Diversity: Schiff Hardin LLP

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY

National Recognition

Schiff Hardin has received the following national media coverage for its diversity and women attorney initiatives, as well as workplace quality of life:

• The March/April 2005 edition of Diversity and the Bar, a publication of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, spotlighted Schiff Hardin as #17 of its "Top 25 Firms for Women."
  
  
• MultiCultural Law's "Annual Edition" spotlighted Schiff Hardin as one of the "2006 Top Law Firms For Diversity" (#65 of the Top 100) and "Top Law Firms For Associates" (#10 of the Top 50).
  
  
• The October 2004 edition of Chicago Magazine ranked Schiff Hardin #7 out of the "Top 25 Places to Work in Chicago" and the leading law firm to work at locally.
  
  
• The Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms, October 2004 Edition, recognized Schiff Hardin as a great firm for associates to build their careers. Among major law firms in the U.S., we ranked in the Top 20 for "Informal Training & Mentoring," "Pro Bono," "Satisfaction," "Associate/Partner Relations," and "Diversity for Women."

Workplace and Community Diversity

Schiff Hardin has been known for many years for its commitment to diversity in the workplace and in the community.

• Schiff Hardin is a signatory to the Chicago Bar Association's Diversity Initiative (2006).
  
  
• We also are a signatory to the Policy Statement Regarding the Hiring and Retention of Minority Lawyers issued jointly by the Chicago Bar Association, the Cook County Bar Association, the Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Chicago Area, and the Hispanic National Bar Association. We have long supported the goal of the Statement — to achieve participation at all professional levels of lawyers who are members of minority groups.
  
  
• Our firm also has lent its support to the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's Call To Action, whereby more than 90 Fortune 500 Chief Legal Officers have made commitments to make diversity a priority in their own departments, actively look for opportunities with law firms that distinguish themselves in diversity issues, and to end or limit relationships with firms whose track records reflect a lack of meaningful interest in diversity.
  
  
• Schiff Hardin is a member firm of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms.
  
  
• We also are among the nine Chicago law firms that are "leadership signatories" to the Chicago Bar Association's Alliance for Women Call to Action seeking to promote and enhance leadership opportunities for women attorneys in Chicago. Call to Action initiatives include increasing the number of women partners, increasing women's participation on firm committees, and increasing the number of female practice group leaders.

In addition to hiring and mentoring lawyers who are women and members of minority groups, we support our goal of a diverse working environment in other ways as well.

Diversity Committee

Schiff Hardin's Diversity Committee enhances our ability to recruit, hire, develop, retain and promote a diverse professional workforce on the basis of demonstrated merit and performance by continuing the development of an inclusive culture that promotes the likelihood of success for all lawyers here.

The committee, chaired by Marci Eisenstein, a former member of our firm's Executive Committee, abides by the following mission statement:

"To enhance our firm's ability to recruit, hire, develop, retain, and promote a diverse professional workforce on the basis of demonstrated merit and performance by continuing the development of an inclusive culture that promotes the likelihood of success for all lawyers at our firm."

Women's Networking Group/Involvement with Women Attorney, Professional, and Civic Organizations

The Schiff Hardin Women's Networking Group ("WNG") consists of women attorneys at our firm, from the newest of associates to our most senior women partners, as well as women clients and friends of our firm. The women attorneys at Schiff Hardin have a long history of planning and hosting events that help us support each other.

In 1998, we concluded it was time to form our Women's Networking Group as a way to get to know our women clients and contacts better. It also has been a great opportunity for our women clients and contacts to meet each other and share ideas. The group also works together to advance professional development for women attorneys and enhance our services to clients.

Illustrative WNG Activities

• WNG sponsors a series of seminars designed to serve the needs of the increasing number of women professionals among our client base, including women from the law departments and the business divisions of companies based in the Chicago area and Northern Indiana.
  
  
• Topics addressed at our WNG seminars include or have included personal finance and estate planning issues, networking, community outreach, and moral support.
  
  
• Our 2004 program included a behind-the-scenes look at the architecture of the newly-renovated Soldier Field and the Illinois Institute of Technology campus. Our highlight 2005 events included a VIP tour the Chicago Board Options Exchange, as well as a speech and reception with Mellody Hobson, President of Ariel Capital Management, LLC and a regular financial contributor on ABC's Good Morning America and World News Tonight.
  
  
• Schiff Hardin is an active participant in the Women Everywhere: Partners in Service Project, in which women attorneys from several law firms and minority bar organizations team up with community organizations on projects to assist needy individuals.
  
  
• We were a sponsor of The Chicago Network's 17th Annual Women in the Forefront Luncheon.

American Bar Association Multicultural Women Attorneys Network

Schiff Hardin LLP sponsored the ABA Multicultural Women Attorneys Network day-long seminar in February 2006. Schiff Hardin partner, Patricia Brown Holmes moderated one of the seminar panel programs - "Into the Forefront: The Current Role of Minority Women in the Struggle for Civil Rights." The ABA Multicultural Women Attorneys Network is a joint project of the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.

American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession/Women in Law Leadership Academy

Schiff Hardin Partner and Diversity Committee Chair Marci Eisenstein served as panelist in a March 2006 teleconference and live audio Webcast, "Strategic Planning: Defining, Setting and Achieving Goals," broadcast live from the Women in Law Leadership Academy. She also addressed the topic of diversity in large law firms. The event was sponsored by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, Section of Litigation, and Young Lawyers Division and the ABA Center for Continuing Legal Education.

Other Related Organizations

Our attorneys are active in many other organizations that seek to promote greater diversity in the legal profession and opportunities for women, including:

• National Association of Women Lawyers
  
  
• The Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago
  
  
• The Bronx Women's Bar Association
  
  
• Commercial Real Estate Women Network/CREW Chicago
  
  
• The Women's Council on Energy and the Environment
  
  
• Women in Finance
  
  
• Georgia Association for Women Lawyers

Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender ("LGBT") Organizations

Schiff Hardin has for many decades been well known for its involvement and pro bono work with the LGBT community. Such organizations as the AIDS Legal Council of Chicago, Hearts Foundation, and Howard Brown Health Center Legal Services Center have recognized our attorneys and our firm for exemplary achievements. We also have been active in cases with the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund.

An illustration of our work in this regard includes our representation of a client in his claim under the Chicago Human Rights Ordinance against the Chicago Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America.

Our other related organizational involvements include:

• Stonewall Bar Association
  
  
• Human Rights Campaign
  
  
• Atlanta Executives Network

Minority Law Student Scholarship

In 1999, our law firm created and has in subsequent years donated $250,000 to the Schiff Hardin/John J. Waldron Endowed Fund at Loyola University Chicago School of Law.

This scholarship fund honors the late John J. Waldron, a Schiff Hardin partner and Loyola University Chicago School of Law faculty member. This fund awards a scholarship to a minority student attending classes on a full-time basis who during his or her first year of law school demonstrates exceptional academic performance.

Encouraging Diversity in the Next Generation - Minority Lawyer and Law Student Association Involvement and Sponsorships

Schiff Hardin actively participates in a wide range of minority lawyer associations.

Black Women Lawyers' Association of Greater Chicago (BWLA)

• We sponsor and convene numerous events each year with the BWLA, and a number of our attorneys hold leadership positions or perform other leadership functions for this organization.
  
  
• In August 2005, we hosted an evening cocktail reception to honor the BWLA's leadership and Schiff Hardin attorneys who are active in the BWLA.
  
  
• At BWLA's November 2005 luncheon meeting hosted at our firm, Schiff Hardin attorney Tracy Campbell, who chairs BWLA's Law Student Outreach Committee, organized and led a panel discussion targeted toward minority law students and first year associates — "Law Firm Survival Strategies: A Panel Designed to Help You Succeed in Law Firms." More than forty law students from Chicago-area law schools and young lawyers from across the city attended. The committee's next event will be a resume and mock interview workshop scheduled for spring 2006.

Other Organizations and Events

• We are co-sponsors of the 5th Annual Symposium on Diversity in the Legal Profession - "Road Map to Implementing and Managing Diversity Efforts," held by the Atlanta Legal Diversity Consortium, Inc., in cooperation with the Association of Corporate Counsel (Georgia Chapter).
  
  
• We were a "silver" sponsor of the "Our Children, Our Future" gala, sponsored by 100 Black Men of Chicago Inc., benefiting that organization's flagship College Scholarship Fair program.
  
  
• We were co-sponsors of the 2006 "Breaking Barriers, Building Bridges" conference in cooperation with the Chicago Bar Association and the American Bar Association Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity. This conference disseminated information on the law and the legal profession to create synergies between women and minority attorneys, and to spotlight the achievements and viewpoints of women and minority attorneys. Schiff Hardin partner Patricia Brown Holmes was among the panelists for the day-long program.
  
  
• We were a "platinum" sponsor of the National Association of Women Lawyers Annual Award Luncheon ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago in August 2005.
  
  
• We sponsor meetings and conventions of the Indian American Bar Association, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, and National South Asian American Bar Association. Two of our attorneys serve in leadership positions with the Indian American Bar Association for 2006. Sailesh Patel is President, and Naser Baseer is on the Board as the Director of Mentoring and Law Student Liaison. We also are active in the National Bar Association.
  
  
• We have contributed to the Latino Law Student Association for the Annual Minority Law Firm Visit and contributed to the Association's annual fundraising initiative at Northwestern University School of Law.
  
  
• We participated in the 2005 Diversity Networking Conference held in Oakbrook, Illinois in May 2005. This annual event, sponsored by the legal departments of a number of large corporations, is designed to showcase the companies' strong commitment to diversity in the legal community and to provide outside counsel with tools to implement and maintain a successful diversity program.
  
  
• We hosted the 2005 "Chicago Commanding Heights: Transforming Leadership in the Chairman's Suite" program in September 2005. This program highlights the achievements of executive women.
  
  
• We are active participants in the Cristo Rey Program to hire Latino high school students in various support positions. Our attorneys and senior staff also mentor these students to assist them in pursuing college degrees and professional careers.
  
  
• We were the sole sponsor of the reception at the University of Chicago Law School that launched their 2006 Black History Month activities. This event honored the law school's first black graduate, Earl B. Dickerson. We later sponsored the First Annual Renaissance Gala, hosted by the Chicago Council of Black Law Students Associations, also honoring Earl B. Dickerson.
  
  
• We have contributed to the Diversity Coalition and the Black Law Student Association at Northwestern University School of Law, the University of Chicago Law Partners Program, the National Black Law Students Association, Midwest Black Law Students Association, Chicago Council of Black Law Students Associations, Multicultural Woman Attorneys Network, and Minority Corporate Counsel Association.
  
  
• We are active members of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and hosted a luncheon in 2004 for minority summer associates from law firms throughout Chicago.

Firm Management

Women and individuals who are members of minority groups also play a strong role in our firm's management. They also lead several of our largest client relationships.

Three of our practice groups are chaired by women, and one of these practice group leaders is a past member of Schiff Hardin's Executive Committee. One of our practice groups is chaired by a minority male.

Recruitment Strategies and Practices

Over the past several years, Schiff Hardin has modified its recruiting practices to increase the number of minority candidates who are interviewed during the recruitment process. These changes include expanding the number of law schools at which we interview and increasing our participation in and sponsorship of job fairs, such as the Cook County Minority Job Fair, that focus on minority law students.

• Our percentage of minority associates has more than doubled to 20% from 2001 to 2006.
  
  
• More than 65% of the law students in our 2006 summer program were females and more than 20% were minorities.
  
  
• Women now account for 45% of our associates and 22% of our partners.

Coaching/Mentoring/Career Development

Schiff Hardin has a formal coaching and mentoring program for all associates.

Our Chair of Professional Personnel, along with the members of our Professional Personnel Committee and all of our practice group leaders, have the responsibility to review all associates' work and client assignments to ensure that each associate receives appropriate opportunities to develop their skills as attorneys at Schiff Hardin.

Quality of Life Enhancements and Benefits/Alternative Partnership Tracks

• In 1993, Schiff Hardin began offering health care benefits to same sex domestic partners
  
  
• Recognizing the need that some of our lawyers have to balance demands outside the workplace, Schiff Hardin offers flexible, part-time arrangements to lawyers along with maternity and parental leave programs.
  
  
• We have recently expanded our leave of absence policy for attorneys and staff who are the primary care giver for the adoption of a child.
  
  
• We also have partnership tracks that support attorneys who choose a reduced work-load commitment.

Diversity in the Legal Profession

Schiff Hardin provides free facilities to the staff of the Just the Beginning Foundation, whose mission is to commemorate and educate the public about the contributions of African-Americans to the federal judicial system, as well as to preserve information about such contributions and to provide financial support for students who exemplify the Foundation's goals and demonstrate a commitment to public service.