The Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms held its Annual Meeting at Jones Day on October 25, 2023. Member law firm attorneys and diversity professionals attended the Meeting. The Board Chair, Sharon Hwang (McAndrews, Held & Malloy, Ltd.), began the meeting with a look at the organization’s innovative programs in 2023 and her time as Chair. Associate Board Chair, Meredith Eng (Polsinelli PC), spoke about the Associate Board’s work this year.
Board Vice Chair, Steve Flores (Cooley LLP), presented the 2023 Diversity Awards. The Chicago Committee recognized four law firms for their effort in advancing diversity and inclusion within their firms based on their answers to our Diversity Questionnaire. In evaluating the responses to the Diversity Questionnaire, the Chicago Committee considered a number of factors, including, hiring and retention of diverse attorneys, racially and ethnically diverse attorneys in firm leadership and partnership ranks, work allocation systems, programming and training for diverse attorneys, diverse relationship partners, client teams, and billing attorneys for the firm’s top 20 clients, and the top compensated equity partners. The Chicago Committee believes these factors show a meaningful commitment to the advancement of diversity within the firm. Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP received the Commitment & Investment Awards. Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP received the Law Firm Leadership Award. Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP received the Change Agent Award. ArentFox Schiff LLP received the Delivering Diversity Award. Associate Board Vice Chair, Demetria Hamilton (Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP), moderated a panel with representatives from the Award-winning firms. Ronald Safer (Riley Safer Holmes & Cancila LLP), Jeffrey Sharp (Marshall, Gerstein & Borun LLP), and David Dlugie (Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP) shared their experiences and insights about their successful programs. We congratulate these firms for their continued work in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Many thanks to all our member firms and attorney volunteers for all their support and hard work this year!
