An organization that strives to provide world class client service must reflect a multiplicity of cultures, genders, ethnic backgrounds and viewpoints represented in a increasingly global economy. Diversity is a business imperative but, no less important; a moral imperative. Jenner & Block is committed to maintaining and promoting an inclusive environment and it is this goal which is embodied in both the fabric of the Firm as well as its policies. Jenner & Block's Equal Employment Opportunity Policy states:
It is the policy of the Firm that no employee shall be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, religion, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital, veteran or parental status, disability (except where related to ability to perform the job), or any other ground prohibited by law.
This strong commitment flows from our core values. It is the right thing to do and reflects Jenner & Block's deep-seated commitment to equality and social justice. A diverse workforce is essential to our ability to provide our clients with the best possible legal services and to create an atmosphere in which all our people thrive.
The Firm's dedication to diversity is reflected in our commitment of time, budget, and resources, and reinforced by the work of our Diversity Committee, which leads the efforts to implement our diversity initiatives and ensure their success. The Diversity Committee is chaired by a member of the Firm's governing Policy Committee and focuses on developing and advancing diversity at all levels within the Firm.
Our success in building a diverse environment has been recognized nationally by organizations such as Human Rights Campaign and Vault 2008, which have ranked us among the top law firms in the country in diversity.
As with the quality of our legal work and the level of our client service, Jenner & Block strives to exceed our clients' expectation and to be a leader in diversity. We are nationally recognized leaders for our continuing support for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender initiatives as well as for our efforts to foster overall minority and gender diversity. We invite you to peruse the following pages to learn what we are doing to achieve the goals of advancing diversity within the Firm, the Bar and the community for the benefit of our clients, our people and our profession.
Recruiting Diverse Attorneys
Recruiting attorneys is only the first step. Jenner & Block expends considerable effort to develop and retain associates with a Firmwide Mentoring Program. First-year associates are paired with senior associates. Second- and third-year associates are paired with partners. Mentors undergo training so that they understand their responsibilities and obligations. Mentors and mentees together participate in a comprehensive orientation session. The pairs meet informally for two hours per month for lunch, breakfast, a walk or coffee.
All associates in their fourth year and above participate in the Firm's Career Development Plan Program ("CDPP"). The CDPP is designed to focus mid-level and senior associates on the importance of working on their own professional and career development. Among other things, the program offers seminars such as "Business Development for Mid-level and Senior Associates," "How to Develop a Specialized Practice Area," and "Law Firm Management." The Firm's Competency Benchmarks provide associates with a clear understanding of the skills and experience they need to progress and develop at Jenner & Block.
At Jenner & Block we are committed to providing resources to assist junior associates in learning to write clearly and concisely. Strong writing is a foundational benchmark for all of our attorneys. Accordingly, the Firm sponsors a writing program in which associates can attend workshops and individual writing sessions led by professional writing coaches to further hone their skills.
The Firm sponsors CLE programs designed for all attorneys. For example, associates participate in a NITA-based deposition program, a bench trial and a jury trial. Our transactional lawyers participate in mock negotiation sessions designed to teach them to manage clients' needs. In addition to our extensive in-house training programs, the Firm is a preferred plus member of the Practising Law Institute. Through this relationship, all attorneys in the Firm can attend PLI's courses for free, as well as take advantage of special discounts on course handbooks, audio/video products, and treatises.
To foster opportunities for professional, social and personal growth for its diverse attorneys, Jenner & Block established six affinity groups ¿ the African-American Affinity Group, the Jenner & Block Asian Forum, the Jenner & Block LGBT Forum, the Hispanic Lawyers, the Women's Forum and the Work-Life Balance Affinity Group. These groups focus on issues such as increasing recognition of the importance of diversity in the legal profession, diversity recruiting and mentoring, and other matters of common concern. For example, the Women's Forum regularly holds roundtables and seminars on various topics including client development and networking. This year, the Women's Forum held a four-part program on Leadership. Women partners and associates participating in these programs defined leadership at different levels within the Firm¿junior associate, senior associate and partner¿ and identified ways for women to become leaders within each level.
Promoting Diversity Within The Firm
Jenner & Block encourages diverse attorneys to share experiences with each other and with the Firm as a whole through affinity groups, the Women's Forum and diversity communications.
Affinity Groups
The Firm encourages and supports the formation of "Affinity Groups" to provide a setting in which attorneys at Jenner & Block can come together to discuss matters of common concern and to form professional and mentoring relationships. The Firm's attorneys have formed six such Affinity Groups: African-American Affinity Group, Women's Forum, Jenner & Block Asian Forum, Jenner & Block LGBT Forum, the Hispanic Lawyers and the Work-Life Balance Affinity Group. Issues on which these groups focus include gaining wider recognition of the importance of diversity in the legal profession generally, recruiting, the Firm's diversity marketing on issues related to the groups, mentoring, and other matters of common concern.
Women's Forum
The Firm has a Women's Forum that is focused on fostering opportunities for the professional, social and personal growth of our women attorneys. The Women's Forum conducts roundtables and seminars on a variety of issues affecting women in the profession. The Leadership Institute seminar is focused on developing women lawyers as leaders in the Firm. As part of its charter, the Women's Forum holds an annual reception and lunches where the Firm's women attorneys share experiences with women Summer Associates.
Diversity Communications
Jenner & Block is one of the few law firms in the country that communicates about its diverse workforce and diversity issues through Firm-sponsored publications. Equal Time, the Firm's diversity newsletter, includes stories about the accomplishments of Jenner & Block diverse attorneys; legal view points from diverse attorneys and/or clients; the pro bono and community service the Firm may be providing on matters relating to women, minorities or LGBT communities; and other issues of interest. Equal Time issues include Focus on Diversity (attorneys of color); Women in Focus (women attorneys); and LGBT Community Service (openly gay attorneys).
In addition, the Firm has a Diversity calendar that identifies diversity-related events and activities that the Firm is hosting or sponsoring. Partners and associates hold leadership positions and are active in a wide variety of minority bar organizations/diversity organizations and the Firm regularly hosts events supporting these organizations. We publicize these events and relationships throughout the Firm and on our website.
Advocating Diversity Within The Legal Profession
Jenner & Block has a history of collaborating with the community, the bar and affiliated organizations to increase diversity in the legal profession. For the fifth year in a row, Jenner & Block has been the Premier Sponsor of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's CLE Expo, an annual conference showcasing minority and women attorneys' presentations and symposia in the areas of Litigation, Labor/Employment, Intellectual Property and Corporate/Commercial law. We are especially proud that Jenner & Block was the first law firm in the country to support the Minority Corporate Counsel Association CLE Expo.
Members of the Firm serve in leadership positions in professional organizations whose missions involve the pursuit of equality and diversity in the legal profession. Partner Richard J. Gray just completed his three-year term on the American Bar Association's President's Advisory Committee on Diversity in the Profession. He served on the ABA's Legal Opportunity Scholarship Committee, which is responsible for selecting the ethnic and racial minority law students who will receive a scholarship. He also works to raise funds for those scholarships. He recently served as Co-Chair of the Section of Litigation's Diversity Plan Implementation Committee and Co-Chair of the Section's Judicial Intern Opportunity Program.; Partner Daniel J. Hurtado is a board member of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms and a past President of the Hispanic Lawyers Association of Illinois. Partner E. Lynn Grayson served as Co-Chair of the Chicago Bar Association Alliance for Women, is a member of the Illinois State Bar Association Standing Committee on Women in the Law, and is Co-Editor of Women in the Law newsletter. Ms. Grayson also serves on the board of directors for the National Conference of Women's Bar Associations.
In support of the Firm's core value of "Respecting and Rewarding our People," Jenner & Block sponsors a Women's Forum to foster opportunities for professional, social and personal growth for all of the women attorneys, communicate the Firm's strong commitment to the success of its women attorneys and enhance the visibility and recognition of Jenner & Block's leadership in support of women in the legal profession. In 2005, Jenner & Block sponsored several programs of the Chicago Bar Association's Alliance For Women. The Firm also created and produced the first Chicago Women Lawyer Directory. Additionally, the Firm was also a Premier sponsor of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), the Black Women Lawyers Association (BWLA) Roundtable Series Luncheon, and serves as the inaugural sponsor of National Association of Women Lawyers General Counsel Institute. The General Counsel Institute is designed to provide women attorneys with information and guidance on what senior corporate counsel can do to move their careers toward the general counsel role. We also sponsored NAWL's "Taking Charge of Your Career: Best Practices for Women Lawyers and their Firms," which was held at Jenner & Block's Chicago office in September 2005. Most importantly, Jenner & Block was a participating signatory to the Chicago Bar Association - Alliance For Women "Call to Action." As a signatory, Jenner & Block has committed to the following:
- To increase the percent of its women partners by 3 percentage points from its 2004 levels by December 31, 2007.
- To have women represented on every firm committee in the same proportion as the number of women partners at the firm by December 31, 2007.
- To increase the number of women practice group leaders at the firm by December 31, 2007.
- To review its flexible hours policy and its use in order to ensure that alternative schedules are an equitable and viable option by December 31, 2007.
- To materially improve any disparity in the rates in which men and women are retained, promoted, and laterally recruited at the firm by December 31, 2007.
Jenner & Block strongly supports our LGBT people. Among other things, this support for LGBT attorneys includes our annual sponsorship of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association's Lavender Law annual conference. In addition, the Firm's LGBT Forum is spearheading an effort with other organizations, in particular the National Lesbian & Gay Bar Association, to ensure that inclusion of gay and lesbian attorneys is part of the core value of promoting diversity within our profession. As an outgrowth of the LGBT Forum's work in this area, a Jenner & Block partner has recently agreed to chair the NLGBA's committee on gay and lesbian diversity in the profession.
These Alliance Partnerships represent a significant investment of the Firm's resources. In addition to the financial support we provide, Jenner & Block lawyers actively participate in helping build the program and provide substantive legal content to ensure program attendees receive the maximum benefit out of participation.
Achieving Success
As evidence of how diversity is embedded into the culture, process and procedures of the Firm, we have been recognized by numerous organizations for our longtime commitment to diversity including:
For more information about Jenner & Block's commitment to diversity, please contact Courtney A. Jones, Diversity Coordinator, at (312) 840-7848 or [email protected].
