Commitment to Diversity
Hunton & Williams values diversity and is committed to taking the steps necessary to recruit, retain, and promote minorities and women within the firm. We see diversity as complementing our existing core values. It is an integral part of who we are and what we will be in the future.
— Walfrido J. (Wally) Martinez, Managing Partner
Hunton & Williams maintains a dynamic Diversity Program designed to attract and develop a workforce representative of the firm’s global law practice. The firm believes that a diverse group of lawyers and staff members allows us to better serve our clients across the United States and around the world.
Diversity Policy
Hunton & Williams has endorsed and enthusiastically supports the legal community’s strong commitment to diversity outlined in BellSouth Corporation’s Diversity in the Workplace: A Statement of Principle and SaraLee Corporation’s Call to Action—Diversity in the Legal Profession. An excerpt from BellSouth’s statement reads, in part:
“Our companies conduct business throughout the United States and around the world, and we value highly the perspectives and varied experiences which are found only in a diverse workplace. Our companies recognize that diversity makes for a broader, richer environment which produces more creative thinking and solutions. Thus, we believe that promoting diversity is essential to the success of our respective businesses. It is also the right thing to do.”
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
The firm has long been committed to a broad policy of equal employment opportunity that exceeds legal mandates and covers all aspects of the employment process, from recruiting and hiring to training and promotion. The firm prohibits discrimination based on race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, age, marital or veteran status, as well as any other legally protected characteristic. Our EEO Policy explains our dedication to both the letter and spirit of equal opportunity. The firm’s statement to the National Association for Law Placement also highlights our nondiscrimination policy and summarizes our firmwide minority recruiting efforts.
Collegial Working Environment
Hunton & Williams is equally committed to providing a congenial, professional working atmosphere for both lawyers and staff, free of physical, psychological or verbal harassment. The firm has adopted a strong policy against harassment, which applies to sexual harassment as well as to harassment based on race, color, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, disability, age, marital or veteran status, or any other protected category. We conduct extensive training at all levels to ensure that lawyers and staff are aware of the policy and the reporting procedure for seeking corrective action.
Affirmative Action
Hunton & Williams has an Affirmative Action Plan designed to foster diversity and equal employment opportunity. The plan includes an extensive analysis of our internal demographics and employment practices. It also contains goals for diversity enhancement, with reference to location-specific factors, such as the minority population in the surrounding recruiting area. The firm’s legal recruiting program, which seeks to attract exceptionally capable lawyers, incorporates a focused minority recruiting effort, including regular participation in minority job fairs.
Work-Life Programs
The firm strives to provide a family-friendly work environment that recognizes the importance of our commitments to our families as well as to our clients. Several committees and task forces within the firm—including the Women Partners’ Group, the Diversity Committee, the Associates Committee, and the firm-sponsored Women’s Networking Forum—regularly address options to assist lawyers and staff in the challenge of balancing work and family life, such as reduced-hour arrangements, leave policies, and child and adult care.
Community Outreach
Hunton & Williams’ community service and outreach initiatives reflect the broad interests of our lawyers and staff. We provide legal services and other types of assistance in all of our offices to a wide variety of pro bono clients and charitable groups. Projects supported by the firm include staffing an elder law clinic, assisting an AIDS service organization, working with groups to arrange adoptions and guardianships, participating in domestic violence programs, supporting battered women’s shelters, and representing immigrants seeking political asylum.
Corporate Partnership
Hunton & Williams is a regular patron of a number of national diversity-related organizations such as the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. The firm also seeks to partner with clients in the area of diversity and has co-hosted several summer clerkships as well as diversity seminars. In addition, we continually work with our clients to ensure that the team of highly qualified lawyers we provide reflects the diversity of their organizations.
Diversity Initiatives
Diversity Leadership
Hunton & Williams’ commitment to diversity begins at the top. The firm’s managing partner has responsibility for leading the planning, implementation and achievement of the firm’s diversity initiatives and reports regularly to the firm’s Executive Committee and its partners. Senior management and practice group leaders are directed to incorporate the firm’s diversity goals and objectives in their overall planning process, and are held accountable for diversity results through informal monitoring as well as a formal annual evaluation process.
Diversity Committee
The firm’s Diversity Committee, co-chaired by three firm partners, has a two-fold mission: 1) to determine how the firm’s growing diversity can best be used to serve existing clients, develop new clients and further distinguish the firm; and 2) to focus on the breadth and richness of the cultural, ethnic, gender and other differences of the firm’s lawyers and staff.
Committee responsibilities include:
· participating in ongoing team and individual attorney planning processes to ensure diversity is well considered;
· responding appropriately to clients who have stated diversity expectations; and
· reviewing firm communications, recruiting materials, professional development and social activities to determine how best to reflect the richness of the firm’s diversity and to provide teams and practice groups with the support and tools they need to ensure the cultural leadership and versatility of the firm.
The Diversity Committee has nine task forces, each charged with implementing initiatives and programs to support one of the following diversity areas: lateral recruiting, pipeline and law school recruiting, flexible work arrangements, LGBT issues, mentorship, leadership, business development, professional development and diversity programming.
Minority Recruiting
The lawyers and staff members who make up the firm’s recruiting committees in each office are charged with making diversity a priority. Minority recruiting efforts include:
· contacting law professors and minority organizations each year to identify minority law students for employment consideration;
· participating in minority job fairs including the Southeastern Minority Job Fair, Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association (BLSA) Job Fair, Harvard BLSA Job Fair, National BLSA Job Fair, Sunbelt Minority Recruitment Program, Virginia Bar Association Diversity Job Fair, Council on Legal Education Career Fair, and the Vault/MCCA Legal Diversity Job Fair;
· hosting and participating in a variety of diversity-related student events on law school campuses;
· engaging in pre-law and pipeline diversity outreach programs including participation in the Mid-Atlantic Pre-Law Conference, the National Black Pre-Law and Admissions Conference and the Hubbard Fellows Program at the University of Iowa; and
· supporting advertising efforts in national, regional and on-campus minority publications.
Office of Lawyer Resources and Development
To help coordinate ongoing efforts to recruit, retain and promote associates, the firm established a unique department several years ago, headed by a full-time firm partner. One of the key responsibilities of the Office of Lawyer Resources and Development is to work with the Diversity Committee, Recruiting Committee and Associates Committee to help guide programs related to inclusiveness at the firm.
Firm Partnerships
Hunton & Williams believes in supporting initiatives that help promote diversity within the legal profession. Some of these initiatives include:
· sponsoring the Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Annual Diversity Conference and its Mid-Atlantic Awards Dinner;
· sponsoring the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual Convention and the Hispanic National Bar Association’s Annual Convention;
· partnering since 2006 with the Mecklenburg County Bar Association and local businesses to sponsor summer internships for minority students in Charlotte, North Carolina;
· participating in the New York City Bar’s Fellows Program to host a summer clerkship for a minority law student in the firm’s New York office;
· partnering with firm clients to provide summer clerkships for minority law students;
· hosting a seminar on diversity in law firms and corporate legal departments in Atlanta; and
· partnering with universities to sponsor diversity seminars for lawyers, corporate counsel and students.
Internal Programs for Minorities
Hunton & Williams strives to provide opportunities for minority attorneys to network and socialize, discuss issues of importance, provide feedback to firm leadership, and learn more about life at the firm from senior attorneys. Among these opportunities are the following:
· a multi-day retreat for minority lawyers and summer associates, held every two years in a major U.S. city, where attendees offer suggestions and provide feedback on issues related to diversity at the firm;
· regularly scheduled “Oneness” Luncheons, during which minority attorneys throughout the firm have the opportunity to share ideas with diversity and firm leadership via video conference;
· a minority mentoring program, where small groups of associates are matched with minority partners via telephone conferences every four to six weeks; and
· minority partners meetings held in conjunction with the firm’s quarterly partners meetings.
Minority Leadership
Our minority lawyers play active roles on business development presentation teams and take leadership roles on substantive work for firm clients. In addition, they also play key roles in firm leadership and within their communities.
Fernando Alonso, a partner on the Corporate team in the firm’s Miami office, chairs the Latin America practice group.
Todd Brown, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Charlotte office, co-chairs the Diversity Committee and is a member of the Associates Committee. He served on the Hunton & Williams Executive Committee from 1996 to 2002. He currently serves as Vice President of the Mecklenburg County Bar and as a member of the Bar’s Special Committee on Diversity.
Sam Danon, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team, serves as Administrative Partner for the Miami office and as co-head of the firmwide Commercial Litigation Practice. He also is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.
Frank Emory, a partner resident in both the firm’s Charlotte and Washington, DC offices, is a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and heads the firm’s Litigation & Intellectual Property practice. He also is a former co-chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee.
Robert Grey, a partner on the Regulated Industries & Government Relations team in the firm’s Richmond and Washington, DC offices, is an ex-officio member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. He serves as a member of both the Richmond Pro Bono and Recruiting Committees. He also served as 2004-2005 President of the American Bar Association.
Mike Martinez, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Richmond office, co-chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee.
Wally Martinez, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team, serves as Managing Partner of the firm.
Brian Otero, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team, serves as Administrative Partner for the firm’s New York office. He is a member of the Competitive Practices and Technologies Committee and the Ethics in Marketing Committee.
Keila Ravelo, a partner in the firm’s New York office, is Vice Chair of the firm’s Competition team.
Doug Selby, a partner on the Public Finance team, serves as Hiring Partner for the Atlanta office.
Yisun Song, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team, serves as the Washington Office Co-Hiring Partner.
John Charles Thomas, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Richmond office, heads the Appellate practice group and is a mediator and arbitrator. He serves as a member of the Appellate Rules Advisory Committee of the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 1983, former Justice Thomas became the first African American and, at 32, the youngest person ever to serve on the Supreme Court of Virginia.
Women’s Initiatives
Hunton & Williams believes strongly in providing an environment that fosters recruitment, retention, and advancement of women.
Family-Friendly Policies
The firm’s commitment to women is evidenced by its continuing efforts to take concrete measures to provide a family-friendly work environment. These efforts include adopting flexible work arrangements and leave policies, and encouraging their use; offering emergency child and adult care in all U.S. offices; establishing a program for female lawyers who wish to take extended leave to spend time at home with their children; and providing other benefits, such as lactation rooms, to support mothers who want to return to work but struggle with the logistical issues involved.
The following Hunton & Williams’ committees all play a role in addressing the challenges faced by the firm’s lawyers and staff in balancing work and family life:
· Women Partners Group
· Diversity Committee
· Associates Committee
· Associate Advisory Committee
· Women’s Networking Forum
Mentoring Program
One of the firm’s goals is to increase and promote opportunities for women to learn from other successful women in the firm. In addition to female participation in a firmwide mentoring program for all first- and second-year associates, the firm is currently introducing Women’s Mentoring Groups where female attorneys at all levels can meet informally to discuss issues of importance and interest to all.
Women’s Networking Forum
Hunton & Williams enthusiastically supports the Women’s Networking Forum, which began in 1999 at the suggestion of three women associates in the Richmond office. This community organization for professional women offers a series of special events designed to provide social interaction, networking opportunities and information on issues of importance to women. The Forum has more than 600 members in Richmond and chapters are now up and running in Atlanta, Charlotte, Dallas, Miami, New York, Raleigh and Washington, D.C.
Women Partners’ Group
Hunton & Williams strongly endorses the Women Partners’ Group, established more than fifteen years ago to provide a forum for the firm’s female attorneys to discuss issues of special importance to them. Today the group sponsors a formal retreat at least once a year to discuss topics such as professional development, balancing home and work life, business development, leadership options and networking opportunities.
Firm Sponsorships
The firm sponsors and supports a variety of events designed to promote women in the legal profession including the ABA Women in Law Leadership (WILL) Academy, ABA Margaret Brent Awards Luncheon, Leadership Academy for Women of Color Attorneys, and the National Association of Women Lawyers Awards Luncheon.
Women’s Leadership
Hunton & Williams encourages and promotes both internal and external leadership positions for women attorneys. The following attorneys currently hold leadership positions within the firm.
Zonnie Breckinridge, a partner on the Corporate team in the firm’s Austin office, serves as Administrative Partner for the firm’s Austin office and is a member of the firmwide Diversity Committee.
Sandy Collins, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as Administrative Partner for the Litigation & Intellectual Property team and is a member of the Associates Committee.
Stacy Colvin, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as Deputy General Counsel to the firm, and is a member of the firm’s Professional Liability Insurance & Quality Control Committee.
Kelly Faglioni, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as Deputy General Counsel to the firm, chairs the Conflicts and Professional Conduct Committee and is a member of the Ethics in Marketing Committee.
Susan Failla, a partner on the Corporate team in the firm’s New York office, chairs the New York Pro Bono Committee. She is a member of the firm’s Associates Committee and Opinion Committee. Susan also serves on the NYC Bar Committee on Pro Bono and Legal Services.
Andrea Field, a partner on the Resources, Regulatory & Environmental Law team, is a member of the Hunton & Williams’ Executive Committee and serves as Managing Partner of the firm’s Washington office. She also is an ex-officio member of the firm’s Diversity Committee and a member of the firm’s Screening Committee. Andrea was the first woman to head the ABA’s Environment, Energy and Resources Section.
Laura M. Franze, a partner in the firm’s Dallas office, serves as co-head of the Labor & Employment team.
Ginna Hackney, a partner on the Capital Finance & Real Estate team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as Deputy General Counsel to the firm and is a member of the Virginia Political Action Committee.
Judith Itkin, a partner on the Tax & ERISA team in the firm’s New York office, is Partner in Charge of the Office of Lawyer Resources and Development, which encompasses the Recruiting, Associates, and Diversity Committees. Judith also serves on the New York Pro Bono Committee, co-chairs the firm’s Associates Committee, and is an ex-officio member of the firmwide Diversity Committee.
Kim Magee, a partner on the Capital Finance & Real Estate team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as co-chair of the Richmond Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the Richmond Women’s Networking Forum Executive Committee, the firmwide Community Service Committee and the Associates Committee. She was selected as a 2008 Virginia Super Lawyers “Rising Star” in the Banking category.
Ann Marie Mortimer, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Los Angeles office, serves as the Los Angeles Office Managing Partner, is an ex-officio member of the firm’s Executive Committee, and is a member of the firmwide Diversity Committee.
Leslie Okinaka, a partner on the Tax & ERISA team in the firm’s New York office, is the New York Office Co-Hiring Partner.
Dionne Rainey, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the firm’s Dallas office, chairs the Texas Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the Dallas Office Recruiting Committee and the firmwide Community Service Committee.
Keila Ravelo, a partner on the Competition team in the firm’s New York office, serves as vice-chair of the Competition team. She was recognized as a 2008 Diversity & the Bar top Rainmaker.
Kathy Robb, a partner on the Resources, Regulatory, & Environmental team in the firm’s New York office, is the founder and Director of the Water Policy Institute, which brings together water leaders across industry and geographic boundaries to develop new ideas and sustainable solutions to regulatory and legal issues related to water. She also chairs the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s Environmental Law Committee, is a member of the Board of the Environmental Law Institute (“ELI”) in Washington, DC, and is co-founder and Chair of the Board of the not-for profit Women’s Network for a Sustainable Future (“WNSF”).
Rita Ruby, a partner on the Labor & Employment team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as Deputy General Counsel to the firm, as well as the President of ProWorkplace, the firm’s workplace training division.
Mary Nash Rusher, a partner on the Capital Finance & Real Estate team, serves as Managing Partner for the firm’ Raleigh office. She is a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee and North Carolina Political Action Committee. She also is Chair of the Best Practices Subcommittee of the Women in the Profession Committee of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Rita Sheffey, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team in the Atlanta office, chairs the Atlanta Pro Bono Committee and is a member of the Community Service Committee. She is the 2004 recipient of the H. Sol Clark Award for Outstanding Pro Bono Service, presented by the Access to Justice Committee and the Pro Bono Project of the State Bar of Georgia, and the 2005 Outstanding Woman in the Profession Achievement Award, presented by the Women in the Profession Section of the Atlanta Bar Association. Rita is Treasurer of the Atlanta Bar Association and Chair of the Atlanta Bar Association Litigation Section. In addition, she is a member of the Supreme Court of Georgia’s Equal Justice Commission Committee on Civil Justice and is President and Chair of Atlanta Victim Assistance, Inc.
Jo Anne Sirgado, a partner on the Energy & Project Finance team in the firm’s New York office, serves as co-chair of the firmwide Recruiting Committee.
Caryl Greenberg Smith, a partner on the Capital Finance & Real Estate team in the firm’s Atlanta office, is co-head of the firm’s Public Finance practice and heads the firm’s Political Action Committee in Georgia. She also is a member of the firm’s Screening and Retirement Program Investment Committees. Ms. Smith has been named among the Top 50 Female Georgia Super Lawyers and a Bond & Government Finance Super Lawyer, as published in Atlanta Magazine and Georgia Super Lawyers magazine® for the years 2004 through 2008, and was listed among the Top 100 Lawyers in Georgia, as published in Atlanta Magazine for the years 2007 and 2008. Ms. Smith also was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® for the years 2005 through 2008.
Yisun Song, a partner on the Litigation & Intellectual Property team, serves as the Washington Office Co-Hiring Partner.
Lisa Sotto, a partner on the Global Technology, Outsourcing and Privacy team in the firm’s New York office, heads the firm’s Privacy & Information Management practice. She was appointed by Secretaries Ridge and Chertoff as Vice Chair of the Department of Homeland Security’s Data Privacy and Integrity Advisory Committee, which advises the Secretary of DHS on privacy issues. In addition, she chairs the New York Privacy Officers’ Forum and co-chairs the New York State Bar Association’s International Privacy Law Committee.
Vicki Tucker, counsel on the firm’s Corporate team in the Richmond office, is chair of the ABA Business Law Section’s Structured Finance Committee on Securitization and is the Section’s Liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. She also is a member of the firm’s Opinion, Retirement Program Investment and Richmond Pro Bono Committees, as well as a member of the Women’s Networking Forum Executive Committee.
Amy McDaniel Williams, a partner on the Corporate team in the firm’s Richmond office, serves as Administrative Partner for the Asset & Securitization practice group. She also chairs the Richmond Women’s Networking Forum and the firm’s Ethics in Marketing Committee, co-chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee, and serves as a member of the Opinions Committee. In addition, she is President and pro bono general counsel for the Maymont Foundation.
Allison Wood, a partner on the Resources, Regulatory & Environmental Law team in the firm’s Washington office, serves as the Washington Office Hiring Partner and as a member of the firm’s Diversity Committee. She also is Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the Environmental Markets Association.
