The Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms held its Annual Meeting at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP on October 22, 2024. Member law firm attorneys and diversity professionals attended the Annual Meeting. Tara Raghavan, Partner at Benesch, welcomed attendees to the firm and shared her support of diversity efforts in the legal profession. The Board Chair, Steve Flores (Cooley LLP), began the meeting with a review of the organization’s 2024 goals and programs and a look ahead to 2025. Associate Board Vice Chair, Nas Hussain (Winston & Strawn LLP), spoke about the Associate Board’s work this year.
Chicago Committee Executive Director, Anna Lloyd, presented data from 2018-2024’s Diversity Award Questionnaires to give a view of diversity, equity, and inclusion demographics and efforts in Chicago law firms. The Chicago Committee recognized three law firms for their effort in advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within their firms. The Chicago Committee considered a number of factors, including, hiring of diverse attorneys, racially and ethnically diverse attorneys in firm leadership and partnership ranks, work allocation systems, programming and training for diverse attorneys, and inclusive client teams and succession planning. The Chicago Committee believes these factors show a meaningful commitment to the advancement of diversity within the firm.
Cooley LLP received the Commitment & Investment Award. K&L Gates LLP received the Law Firm Leadership Award. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP received the Change Agent Award. Board Treasurer, Binal Patel (Banner Witcoff), moderated a panel with representatives from the Award-winning firms. Christina Roupas (Partner in Charge, Chicago, Cooley LLP), James Segerdahl (Global Managing Partner, K&L Gates LLP), Ruben Gonzalez (Partner, Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP) shared their insights about their firms’ innovative strategies and programs. We congratulate these firms for their diligent work in diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
Many thanks to all our member firms, Board of Directors, Associate Board, and attorney volunteers for all their support and hard work this year! You can learn more about our programs and organization in our 2024 Annual Report.
