At Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs (“Buckingham”), we believe our clients receive the highest quality legal services when our professionals are an accurate reflection of their communities. In the delivery of these services, lawyers and staff bring all of their experiences, cultures, education and backgrounds to task. We at Buckingham are committed to increasing the diversity of our attorney and staff recruitment, hiring, training, retention and, in the case of attorneys, promotion to partnership. In order to achieve meaningful, measurable and lasting progress toward greater inclusion of diverse legal talent, Buckingham has committed philosophically and financially the resources that we believe will positively impact these goals.
Buckingham has made a concentrated effort to recruit at regional and national law schools with a significant number of diverse law students and we have participated in the Akron, Columbus and Cleveland Bar Associations' Minority Clerkship Programs. We have a diversity committee consisting of partners, associates and staff members from each of our four offices, all of whom assist in developing and maintaining policies to promote a diverse work force within the firm. In the past, we have awarded a minority scholarship to a deserving first-year law student which included both a stipend and a paid summer internship at a Buckingham office.
Our commitment to diversity does not end with the hiring of a candidate. Buckingham has developed a strong mentoring program which ensures: (i) that the work environment and work-related social activities are hospitable and congenial for all attorneys; (ii) that law clerks and attorneys of diversity receive interesting and challenging legal work and receive guidance, mentoring, client contact and performance feedback; and (iii) that we seek effective and committed individuals to serve as mentors in accordance with the Mentoring Program adopted by the Firm.
All of these efforts help ensure that Buckingham successfully recruits and retains diverse candidates thereby creating a firm balanced fully in terms of race, ethnicity and gender. Our commitment to diversity is significant and, we believe, benefits Buckingham, our clients and the communities we serve.
