it" at the highest levels

Our management philosophy promotes the treatment of every person with dignity and respect, values the contribution that each person makes as an individual, strives to enable our colleagues to be comfortable being themselves and encourages every person to realize his or her potential.

Our Diversity Committee counts our Chairman and CEO, COO, two Office Managing Shareholders and a Practice Group leader among its ranks. Meeting once a month, the Committee's job is to oversee and implement the Firm's diversity initiatives.

What is Baker Donelson doing?

We continue to stand apart in our constant effort to push forward and be thought leaders in our communities.

Established the Baker Donelson Diversity Scholarship Program for law students. Recipients of the three annual scholarships are awarded a salaried 2L Summer Associate position, and $10,000 is paid during the students' third year of law school to help defray the cost of tuition and related expenses.
Provide full funding for the Baker Donelson Internship Program at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI). Three interns are chosen from an application process and are assigned to positions in education, archives or public relations to support the BCRI mission, which is "to promote civil and human rights worldwide through education."
We participated in the Nashville Bar Association High School Internship Program, which led to us hiring a high school student in our Nashville office for the summers of 2008 and 2009.
We regularly co-sponsor the Nashville Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week and the Memphis-based Mid-South Minority Business Council Economic Development Fair. Each event provides a forum to discuss the continued growth and development of minority business enterprises.
In August 2007, we were the primary sponsor of the Birmingham Business Journal's inaugural Best in Minority Business Awards, which celebrated the spirit, creativity and resourcefulness of minority business leaders and companies promoting and achieving diversity in their business.
We were sponsors of the 2008 "Diversity for Success" seminar presented by the Defense Research Institute's Diversity Committee.
In May 2008, we held our second minority attorney retreat, and the overall consensus revealed a commitment to continue Baker Donelson's tradition of encouraging diversity and a renewed sense of optimism about the Firm's commitment to diversity.
We held our first Diversity Committee Retreat in 2008, which was led by an outside Diversity Consultant.
We implemented and completed mandatory Inclusion Training for the entire Firm. In 2008, we retained a consultant to train several attorneys and staff members to deepen the discussion on inclusion and diversity, then allotted billing credit for the attorneys who performed the training. We are now creating lunch programs for attorneys and staff so that the dialogue may continue.
We regularly reward achievement by our diverse staff for their accomplishments.

Recruitment and Retention of Attorneys

The Firm is committed to recruiting, hiring, training, retaining, and inviting to Shareholder status attorneys from under-represented groups. We understand that the necessary changes will not be achieved by good intentions alone. In order to achieve meaningful, measurable and lasting progress toward greater inclusion of racially and ethnically diverse legal talent, it is necessary for us to not only commit philosophically to those goals, but also to commit resources, individually and collectively, towards activities that we as a group believe will have a positive impact.

At the beginning of the Firm's diversity initiative in 2002, we had seven minority attorneys. We outlined a goal of increasing our minority attorney population by 100% in two years, and we met it. Today, we have 40 minority attorneys and almost 180 women attorneys, and are always looking for diverse talent.

We actively recruit at historically African-American law schools, such as Howard University, North Carolina Central, Southern University and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and we strongly consider applications from students at similar institutions. Our Recruiting Committee is currently working with attorneys in our Diversity Committee and throughout the Firm to explore new ways of widening our field of candidates.
Our summer associate program has seen a steady growth of minority students. In 2007, 14% of our summer associates were minority; in 2008, that number jumped to 18%. And for 2009, we will have 22%.
In the Fall 2006 recruiting class, we made offers to ten minority students, and six students accepted. In the Fall 2007 recruiting class, we made offers to 11 minority students, nine of whom accepted. And for the Fall 2008 recruiting class, we made offers to six students, five of whom accepted.
We have established a mentoring program for our associates and are preparing our diverse attorneys for leadership positions throughout our Firm.
We have created an initiative to reach out to diverse undergraduate students to help them achieve their goal of entering the legal field. "Bringing Diversity to Our Businesses" is led by two female minority attorneys, showing not only our dedication to encourage more minorities to attend law school, but our commitment to grow leaders from within our own ranks.

Your success is our success

Female and minority attorneys have assumed leadership roles throughout the Firm. Women and minority attorneys currently serve or have recently served as four of our ten managing shareholders, and chair or co-chair three of our nineteen practice groups. Two female and one minority shareholder serve on the Board of Directors, and numerous committees are chaired by minority and female lawyers. Women head several administrative departments, including our Attorney Recruitment and Human Resources.

We regularly discuss diversity and our progress at attorney and shareholder retreats; our CEO and Diversity Chair have spoken about how Baker Donelson attorneys and clients increasingly desire and expect a diverse team of attorneys to be engaged in the Firm's work. At the most recent Firm retreat, representatives from three prominent clients served as panel members to discuss the importance of diversity in the legal profession. Our Recruiting Committees have attorneys from very diverse backgrounds.

We have implemented a "flex time policy" for our attorneys, which allow lawyers to deviate from the standard billable-hour format. We support the desire of our attorneys to balance a challenging professional career with their personal lives and other outside interests and responsibilities.

Going Farther

We have not completed our journey. We continue to seek leadership opportunities and to encourage our attorneys to be active in the community.

Diversity: Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

About This Firm

Diversity at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC


About This Firm Overview People Practice Areas & Industries Offices Diversity Documents Peer Review Ratings Client Review Ratings U.S. Federal Litigation Activity Transactional Activity U.S. Patent Activity	Diversity at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC Commitment to Diversity "Diversity is the one true thing we all have in common. Celebrate it every day." – Anonymous At Baker Donelson, we understand that people from different cultures and backgrounds provide unique perspectives and approaches to solving legal problems. Diversity, whether in person or thought, is an integral part of our Firm's culture and values. Diversity includes, but is not limited to race, gender, age, language, ethnicity, cultural background, disability, sexual orientation and religious belief. Diversity also refers to the many ways we are different in other respects such as educational background, socio-economic background, personality profile, geographic location, job duties, marital status and whether or not one has family. Diversity is that quality of each of us being different but still distinct. Our goal is to continue to move the discussion and action on diversity in a positive direction. As an AmLaw 200 firm and one of the largest firms in the south central United States, diversity is more than just a catchphrase at Baker Donelson. We strongly encourage inclusion in our hiring, retention and professional development. "Getting it" at the highest levels Our management philosophy promotes the treatment of every person with dignity and respect, values the contribution that each person makes as an individual, strives to enable our colleagues to be comfortable being themselves and encourages every person to realize his or her potential. Our Diversity Committee counts our Chairman and CEO, COO, two Office Managing Shareholders and a Practice Group leader among its ranks. Meeting once a month, the Committee's job is to oversee and implement the Firm's diversity initiatives. What is Baker Donelson doing? We continue to stand apart in our constant effort to push forward and be thought leaders in our communities. Established the Baker Donelson Diversity Scholarship Program for law students. Recipients of the three annual scholarships are awarded a salaried 2L Summer Associate position, and $10,000 is paid during the students' third year of law school to help defray the cost of tuition and related expenses. Provide full funding for the Baker Donelson Internship Program at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI). Three interns are chosen from an application process and are assigned to positions in education, archives or public relations to support the BCRI mission, which is "to promote civil and human rights worldwide through education." We participated in the Nashville Bar Association High School Internship Program, which led to us hiring a high school student in our Nashville office for the summers of 2008 and 2009. We regularly co-sponsor the Nashville Minority Enterprise Development (MED) Week and the Memphis-based Mid-South Minority Business Council Economic Development Fair. Each event provides a forum to discuss the continued growth and development of minority business enterprises. In August 2007, we were the primary sponsor of the Birmingham Business Journal's inaugural Best in Minority Business Awards, which celebrated the spirit, creativity and resourcefulness of minority business leaders and companies promoting and achieving diversity in their business. We were sponsors of the 2008 "Diversity for Success" seminar presented by the Defense Research Institute's Diversity Committee. In May 2008, we held our second minority attorney retreat, and the overall consensus revealed a commitment to continue Baker Donelson's tradition of encouraging diversity and a renewed sense of optimism about the Firm's commitment to diversity. We held our first Diversity Committee Retreat in 2008, which was led by an outside Diversity Consultant. We implemented and completed mandatory Inclusion Training for the entire Firm. In 2008, we retained a consultant to train several attorneys and staff members to deepen the discussion on inclusion and diversity, then allotted billing credit for the attorneys who performed the training. We are now creating lunch programs for attorneys and staff so that the dialogue may continue. We regularly reward achievement by our diverse staff for their accomplishments. Recruitment and Retention of Attorneys The Firm is committed to recruiting, hiring, training, retaining, and inviting to Shareholder status attorneys from under-represented groups. We understand that the necessary changes will not be achieved by good intentions alone. In order to achieve meaningful, measurable and lasting progress toward greater inclusion of racially and ethnically diverse legal talent, it is necessary for us to not only commit philosophically to those goals, but also to commit resources, individually and collectively, towards activities that we as a group believe will have a positive impact. At the beginning of the Firm's diversity initiative in 2002, we had seven minority attorneys. We outlined a goal of increasing our minority attorney population by 100% in two years, and we met it. Today, we have 40 minority attorneys and almost 180 women attorneys, and are always looking for diverse talent. We actively recruit at historically African-American law schools, such as Howard University, North Carolina Central, Southern University and the Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and we strongly consider applications from students at similar institutions. Our Recruiting Committee is currently working with attorneys in our Diversity Committee and throughout the Firm to explore new ways of widening our field of candidates. Our summer associate program has seen a steady growth of minority students. In 2007, 14% of our summer associates were minority; in 2008, that number jumped to 18%. And for 2009, we will have 22%. In the Fall 2006 recruiting class, we made offers to ten minority students, and six students accepted. In the Fall 2007 recruiting class, we made offers to 11 minority students, nine of whom accepted. And for the Fall 2008 recruiting class, we made offers to six students, five of whom accepted. We have established a mentoring program for our associates and are preparing our diverse attorneys for leadership positions throughout our Firm. We have created an initiative to reach out to diverse undergraduate students to help them achieve their goal of entering the legal field. "Bringing Diversity to Our Businesses" is led by two female minority attorneys, showing not only our dedication to encourage more minorities to attend law school, but our commitment to grow leaders from within our own ranks. Your success is our success Female and minority attorneys have assumed leadership roles throughout the Firm. Women and minority attorneys currently serve or have recently served as four of our ten managing shareholders, and chair or co-chair three of our nineteen practice groups. Two female and one minority shareholder serve on the Board of Directors, and numerous committees are chaired by minority and female lawyers. Women head several administrative departments, including our Attorney Recruitment and Human Resources. We regularly discuss diversity and our progress at attorney and shareholder retreats; our CEO and Diversity Chair have spoken about how Baker Donelson attorneys and clients increasingly desire and expect a diverse team of attorneys to be engaged in the Firm's work. At the most recent Firm retreat, representatives from three prominent clients served as panel members to discuss the importance of diversity in the legal profession. Our Recruiting Committees have attorneys from very diverse backgrounds. We have implemented a "flex time policy" for our attorneys, which allow lawyers to deviate from the standard billable-hour format. We support the desire of our attorneys to balance a challenging professional career with their personal lives and other outside interests and responsibilities. Going Farther We have not completed our journey. We continue to seek leadership opportunities and to encourage our attorneys to be active in the community.	E-mail This Page Printer Friendly Version