Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw Receives Minority Corporate Counsel Association Award for Its Achievements in Diversity
| News Release - Worldwide
| 17 March 2006, Chicago -- Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP has been named as the recipient of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association's (MCCA) Thomas L. Sager Award which was presented at the association's Midwest Region Diversity Dinner in Chicago March 15, 2006.
Named in honor of the vice president and assistant general counsel of DuPont Company, the Thomas L. Sager Award recognizes law firms that have demonstrated a sustained commitment to improve the hiring, retention, and promotion of diverse attorneys.
"We are greatly honored by this award," said Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP partner Mary Richardson-Lowry. "At the same time, we suffer from no illusions. We recognize the considerable amount of work that lies ahead to ensure diversity in the legal profession, and we feel it is our duty to be a catalyst for this change."
In 2005, Mayer Brown's Chicago office exceeded the market average with 21.8 percent associates of color -- versus 14.1 percent on average for other Chicago firms. In the Chicago office, the number of minority attorneys has grown from 38 in 2003 to 58 in 2005. During the same period, the number of women attorneys has grown from 159 to 171. There is also a lower attrition rate in the firm for minority attorneys than non-minority attorneys.
Among the factors contributing to these gains are Mayer Brown's creation of a formal diversity committee, its organization of annual national diversity retreats, an increased focus on professional development and mentoring, collaborative minority awareness programs with high schools and colleges, and a greater consideration of minority hiring and staffing as a factor in compensation.
The firm has created a 3-Part Career Development program designed to better prepare and educate the next generation of diverse law students. It includes a "How to Succeed in Law School" panel designed to prepare first-year diverse law students across the nation for challenges that await them in law school. Additionally, the "Resume Workshop" assists diverse students in resume writing. The "Mock Interview Program" helps first-year diverse students hone their interviewing skills.
Mayer Brown has also expanded its diversity efforts working in partnership with MCCA, the National Black Law Students Association, the Chicago Committee on Minorities and Large Law Firms, the ABA Minority Counsel Program, Black Women Lawyers Association, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund and other organizations.
|
|
