Embracing Diversity
Our goal is clear. We want to be a leader in diversity. We want to be the firm most reflective of and responsive to our clients and communities. Pursuit of this goal guides us to recruit and maintain a diverse workforce of lawyers and staff inclusive of racial, gender, age, ethnic, national, sexual orientation and religious differences.
At Holland & Knight, we believe our clients receive the highest quality service when their legal teams are drawn from professionals mirroring the increasing diversity of the marketplace.
Diversity Council, Groups and Committees
In order for diversity to mean something, to be more than a superficial catch phrase, it must be incorporated into a firm's culture. Diversity must be put "in action" and made a priority. A firm must be committed not only to the members who are racially, ethnically or gender-diverse, but also to appreciate, celebrate, support and encourage the various thoughts, ideas and values that underlie those differences.
We are proud of our efforts to increase and strengthen the diversity of our lawyers and staff. Through the establishment of a firmwide Diversity Council, several Affinity Groups, local office Diversity Committees, mentoring programs and other diversity-related programs and initiatives, the firm has put diversity in action and has committed itself to being a leader with regard to inclusive policies for all firm employees.
Diversity Council
The firm's 13-member Diversity Council oversees our numerous diversity initiatives and programs, provides support for diversity-related charitable and community organizations, and explores avenues for increasing diversity among suppliers and business partners. As evidence of our commitment to diversity at all levels of the firm, the Diversity Council includes both a staff member and an associate as full participating members, as well as our Managing Partner, the Chair of our Directors Committee, each Affinity Group Leader, and a Local Office Diversity Committee representative.
The Diversity Council is jointly led by Paul Thomas, one of the most experienced diversity lawyers in the country who serves as the firm's full-time Chief Diversity Officer, and Tiffani Lee, a partner in the firm's litigation section who also serves as the firm's Diversity Partner.
Affinity Groups
Through the firm's seven Affinity Groups, our diverse lawyers and staff are able to address the distinct challenges and opportunities that arise as a result of our differences. By promoting and encouraging members, the Affinity Groups help to sustain an environment that is inclusive and supportive, which fosters both personal and professional success. Our Affinity Groups have helped to distinguish Holland & Knight through the visibility and opportunity extended to members.
The firm's Affinity Groups are as follows:
- African American Affinity Group
- Asian/Pacific Islander Affinity Group
- Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Affinity Group
- Gay, Lesbian Or Bisexual Employees (GLOBE) Affinity Group
- Hispanic Affinity Group
- Native American Affinity Group
- Women's Initiative
The African American Affinity Group promotes, supports and encourages the firm's African American attorneys by helping to maintain an environment that is inclusive, challenging and supportive in order to maximize both personal and career success. The African American Affinity Group supports an in-house mentoring program, and is dedicated to assisting the firm with its goal of recruiting, promoting and retaining top minority attorneys. Contact: La Fonte Nesbitt ([email protected])
The Asian/Pacific Islander (API) Affinity Group uses regularly-scheduled meetings and its own email distribution list as a means of communication to keep the firm's API attorneys informed of important developments, opportunities for leadership and professional development. Its goal is to maintain a strong and productive network among our API attorneys, and to assist the firm with its goal of recruiting, promoting and retaining top minority attorneys. Contact: Jane Tam ([email protected])
The Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (GLBT) Affinity Group promotes equal opportunity and professional development for the firm's GLBT lawyers. Through its representation on the firm's Diversity Council, the Group works to ensure that Holland & Knight remains a leader among law firms with regard to its GLBT-friendly policies and initiatives. Externally, members of the GLBT Group, in concert with the firm's Community Services Team, have spearheaded pro bono "impact" litigation involving GLBT asylum issues and U.S. laws severely limiting the ability of persons with HIV-AIDS to travel to the United States. Contact: Michael Manthei, co-chair ([email protected]); Dianne Phillips, co-chair ([email protected])
Gay, Lesbian Or Bisexual Employees (GLOBE) Affinity Group is a forum for staff to offer mutual support and discuss issues specific to persons of varying sexual orientations. It operates primarily by in-office meetings, telephone conferences and videoconferences and is open to all employees at Holland & Knight, irrespective of their sexual orientation. The GLOBE hosts events around the firm on issues of importance to the GLBT community. Examples include a videoconference celebrating National Coming Out Day; a lecture focused on recent gay asylum cases handled by the firm; and a seminar which detailed practical ways gay and lesbian couples and their families can take steps to ensure that their partners and families are protected, in the context of both estate planning and family law. Contact: Paul Thomas ([email protected])
The Hispanic Affinity Group's goal is to recruit, retain, promote, support, encourage and empower the firm's Hispanic attorneys. Through its representation on the firm's Diversity Council, the Group works to ensure that Holland & Knight's diversity objectives are meaningfully represented and achieved by the firm's Hispanic attorneys. Among the major law firms in the United States, Holland & Knight is a leader in recruiting and retaining Hispanic lawyers. The Group seeks to create and sustain an environment that is inclusive, challenging and supportive in order to maximize both personal and career success for its Hispanic attorneys. Contact: Jorge Hernandez Torano ([email protected])
The Women's Initiative strives to help women advance professionally not only within the firm, but also within our communities. The oldest of our diversity initiatives, which began in the mid-1990s as an internal forum for women attorneys to voice their perspectives on creating a successful working environment, the Women's Initiative has become a respected and emulated program. This initiative helps our women partners and associates increase new client generation and expand relationships with existing clients and contacts, many of whom are also women. Contact: Judy Mercier, chair ([email protected])
The Rising Stars Program, an outgrowth of the Women's Initiative, is a leadership training program dedicated to improving opportunities for the firm's women overall. The Rising Stars are immersed in a formal leadership and marketing program for a year, followed by a continued commitment to support new participants and organize the group as a resource for clients. The Rising Stars program has received numerous accolades, including being recognized as a "Best Practice" by a number of groups and organizations dedicated to the advancement of women in the legal profession and business.
Local Office Diversity CommitteesOur diversity activities stretch throughout the firm. Each of our U.S. offices has a standing Diversity Committee which is composed of both lawyers and staff. The Committees devise and implement programs and community outreach unique to their locations. The leaders of our local Diversity Committees meet regularly with the Diversity Partner to discuss issues and share information on their various events, sponsorships and "best practices."
Diversity in Action
The Minority Law Journal's 2007 "Diversity Scorecard" ranked Holland & Knight #2 in the nation for our number of minority partners and Hispanic attorneys. Overall, we ranked in the top third of most diverse law firms.
While we're certainly proud of these statistics, we realize that meaningful diversity goes beyond citing high numbers and have, therefore, put diversity "in action" at our firm. By implementing diversity-related programs and initiatives, we have committed ourselves to being a leader in diversity. We go above and beyond the norm to attract, retain and promote diverse lawyers and staff.
Education Programs
Holland & Knight, through its Charitable Foundation, has established several programs to support education and celebrate diversity in our communities:
- Holland & Knight Scholarship: A fully funded scholarship at Florida Agriculture and Mechanical University (FAMU) College of Law
- Holocaust Remembrance Project: A national writing contest for high school students designed to encourage and promote the study of the Holocaust
- Young Native Writers' Essay Contest: An essay contest for Native American high school students designed to inspire honest portrayals of the richness of Native American life and history
- Living the Dream Essay and Scholarship Program: An essay contest for high school students honoring African American heroes
Mentoring
Lack of mentoring is often cited by women and minority associates as the reason they are dissatisfied with their work environment. To address this issue, our firm's Diversity Partner recently implemented a Comprehensive Mentoring Program for the firm's minority associates. Through the program, each minority associate is assigned an "Affinity Mentor" and a "Career Mentor."
The Affinity Mentor is a senior member of the associate's Affinity Group and provides guidance and support through shared experiences. The Career Mentor is a successful, experienced partner who takes a committed interest in helping the associate to advance by providing work, advice, professional guidance and information about all elements for success in the legal field.
Diversity Training
We implemented a major educational initiative by conducting mandatory diversity training for all lawyers and staff in each of our United States offices. We believe this to be among the most comprehensive training of its kind undertaken by a major U.S. law firm.
Communication
We understand the importance of communicating our stance on diversity to everyone at our firm. As such, the firm uses its intranet as the main portal of communication to its employees and includes regular announcements from the Diversity Partner and the Managing Partner, spotlight stories on diversity-related activities, lists of awards and information on upcoming diversity-related events.
The firm also has a separate Diversity page on its intranet site with links to diversity-related articles, contact information for Affinity Group Leaders and local office Diversity Contacts, diversity "best practices" and a diversity resources "library."
Additionally, the Diversity Council, Affinity Groups and local office Diversity Committees meet regularly to discuss issues of importance. They are in constant contact with the Diversity Partner, who oversees the Council, Groups and Committees and ensures that the firm is achieving its diversity-related goals and objectives at all levels.
Recent Awards and Honors
- The Human Rights Campaign Foundation, the educational arm of the nation's largest advocacy group for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Americans, assigned Holland & Knight a "100," or "perfect" rating on its 2008 Corporate Equality Index and Best Places to Work Survey.
- The firm named a "Best Law Firm for Women" by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Profiled in the August/September 2007 issue of Working Mother magazine, Holland & Knight is honored for creating a work environment that is hospitable to and encouraging of the advancement of women. "With innovative programs and policies that help female attorneys achieve balance in their personal and professional lives and thrive as practitioners, Holland & Knight is ensuring that women are the future of private law practice."
- The firm was awarded the 2007 CREW Network Impact Award for the category of "Industry Innovator" by Commercial Real Estate Women ("CREW"). This award recognizes an organization that fosters a culture of innovation, dedication to diversity and the equal advancement of women and men in commercial real estate.
- The Minority Law Journal recently ranked Holland & Knight #2 in the nation for most minority partners and Hispanic attorneys.
- Multicultural Law Magazine named Holland & Knight to its list of "100 Top Law Firms for Diversity."
- The firm received "The Safe Haven Award" at the annual Immigration Equality Annual Benefit and Award Dinner, honoring pro bono attorneys who help win asylum for GLBT people fleeing persecution in foreign countries.
- The firm was awarded the "Michael K. Reese Quality of Life Award" by The Florida Bar Young Lawyers Division in honor of the firm's demonstrated commitment to supporting personal work-life choices, its pro bono activities, domestic partner benefits, career and professional development practices, favorable leave policies for both men and women, and community service.
Women's Initiative
Holland & Knight's Women's Initiative enhances professional opportunities and creates a positive and supportive environment for the firm's women attorneys. The initiative helps women partners and associates develop new clients and expand relationships with existing clients and contacts, many of whom are also women. It is also a vehicle through which the firm's women connect with community and other women's organizations.
The firm's support for women is evidenced by the leadership positions held by women in the firm and by the recognition Holland & Knight has received from other organizations. Women partners serve as directors, section and deputy section leaders, team leaders, and executive partners within their respective offices. In 2007, Holland & Knight was named a best law firm for women by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, a national consulting firm advising attorneys and legal employers on work-life balance and the retention and advancement of women.
Further, Holland & Knight encourages all of its attorneys, including its women lawyers, to be active leaders in professional and civic organizations, and good citizens of the communities in which they live. This commitment is demonstrated through our support of the Holland & Knight Charitable Foundation and localized efforts to assist organizations that help women in need. At the professional level, the Women's Initiative supports organizations such as the National Association of Women Lawyers, which devotes itself to the interests of women lawyers and their families; Catalyst, which promotes the advancement of women in the workplace, and the National Women's Law Center, which strives to protect and advance the progress of girls and women in virtually every aspect of their lives.
