Kaye Scholer is committed to fostering diversity in a positive and supportive work environment. We firmly believe that a diverse group of lawyers, including differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion or any other underrepresented status in the legal community, increases the value of our law firm, strengthens our firm's ability to attract talented individuals, and enhances our ability to retain and serve our clients.
Our commitment to cultivate and maintain a diverse workforce remains at the core of our recruiting, retention and promotion efforts as we strive to maintain a firm culture that taps into the potential of every Kaye Scholer employee.
The Diversity and Recruiting Committees work together, recruiting at job fairs such as the BLSA Northeast Job Fair and the DuPont Minority Job Fair. We conduct on-campus interviews at law schools, and we actively seek out diverse candidates at every school. Kaye Scholer is an original signatory to the Statement of Goals of New York Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments for Increasing Minority Hiring, Retention and Promotion, and we have surpassed the goals in each of the years of their existence. We are also an original signatory to the Statement of Goals of New York Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments for the Retention and Promotion of Women, and we have participated in the City Bar Fellowship Program since its inception.
Kaye Scholer was the recipient of the 2006 "Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association Law Firm Diversity Award" at the 26th Annual Conference of the Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA). The "Conference Chairs' Welcome," published in the "Conference Journal" distributed to all attendees, said about Kaye Scholer: "Our Law Firm Diversity Award recipient this year is the law firm of Kaye Scholer, LLP. With offices from New York to Shanghai, and points in between, this firm has made significant contributions to the entertainment legal community. We acknowledge Kaye Scholer for being a consistent supporter of BESLA and its programs, a corporate sponsor of BESLA's conferences, and for its continuous efforts in the areas of diversification by recruiting and hiring qualified minority professionals, including in particular, members of this organization."
Our partners' commitment to diversity extends beyond the firm. Sheila Boston, a partner in Kaye Scholer's Litigation Department, was named the Chair of the Committee on Recruitment and Retention of Lawyers, a committee devoted to enhance diversity in the profession at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York. This special committee is charged with encouraging the hiring, retention and promotion of professionals from all walks of life in New York law firms and corporate legal departments. All of us at Kaye Scholer take great pride in her appointment, and we pledge our full support to the work of her committee in this important area.
Last year Kaye Scholer entered into a partnership with the Bronx School for Law, Government and Justice. Kaye Scholer attorneys have coached the school's mock trial team in a state competition, conducted a mock labor negotiation with the students, and judged several moot court competitions at the school. Next year we will initiate a mentor program.
Other organizations in which our partners are involved include the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Committee 504 (Minorities and Women in the Profession) of the ABA's Intellectual Property Law Section, Legal Momentum, The Women's Legal Defense & Education Fund, Inwood House, Just One Break, National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), American Bar Association's Section of Litigation's Women In Products Liability (WIPL), National Hispanic Bar Association, and Black Entertainment and Sports Lawyers Association (BESLA).
We are proud to have received several awards recognizing our commitment to offering equal employment opportunities to all.
Diversity Statement from Managing Partner
At Kaye Scholer LLP we are proud of our commitment to diversity and equal opportunity. We work actively to foster an inclusive work environment, support minority-owned vendors and enrich our firm's culture through our diversity and inclusion initiatives for lawyers and staff.
The firm's commitment to diversity and equal opportunity is reflected in its mission to attract, retain, and advance a diverse group of lawyers and staff. Kaye Scholer is home to individuals from varied cultural, educational, religious and ethnic backgrounds, making it a vibrant and engaging community. We strongly believe that promoting diversity in background and perspective strengthens our entire firm.
At Kaye Scholer, we recognize that diversity among our professionals is a necessity if we are to best serve the needs of our increasingly diverse clientele. Kaye Scholer enthusiastically supports programs designed to ensure that our own makeup adequately reflects the growing ranks of diversity in business today. Our commitment begins early, when we urge summer associates to meet with more senior lawyers to develop enduring mentoring relationships. Our affinity group programs continue to support our attorneys as they develop in their careers. Kaye Scholer has an active Diversity Committee consisting of approximately thirty attorneys of all levels of seniority, including partners, counsel, senior attorneys and associates. Working through various subcommittees, the members of the Diversity Committee assist in attracting and hiring a diverse class of attorneys, promote community-building, and provide training as well as host events that promote awareness of diversity issues.
We at Kaye Scholer are committed to fostering and maintaining an inclusive work environment where individual differences among us are respected, valued and recognized as a source of strength of the firm. We believe that offering diverse perspectives to our clients enhances our counsel and sparks intellectual energy within the firm.
Barry Willner
Managing Partner
Diversity Training
All Kaye Scholer lawyers participate in the Firm's mandatory diversity training program. Diversity training sessions are composed of a combination of partners, counsel and associates from various departments in the Firm. Through discussion, videos and case studies, the program enables participants to gain insight into the different viewpoints and workplace challenges of both their peers and others.
Mentoring Program
In 2008, the Firm rolled out a revised mentoring program designed to assist associates' career development and enhance their experience at the Firm. Highlights of the program are:
- all associates are paired with mentors for a period of at least two years at a time
- associates are encouraged to select rather than be assigned mentors
- virtually all mentor/mentee communications are confidential
In addition, there are four Program Coordinators who monitor the mentoring relationships to ensure that mentors and mentees are meeting in a timely fashion, to ensure that the mentor-mentee pairings are appropriate and to evaluate the extent to which the program is functioning successfully.
Ombuds Program
Recently, the Diversity Committee established an Ombuds Program, a confidential resource for all attorneys. The Ombuds Representatives are neutral confidants who advocate not for a specific individual, but for equity, fair process and compliance with firm policy and procedure. The program was established with a special emphasis on issues concerning women, minorities, sexual orientation and religion. The Ombuds Representatives are available, however, to assist all attorneys in resolving work-related concerns in an informal, confidential and impartial manner. The primary goal of the program is to improve the overall working environment at Kaye Scholer.
Affinity Groups
The Firm recognizes the importance of active affinity groups for lawyers who share common interests or backgrounds. With the Firm's support, our attorneys have voluntarily formed African American, Latino, Asian, Women and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) affinity groups. Participation in these affinity groups accelerates professional development, provides additional mentoring opportunities and increases networking opportunities.
Diversity Events
Kaye Scholer is a proud participant and sponsor of a wide range of programs that celebrate and promote diversity in the legal community. The Firm's Diversity Committee believes that exposure to diverse speakers and points of view promotes professional development and growth. The Committee has hosted several speakers, panel discussions and movie nights. Recent speakers include Clarence B. Jones, a speech writer and attorney for Martin Luther King Jr., as well as lawyers from the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF), the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF) and from Lambda Legal.
Movie nights have become a tradition at the Firm. The Diversity Committee arranges screenings of thought-provoking films such as "Crash" and "The Namesake." The movie is followed by a lively and stimulating discussion of the diversity and community issues that the film addresses.
