Diversity is a core value at Arnold & Porter LLP.
Arnold & Porter seeks, through its diversity policy, to promote the treatment of every person with dignity and respect, value the contribution that each person makes as an individual, enable our colleagues to be comfortable being themselves, and encourage every person to realize his or her potential. The firm believes that each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal opportunity.
Diversity is an inclusive concept and encompasses many different aspects, including but not limited to race, religion, color, national origin, sex, veteran's status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other personal characteristic protected by federal, state, or local law, regulation, or ordinance. We strive to have a workplace that is comfortable and welcoming for everyone. We have been recognized for our leadership, but we always strive to do better. We are committed to having ongoing programs to attract and retain a diverse population at the firm.
Our Record
Arnold & Porter LLP has been recognized as a leader in law firm diversity.
Our diversity recognitions include:
· Seven-time winner of the prestigious Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Thomas Sager Award in recognition of our commitment to diversity.
· The only law firm ever to receive the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Employer of Choice Award.
· In the Human Rights Campaign's "Corporate Equality Index," Arnold & Porter was listed as one of a small group of law firms in the country with a rating of 100% in providing gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) benefits and protections for employees in 2007, 2008 and 2009.
· Listed on FORTUNE magazine "100 Best Companies to Work For" from 2003 to 2007.
· One of only five organizations in the country, and the only law firm, honored in 2007 as a "Great Place to Work" by the Great Place to Work Institute, the same organization that compiles the survey results for FORTUNE's "100 Best Companies to Work For."
· Nine-time winner of the Working Mother magazine’s "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers."
· Award from the Bar Association of the District of Columbia for our family-friendly benefits and workplace policies.
· Included on The American Lawyer's "A-List" in three of the past four years for diversity, pro bono commitment, associate development, and financial success.
· Human Rights Campaign Ally for Justice Award.
· JD Jungle magazine "Smart Firm" for diversity efforts.
· Gay and Lesbian Attorneys Association of Washington (GAYLAW) Ally for Justice Award.
Our success in the area can be told best by people who work here. You can find more information on our LGBT attorneys through the link below:
· LGBT Recruitment
Our Diversity Committee
The firm's diversity efforts are overseen by a firmwide Diversity Committee consisting of partners, associates and administrative staff.
It includes the Chair and the Managing Partner of the firm. The Diversity Committee assists in developing and implementing policies and initiatives that are intended to promote a diverse workforce at all levels of the firm. The Diversity Committee is chaired by William Cook, a partner in our Washington, DC, office. If you have any questions about the activities of the Diversity Committee, please feel free to contact Mr. Cook.
The following are some of the things we do to promote diversity in our organization:
· Within one year of joining Arnold & Porter LLP, all of our new colleagues attend a mandatory diversity training program. The training program has increased sensitivity to and awareness of diversity issues at all levels of the firm, has become an important part of the culture of our firm, and fosters a work environment that is hospitable to everyone, from all backgrounds.
· In 2007, the Diversity Committee instituted a diversity awareness and educational initiative as part of its overall program. The firm developed a Diversity Calendar for all of our offices, and, as part of this program, the firm hosts diversity activities, posts educational displays, and provides information for local events and activities that are taking place. Through this program, we have celebrated Black History Month, National Women's Month, Asia Pacific Heritage Month, Gay Pride Month, Hispanic/Latino Heritage Month, and Native American Month, respectively.
· We have implemented a Diversity Leadership Training program for attorneys and staff in leadership positions in our firm to encourage them to develop programs that will promote an appreciation for diversity in the areas for which they are responsible. Each participant is asked to develop an initiative in his or her area of responsibility (e.g., committee, department or practice group). As a result of this effort, we expanded our programs for women attorneys, increased our diversity awareness program, and are expanding our community service involvement.
· Arnold & Porter was one of two founding firms to launch the DC Minority Attorney Networking Series. Forty-two firms are now participating city-wide. The series has attracted minority attorneys from private, corporate, and government practice. The series provides a practical and productive way to enhance the careers and business development prospects of minority lawyers in our community. In the spring of 2007, Arnold & Porter took the lead in rolling out the Minority Attorney Networking Series to New York City.
· In 2006, the firm hosted its first Minority Attorney Summit. The Summit was attended by the firm's minority attorneys, minority alumni, and minority in-house counsel who work for clients or at corporations recognized for their diversity efforts. The goal of the Summit was to discuss ways in which law firms and corporations can work more closely together in promoting diversity and the success of minority lawyers in the profession.
Attorney Affinity Groups
Voluntarily formed attorney affinity groups at Arnold & Porter LLP serve as support networks for minorities; women; lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBT). These groups meet throughout the year and help the firm identify ways to enhance the professional experience of these groups. The firm supports their efforts through periodic lunches, social events, and professional development initiatives.
· Minorities at Arnold & Porter (MAP) hosts periodic lunches and meetings to discuss issues of common concern and foster informal mentoring relationships. MAP partners have served for years as informal mentors to our associates, and in 2006, they instituted a more formal mentoring program. Additionally, each year MAP hosts a retreat for minority attorneys at Arnold & Porter to discuss minority recruitment, development, advancement, and retention efforts. Minority clients and alumni are invited to attend to offer their perspectives and interact with our minority associates and partners.
· Women Lawyers at Arnold & Porter (WLAP) is the affinity group for women attorneys. WLAP focuses on six specific areas for women in the firm, including work/life balance, professional development, business development, community building, firm integration, and external opportunities. WLAP's agenda for 2006-2007, involving women attorneys in our offices worldwide, included a presentation by outside speakers on Taking the Firm's Women's Initiative to the Next Level and a panel of the firm's partners and associates regarding Developing Your Advocacy Style. In addition, WLAP utilizes webcast trainings, including a business development training Women Rainmaking: The Clients Speak.
· LGBT Lawyers was founded a decade ago at Arnold & Porter to focus on issues of interest to partners, counsel, and associates who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgendered, queer, questioning, or intersexed. Among other things, the group has been instrumental in developing the firm's pro bono practice with organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign, Lambda Legal, and other organizations focused on combating discrimination in the LGBT community. In addition, LGBT Lawyers provides mentoring opportunities and sponsors social events, including an event for our Summer Associates, and provides a forum for discussion of LGBT issues in the workplace and in the law. For those who are considering working at Arnold & Porter, answers to related questions may be found by clicking here.
· A group of parents meets from time to time to share ideas, discuss the dual parent/professional role and to provide support and advice to one another.
Recruitment
Arnold & Porter LLP welcomes people of all backgrounds to apply for positions with us. The diversity of our attorneys and our staff is important to us and to our clients.
We make an effort to reach out to diverse segments of the population so that a broad spectrum of people will consider Arnold & Porter among their career options:
· We participate in career development programs and minority job fairs;
· We invite all minority law students to whom our US offices have made offers for Associate and Summer Associate positions to a panel discussion, reception, and dinner at our Washington, DC office;
· We provide scholarships to minority law students at 12 law schools each year; and
· We reach out to LGBT, women and minority law student associations to inform them of our commitment to inclusion and diversity.
Read more about careers at Arnold & Porter.
Diversity and Pro Bono Work
Our commitment to diversity extends to our pro bono legal work. We are particularly proud of our work in obtaining the first posthumous Presidential pardon in history, for Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper.
Lt. Flipper was the first African-American to graduate from West Point and to serve as a commissioned officer in the regular US Army. He was court-martialed in 1881 on trumped-up charges and discharged from the military. Lt. Flipper was granted a full pardon in a nationally televised White House ceremony attended by his descendants.
In addition, Arnold & Porter LLP has won several significant gender discrimination cases, including Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education, a US Supreme Court case in which Arnold & Porter, together with the National Women's Law Center, argued that Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (which prohibits sex discrimination in federally funded educational programs) provides a means of redress for sexual harassment by one student of another. A divided Court held that schools may be liable for student peer harassment if the harassment is pervasive, if school officials are aware that the harassment is occurring, and if the school takes no action to prevent the harassment from continuing.
Our attorneys currently represent, in coordination with Lambda Legal, a man who is suing the US State Department because of its prohibition on hiring persons with HIV in the Foreign Service. Arnold & Porter attorneys have worked with the Human Rights Campaign on its opposition to the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment and regularly staff the Whitman-Walker Legal Services Clinic for persons with HIV and AIDS. The European competition practice in the firm's Brussels office currently represents Amnesty International Belgium in its effort to prepare a compilation of international treaty provisions relating to rights and protections afforded LGBT individuals.
The firm maintains special ties with many important public interest organizations that provide critical legal services to the disadvantaged, including the National Women's Law Center, the Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the National Partnership for Women & Families, and Lambda Legal.
Community Involvement
Arnold & Porter LLP also provides financial support to organizations that promote diversity, including:
· Aids Walk Washington (Whitman Walker Clinic);
· American Association of People with Disabilities;
· Asian American Bar Association of New York;
· Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund;
· Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center;
· Ayuda, Inc.;
· Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles, Inc;
· Colorado I Have A Dream;
· Gay and Lesbian Attorneys Association of Washington (GAYLAW);
· Hispanic Bar Association of the District of Columbia;
· Lesbian and Gay Law Association of Greater New York, Inc. (LeGaL);
· Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund;
· Minority Corporate Counsel Association;
· National Partnership for Women & Families;
· National Women's Law Center;
· Northeast Black Law Students Association;
· Western Law Center for Disability Rights; and
· Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia.
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Arnold & Porter LLP is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer that does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, sex, veteran’s status, age, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Our firm's policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment. To achieve our goal of equal opportunity, Arnold & Porter maintains an affirmative action plan through which it makes good-faith efforts to recruit, hire, and advance in employment qualified minorities, females, disabled individuals, and covered veterans. EOE M/F/V/D.
