Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP

Always mindful of the cost of litigation, our firm routinely counsels clients on ways to avoid litigation and on alternatives to litigation such as mediation or arbitration, which may prove less costly and provide for more flexibility in reaching a resolution. Our litigators routinely represent clients in mediation and arbitration, and have extensive experience in assisting clients with all alternative dispute resolution processes.

A select group of lawyers at the firm, including both litigators and corporate lawyers, also serve as mediators or arbitrators themselves in a wide range of commercial disputes. Our Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group consists of a handful of lawyers drawn from each of our departments who have extensive experience in providing alternative dispute resolution services to help disputing parties achieve a satisfactory resolution of their conflicts. Lawyers in our Alternative Dispute Resolution Practice Group are certified as mediators in the federal and state court and are members of the American Arbitration Association's national panel of neutrals.

Our mediators serve in both court-ordered mediation and voluntary mediation for individuals, businesses and non-profit institutions. Among other situations, we have mediated matters involving commercial, insurance, agricultural, public entity, environmental, franchise, construction, ERISA, personal injury, surety and fidelity bond, employment, and securities disputes.

We have a long-standing commitment to alternative dispute resolution. We recognize that it often provides a more cost-effective solution to disputes than does traditional litigation and is often appropriate in situations where the parties are in a continuing business relationship.

Our Commitment to Diversity

Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP is committed to attracting, retaining, and promoting individuals of diverse backgrounds to ensure that our firm reflects the clients we represent and our values of inclusion.  We believe that embracing differences in ethnicity, race, sexual orientation, age, socio-economic status, religion, and other characteristics, helps us consider the full range of perspectives our clients face and the goals they seek to achieve, allowing us to provide more creative, insightful, and complete guidance and counsel.  By affirmatively embracing and appreciating those differences, we create a supportive working environment at Shumaker for all individuals of the firm.

Diversity in Action

Shumaker's commitment to diversity is reflected in the following measures:

1. Creation of a Diversity & Inclusion Committee to coordinate and direct our diversity initiatives. Our committee is made up of partners (including at least one member of the Firm’s management committee), associates and administrative personnel.
2. Recipient of the 2013 Gold Standard Certification by Women in Law Empowerment Forum, which is given only to firms that have demonstrated that women represent a meaningful percentage of their equity partners, are involved in the highest leadership positions and have meaningful representation in the ranks of the firm’s most highly compensated partners. Shumaker was one of only 42 firms in the country to have received this prestigious award in 2013.
3. Creation of Shumaker’s Women’s Leadership Initiative, a firm-sponsored group dedicated to promoting, developing and fostering the potential of our female attorneys, helping them to navigate a path to a successful and satisfying legal career at the Firm, and to serve as leaders within the legal and business communities.
4. Membership and active participation in organizations that support diversity initiatives in our communities. Such organizations include, without limitation, racial, ethnic, disability, gender/LGBT and age initiatives.
5. Diversity in our hiring, advancement and leadership practices, for attorneys as well as staff members, including our Summer Associate Program.
6. Annual participation in the Toledo Bar Association’s Minority Clerkship Program.
7. Annual participation in the Ohio State Bar Foundation Law and Leadership Program, a program to establish a pipeline into the legal profession for disadvantaged students from underserved schools.
8. Membership in Partners in Education, a program in which our employees serve as tutors and mentors and provide ongoing financial support to area schools and students in need.
9. Cultivation of leadership opportunities among all attorneys and staff, recognizing the importance and benefit of diversity in leadership.
10. Firm-wide participation in periodic diversity education seminars or training programs.
11. Informal programs implemented firm-wide to enhance our awareness and understanding of the importance and benefits of diversity among our workforce and promote inclusion.