A Full Spectrum of Talent
We aim to create a partnership and workforce that reflect the full spectrum of talent available. We, therefore, seek to attract ever-increasing numbers of women; racial and ethnic minorities; and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) individuals to our firm.
Women
For many years, we have worked to attract more women lawyers to our firm and to make Faegre & Benson a destination for women in the law—a place where women have more opportunities and more support in becoming successful partners and leaders.
We have women in every leadership role at our firm—as a member of the management committee, group head, administrative partner and committee chair. More than half of our administrative directors are women. Our representation of women partners and associates has consistently exceeded the national averages of large law firms and of other major law firms in the regions we serve. Today, more than half of our associates are women.
Our women lawyers are also among the most prominent members of the business and legal communities, and leaders of nonprofit organizations, in all of the regions we serve. One of our former partners (now a judge) served as co-chair of the Self Audit for Gender Equity, a program of the Minnesota State Bar Association Committee on Women in the Legal Profession that involved all of the state's major law firms.
We know that our lawyers' lives do not begin or end in the office. Many of our benefits and policies are designed to make it easier for all of our lawyers to balance their demanding legal practices with the demands of raising families and contributing to their communities. For example, we offer liberal policies for child-care leave, flexible working schedules, and reduced-time work. For almost a decade, we have made it possible to become a partner while working a reduced-time schedule, and to continue to work reduced-time schedules after becoming a partner.
Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Faegre & Benson has placed a special focus on increasing its population of lawyers and staff from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds. This includes nationwide recruiting efforts directed at law students and lateral candidates from African-American, Asian, Hispanic and Indian backgrounds.
In support of these recruiting efforts, we helped to draft and we signed the Colorado Pledge to Diversity. Law firms which have signed the Pledge sponsor annual receptions for racially and ethnically diverse and GLBT law students, provide interview training, book scholarships and presentations at law schools. Recently, the Pledge Group created a summer clerk program for first-year racially and ethnically diverse law students at the University of Denver and the University of Colorado.
In addition, we are among the large law firm leaders in forming a new Minnesota initiative: Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, a program designed to attract racially and ethnically diverse lawyers to the Twin Cities area.
These efforts are showing tangible results. In 2008, 23 percent of our summer associates were racially and ethnically diverse. Overall, 15 percent of our associates are from diverse backgrounds. These numbers represent steady progress over the past five years and exceed the averages in our principal recruiting markets of Minneapolis and Denver.
The Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) awarded us the Thomas Sager Award for the Midwest Region in 2004. This prestigious award recognized our commitment to the hiring, retention and promotion of women and minorities.
Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender
GLBT issues are fully integrated into our diversity efforts at Faegre & Benson. Our equal employment opportunity policy includes both sexual orientation and gender identity, and we include GLBT couples and families in our benefits programs.
We are committed to nurturing a welcoming workplace for GLBT lawyers and administrative staff. GLBT issues are covered in our workplace diversity training. We have an active GLBT diversity group composed of administrative staff. Our diversity committee and GLBT diversity group host a firm-wide Pride celebration each year and participate in local Pride activities. We include GLBT issues in our general diversity programming, including panel discussions and event-specific presentations.
Faegre & Benson's law school recruiters engage in concerted outreach to GLBT candidates. We are a regular sponsor of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association's Lavender Law Conference. We also meet regularly with GLBT student groups at a variety of law schools.
Our firm supports the larger GLBT community by providing financial support to organizations such as the Human Rights Campaign. Our lawyers also provide services to organizations including Avenues for Homeless Youth, a Minneapolis nonprofit organization that runs a host home program which provides stable and safe housing and support services for GLBT youth; District 202, a Minnesota-based nonprofit organization that offers resources for GLBT youth; and the Point Foundation, a public charity that awards scholarships to gay and lesbian youths who have been disowned by their families after coming out. Faegre & Benson lawyers have also been involved in noteworthy litigation involving GLBT rights. Recently, for example, lawyers in our firm authored an amicus brief in Varnum v. Brien, a case seeking the right for same-sex couples to marry in Iowa.
Faegre & Benson is proud to be among only a small number of employers nationwide, and one of just a few large law firms, to have achieved a 100 percent ranking on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index (2004–2009).