2021 CULTURE REPORT
This past year forced us to reimagine workplace inclusion. As we transitioned into a hybrid working environment, we were intentional about ensuring that our firm culture remained intact. At the core of that culture is our commitment to advancing diversity, equity and inclusion. With the addition of our Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Lloyd Freeman, we launched a multi-faceted diversity strategic plan. Not only did we focus on diverse representation at all levels, but we also boosted engagement in our D&I programs and initiatives. We hosted courageous conversations with employees and clients to ensure we are creating the most inclusive workplace to drive the best results. Furthermore, we instituted new metrics for measuring our progress and holding ourselves accountable for sustainable change. The pages that follow show the progress we’ve made to date in promoting such an inclusive culture. I am incredibly proud of what we accomplished in the past year. Understanding though that advancing D&I is a long-term strategy, I am equally as excited about all that we will do in the coming years. Our firm remains steadfast in its goal to create an atmosphere where the unique experiences and talent of our team are celebrated.
JOSEPH A. DOUGHERTY Chairman and CEO
The inaugural Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Culture Report provides an overview of the numerous diversity and inclusion initiatives our firm has undertaken over the past year. As we adjusted to the virtual and hybrid workplace, navigated a global health crisis and continued to advocate for social justice, our D&I commitment grew stronger than ever. In my first year as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, I saw our firm make incredible progress in the D&I space. We hosted cultural programming, encouraged uncomfortable conversations and launched a robust strategic plan that created an opportunity for everyone to assist us in promoting D&I. We also engaged clients and forged community partnerships in an effort to collaborate on these critical issues. Truly, D&I was embedded in every facet of the business, both internally and externally. Although I’m proud of all we accomplished, I recognize that we have more to do — and we will do it. As we work to advance diversity, equity and inclusion in every workplace, it’s incumbent upon everyone to contribute toward this goal whether they are an ally, sponsor, mentor, advocate or underrepresented individual who shares their experiences and knowledge to increase our cultural competency. Our firm is built on an inclusive culture that encourages our colleagues to accept and support one another while committing to solutions that make the firm a better workplace for everyone. This remains at the core of who we are. I look forward to 2022 and continuing on the path that we have charted. Thank you to Buchanan’s leadership, employees, clients and community partners who made this past year a remarkable one with significant strides.
LLOYD FREEMAN
Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
D&I COUNCIL Buchanan’s D&I Council is tasked with recommending policies, programs and initiatives designed to enhance diversity and inclusion throughout the firm and in our communities. The D&I Council meets regularly to discuss the firm’s recruitment, retention and promotion efforts, ensure equitable advancement and exposure for women and underrepresented employees and to create new opportunities for all employees to remain engaged in advancing diversity and inclusion.
The affinity group for our employees of color.
The affinity group for employees who identify as women.
The affinity group for employees who identify as LGBTQ and allies.
The affinity group for employees who are caregivers and working parents.
The affinity group for employees who are veterans or currently serving in the armed forces.
AFFINITY GROUPS Our affinity groups are formed around common identities and open to all employees. For their members, these groups offer opportunities for mentoring, networking and development on the personal and professional level. For the firm, the groups provide an opportunity for our employees to be heard, valued and engaged. These groups are charged with suggesting ideas for cultural awareness programming to our D&I Council, recommending specialty bar associations and other diversity-focused groups for the firm to support, hosting social and networking events, working to enhance the firm’s presence in civic organizations and their respective communities, and expanding the firm’s recruitment networks. Additionally, these groups are critical in assisting the firm with identifying vendors to enhance its supplier diversity.
At Buchanan, we believe that hiring the right people is one of the most important aspects of our diversity & inclusion efforts. In recent years, we have been able to grow our ranks through our own existing employees. This initiative has enabled us to make stronger connections with prospective candidates through law firm employees. However, fostering an equitable workplace doesn’t end with developing a diverse pipeline of candidates – instead diversity plays a role at every level of human resources management: recruitment, retention and evaluation.
2021 ATTORNEY AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS HIRES
35% ARE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS
53%
18%
ARE WOMEN
ARE WOMEN OF COLOR
INTENTIONALITY IN HIRING “There’s a difference between positioning yourself for a diverse candidate pool and looking at the diversity you’re actually able to achieve.” - Lloyd Freeman, Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
SUMMER ASSOCIATES In 2021, Buchanan proudly welcomed its largest and most diverse summer associate class, with all 14 students representing one or more underrepresented group. Eight are editors or assistant editors of their respective law journals, six hold leadership positions in student government, and all have received a number of academic and community awards. In addition, they each serve as teaching assistants, moot court team members, and judicial law clerks. At the conclusion of the eight-week program we extended offers to all 12 2Ls to join us as first-year associates in the fall of 2022 and asked the two first-year students to return for the summer of 2022. The students worked with attorneys in the firm’s Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Tampa offices and also participated in the firm’s Diversity Corporate Share Program, which pairs each associate with several firm clients, as well as other corporations, for a two-week period giving them additional experience and mentorship opportunities.
DIVERSITY CORPORATE SHARE PROGRAM During Buchanan’s Summer Associate program, each associate is paired with a firm client or a participating corporation for a two-week period, giving each of the participants additional experience and mentorship opportunities directly from corporate legal counsel. Companies who have participated in the program in the past include, PNC Bank, The Hershey Company, Philadelphia FIGHT Community Health Centers, Raymond James, Panasonic, and South Jersey Industries, among others.
“The Diversity Corporate Share Program was a valuable part of my Summer Associate experience at Buchanan. Working at South Jersey Industries for two weeks enabled me to develop new legal skills in a corporate setting and expand my professional network. In addition to gaining insight into the energy and natural gas sector, I observed how the general counsel’s office approached problems from both legal and business perspectives. This understanding will be very helpful for serving future clients’ needs.” - Andrew Simmons, 2L at Villanova University School of Law
“My time at Panasonic was incredible. I accomplished a lot in the short two weeks I was there. Thank you to everyone at Buchanan who made this corporate share program possible. Being at Panasonic solidified my interest in litigation over transactional matters, and I never would have been able to come to that conclusion this summer without that experience.” - Krista Sonsalla, 2L at Temple University School of Law
“The Diversity Corporate Share Program allowed me to work with an incredible non-profit organization, Philadelphia FIGHT. I gained insight into the work that they do and what it takes to be an in-house attorney. Deone Powell took the time to ensure that I understood the history of the organization and how it shaped the way the organization operates today. Deone’s guidance and feedback helped me further advance my legal skills. Additionally, I was fortunate enough to attend a networking event, which gave me the opportunity to form new connections and broaden my understanding of the legal field.” - Sarina Aghazadeh-Alavi, 2L at Temple University School of Law
FIRM-WIDE DIVERSITY EDUCATION We place a heavy emphasis on continuous diversity education for our employees. In partnership with firm leadership, the Diversity Council organized a series of internal workshops aimed at expanding our diversity and inclusion education. We also hosted various training sessions for our employees on topics such as implicit bias, emotional intelligence and bias in evaluations, promotions and compensation. Throughout the year, the Diversity Council also held a series of external programs in partnership with our clients and members of the business community. Each program averaged approximately 300 attendees.
“The presentation raised my awareness of greater equality concerns surrounding this issue, and I am glad for that.” “The program gave me a lot to think about.” “Among the best one hour presentations I’ve heard in a long time.” “Excellent event - I thoroughly enjoyed the candid discussions from the panelists (a very refreshing perspective on D&I). Hope to see more programming like this from Buchanan in the future.”
“I was very impressed with the presentation. It was timely, poignant, personalized and, I believe, heartfelt.” “As always, the material that was presented was informative, thoughtprovoking and well thought out. I look forward to the next one and I think our Firm is definitely showing leadership in this space.” “Very candid conversation about an important topic for law firms and attorneys to discuss.”
DIVERSITY AWARDS In 2021 Buchanan was honored with a number of awards for its commitment to diversity and inclusion.
WILEF Buchanan received the Women in Law Empowerment Forum certification for the 6th year in a row. The firm has met objective criteria concerning the number of women among equity partners, in firm leadership positions, and in the ranks of our most highly compensated partners.
CORPORATE EQUALITY INDEX Buchanan received a score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index for the 5th year in a row. The firm is proud to be recognized among the record breaking 767 organizations that earned the highest distinction of being one of the “Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”
CHUCK COOPER FOUNDATION Buchanan received the 2021 Chuck Cooper Foundation Trailblazer of the Year award for its ongoing support of the organization. The Chuck Cooper Foundation carries on the legacy of Chuck Cooper by helping further the education of young people in the community.
MANSFIELD CERTIFICATION PLUS STATUS
INCREASED PERCENTAGE OF UNDERREPRESENTED...
4TH YEAR IN A ROW 100%
BUCHANAN MEETS THE 30% REPRESENTATION THRESHOLD IN 100% OF THE CERTIFICATION PLUS CATEGORIES*
30%
LATERAL ASSOCIATES HIRED LAWYERS PROMOTED INTO EQUITY PARTNERSHIP LAWYERS ON THE FIRM’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS LAWYERS IN OUR FORMAL PITCHES OVER LAST YEAR
40% OF FIRM’S PRACTICE
GROUP LEADERS ARE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS
47% OF FIRM’S
40%
47%
OFFICE HEADS ARE FROM UNDERREPRESENTED GROUPS
DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY PODCAST The Dimensions of Diversity podcast which launched in early 2021, boasts more than 30,000 plays and is hosted by Lloyd Freeman, our Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer. It features meaningful conversations with industry leaders, D&I experts, attorneys and thought leaders about a variety of subjects.
BLACK HAIRSTYLES IN THE WORKPLACE RACE IN AMERICA - PERSPECTIVES FROM SOUTH ASIAN COMMUNITIES
WOMEN IN THE C-SUITE
PROMOTE, ADVANCE, GROW: THE ROLE OF WHITE MALE ALLIES IN CORPORATE AMERICA
WOMEN IN THE WORKPLACE: HOW COVID-19 CHANGED E V E RY T H I N G
MICROASSAULTS, I N V I S I B L E MICROAGGRESSIONS, MICROINSULTS, AND MICROINVALIDATIONS DISABILITIES IN THE WORKPLACE REST, RESET, NAVIGATING THE “NEW NORMAL”: HOW TO FOSTER INCLUSION IN AN INCONSISTENT WORK ENVIRONMENT
UNDERSTANDING AND CELEBRATING “LATINX”
REJUVENATE, AND REFLECT
FOSTERING AND IMPROVING DIVERSITY IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION
TRAINING FUTURE LEGAL LEADERS We are committed to not only helping cultivate and train the future leaders in the legal industry, but ensuring those future leaders come from diverse backgrounds. To ensure every student who is interested in a legal career has the ability to see their dreams come true, we partner with a number of organizations and educational entities to finance a variety of scholarships and internship opportunities.
GARDEN STATE BAR ASSOCIATION
Buchanan participates in the Garden State Bar Association (GSBA) Scholarship Fund which was created to help AfricanAmerican law students attending schools in New Jersey. The GSBA was created to support African-American and other attorneys of color to gain and maintain permanence in the legal profession in the State of New Jersey.
DREXEL UNIVERSITY, THOMAS KLINE SCHOOL OF LAW
In partnership with Drexel University’s Thomas Kline School of Law and Spelman College, Buchanan will be awarding a scholarship to an aspiring black female attorney as part of the newly-established 3+3 Program. Under this program, students can earn their undergraduate degree and J.D. in six years.
OUR LADY OF LOURDES ACADEMY
Buchanan is hosting an externship program with students from Our Lady of Lourdes Academy in Miami, Florida, an all-girls school with a 95.8% Hispanic student body and a 100% college acceptance rate. During the externship, students will visit our Miami office and learn about careers in the law from our Miami colleagues.
NAZARETH PREP
For the fifth year in a row, Buchanan is participating in Nazareth Prep’s unique internship program which pairs students with Pittsburgh employers to work on-site one day each week for the entire school year. This work experience reinforces the future-ready skills introduced in the classroom, including communication, complex thinking, and decision making. In addition, Buchanan has donated $50,000 to Nazareth Prep to help the school fulfill its mission of college and career preparedness for its students.
DON H. LIU SCHOLARS PROGRAM, INC.
Buchanan is a participant in the newly-formed Law Firm Consortium Initiative as part of the Don H. Liu Scholars Program, Inc (DHL). The program, which was founded in 2014 by two past presidents of the Asian American Bar Association of New York, Jean Lee and Mike Huang, seeks to identify, cultivate and inspire future Asian American leaders within the legal profession. As part of our commitment to the program and increasing diversity in the legal profession, Buchanan will consider summer associates from the class of DHL 1L scholars in our Summer Associate program.
HELPING FIGHT SOCIAL INJUSTICE We strongly believe in ensuring our communities – where we work and live – are a better place for all. This year, we provided financial support to The Initiative for Advancing the Blue & Black Partnership which works to end violence in policing that disproportionately impacts Black and brown communities. The Initiative works with local leaders, communities and law enforcement leaders to create scalable solutions that create systemic change. The firm also supported The Bail Project which combats mass incarceration by disrupting the money bail system. The goal of The Bail Project is to reimagine a more just and equitable pretrial system, one that is truly grounded in the presumption of innocence for all, regardless of race, economic situation or accusation.
FORWARD TOGETHER Diversity & inclusion isn’t a one-off strategy or a static initiative as there is always more to be done. At Buchanan, our mission remains simple – ensure that we continue building a firm that is making an impact among our employees, clients, our industry peers and in our communities. We will build on the momentum of 2021 and continue to be intentional and transparent in all our efforts.
SOME OF OUR KEY 2022 D&I GOALS INCLUDE: • • • • •
Collaborate with our clients to drive meaningful initiatives. Infuse D&I into every facet of the firm. Increase representation of all underrepresented groups among attorneys and staff – across all levels. Effect change in our communities through volunteerism, donations and engagement. Facilitate necessary, uncomfortable and timely conversations focused on all dimensions of diversity through our various public platforms. • Continue to build and expand an environment in which everyone has a voice and a role in advancing diversity & inclusion.
“There is a business imperative, but more importantly, we also have a moral obligation to emphasize diversity & inclusion within our firm. For me, diversity is personal.” - Joseph Dougherty, Chairman and CEO, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
BIPC.com/diversity-inclusion