Broad Recruiting Efforts

• • 41 states;
  • 33 countries;
  • 191 colleges and universities; and
  • 125 law schools.   
    
    
• S&C works with diverse law student groups on various campuses to sponsor panel discussions such as Early Exits—Why Women of Color are Vanishing from Law Firms (hosted by Duke Law School’s Black, Hispanic and Women Law Students Associations); Pursuing Personal Interests while Advancing at the Firm (hosted by Columbia Law School’s Black Law Students Association); Being an Openly Gay Lawyer at a Law Firm (hosted by Penn Law School’s Lambda organization); and Lifting as We Climb:  Discovering the Power of Emerging Black Leadership (co-hosted by NYU Law School’s Black Allied Law Students Association).
• 37% of the 132 law students participating in our 2007 summer associate program are openly gay or members of minority groups.

Participation in Firm Leadership

• Women, openly gay/lesbian and other lawyers from diverse backgrounds hold leadership positions in the Firm, including serving on our Management Committee, heading two offices and seven practice groups, and serving as Hiring Partners, including:
  
  
  • Alison Ressler is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and heads the California Practice Group and the Private Equity Practice Group.
  • David Braff is a member of the Firm’s Management Committee and heads the Litigation Group.
  • Chun Wei heads the Hong Kong office.
  • Izumi Akai heads the Tokyo office.
  • Sergio Galvis heads the Latin American Practice Group.
  • Yvonne Quinn heads the Antitrust Practice Group.
  • Ann Fisher heads the Sovereign Issuers Practice Group.
  • Karen Seymour heads the Criminal Defense and Investigation Group.
  • Stacey Friedman is one of the Firm’s three Hiring Partners.

Development, Retention and Advancement

• We have formal mentoring programs in the General Practice and Litigation Groups, and our lawyers receive significant formal training throughout their advancement in the Firm. For more information on Professional Development, please click here.
• Our Women’s Initiative Committee works to enhance the experience of women in practice at the Firm through professional development, community service and work/life balance programs. For more information on Women's Initiatives, please click here.
• Associates of Color Development Luncheons take place monthly to provide associates of color with a candid forum for seeking advice, sharing experiences and discussing work-related issues. Participating associates also organize community service, professional development, social networking and recruiting activities.
• Our LGBT Network furthers the Firm’s commitment to the LGBT community as a whole, provides a nurturing social and professional community for LGBT individuals within the Firm, and enhances the inclusive environment of the Firm overall. For more information on the LGBT Network, please click here.
• We have maintained a Flex-Time Policy since 1987 to encourage our lawyers with child care or other family concerns to remain with the Firm while adjusting their working schedules to reflect their individual family needs.
• Our Associate Development Committee monitors, assesses and makes recommendations regarding the Firm’s associate development initiatives, which include formal and informal mentoring, training, professional/practice experience and development, and morale.
• 38% of our most recently made partners were women.
• 25% of our most recently made partners were members of minority groups.
• 11 of our partners are openly gay.

Continuing Efforts to Foster Diversity and Inclusion

• S&C was an original signatory of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s “Statement of Goals of New York Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments for Increasing Minority Representation and Retention” and “Restatement and Reaffirmation of Goals for the Hiring, Retention, and Promotion of Attorneys of Color and the Retention and Promotion of Women.” S&C retired partner Michael Cooper was president of the Association when the original “Statement of Goals” was revised and expanded.
• In July 2007, S&C co-hosted the second “Pipeline Crisis: Winning Strategies for Young Black Men” forum in New York City. Since the first forum held in 2006, many additional law firms and financial institutions have joined in the Pipeline Crisis/Winning Strategies initiative, including a number of new sponsors. In addition, five working groups consisting of lawyers, bankers, academics, and human services professionals have been developing and implementing specific plans to address areas that show the highest potential for meaningful change:
  
  • early childhood development;
  • public school education;
  • employment and economic development;
  • criminal justice, prison reform and reentry; and
  • opportunities for high achievers.

For more information on the “Pipeline Crisis: Winning Strategies for Young Black Men” forum, please click here.

• Our Diversity Committee is developing a diversity action plan to guide the Firm’s diversity and inclusion initiatives over the next three years.
• The Firm hosts and sponsors many programs and events focusing on women, LGBT and minority lawyers and law students.
• Our lawyers participate in bar committee activities addressing issues of concern to women, LGBT and minority lawyers in the profession and are encouraged to participate in professional development and diversity-related forums, seminars and conferences. 

Scholarship Programs Support

• S&C awards two students in the entering class at Howard Law School $10,000 per year, based on academic achievement and financial need.
• S&C contributes to other scholarship programs, including those of the Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey, the Association of Black Women Attorneys minority law student scholarship and the Legal Outreach Program’s scholarship for graduating high school seniors.

Community Development Programs

• S&C participates in many programs that offer internship, mentoring and development opportunities for high school, college and law school students of color, including the following:
  
  
  • Practicing Attorneys for Law Students (PALS)
  • Thurgood Marshall Legal Internship Program
  • Legal Outreach Program
  • Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO)
  • Business Advancement & Social Entrepreneurship Program (BASE)