(CHICAGO) – Katten has been named a Top Performer and Compass Award winner by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), which recognizes law firms and corporations showing a strong commitment to building more diverse organizations and a more inclusive legal profession.
“We are deeply honored to be numbered among those seen as making notable strides towards greater diversity and inclusion. It is my sincere hope that our steadfast commitment in this regard will become a standard for others to model,” said Leslie Minier, Chief Diversity Partner at Katten. “Our firm leaders have made it clear that these efforts are a priority.”
Katten Chairman Roger Furey underscored the firm’s commitment: “We are meeting with our diverse attorneys to better understand their experiences and concerns, and we are inviting tough conversations across our firm community in an effort to foster more inclusion. We fully understand that these efforts are key to bringing about real change.”
Furey is among the more than 350 corporate chief legal officers, law firm managing partners and other leaders who make up the membership of LCLD, one of the nation’s leading organizations promoting diversity in the legal industry. Members have dedicated themselves to creating a more diverse legal profession in the US through a range of initiatives, including spotlighting law firms and others that have heightened efforts to reach the goal.
Last month, Katten, which has garnered both the Top Performer and Compass Award distinctions for the last four years and has been named Top Performer for nine consecutive years, joined other LCLD members in creating a Leaders Pledge, listing specific actions they will take to advance diverse talent. Among several promises, Furey committed to more coaching and encouraging of other Katten senior leaders to mentor, sponsor and give feedback to attorneys of color, LGBTQ attorneys, and women attorneys at the firm.
The Top Performer award honors the top 20 percent of the most active LCLD member organizations. The Compass Award highlights individuals and member organizations that fulfill all of the following requirements in a single calendar year:
- Attendance at the 2020 LCLD Annual Membership Meeting or a 2021 Leadership Summit and/or submission of a Leader’s Pledge.
- Participation in the LCLD Fellows and Pathfinder programs, designed to provide tools for diverse, high-potential, mid-career attorneys to sharpen their career development strategies through training in leadership and networking
- Participation in a LCLD Pipeline program, the 1L Scholars program and/or the Success in Law School Mentoring Program, all of which seek to strengthen the pipeline of diverse attorneys by expanding opportunities for diverse first-year law students. The 1L Scholars Program gives these students an opportunity to work closely with attorneys from LCLD member organizations.
Washington, DC
