Holland & Knight - Diversity & Inclusion: Inclusion in Action - 2nd Quarter 2020 by Holland & Knight

INCLUSION IN ACTION

Holland & Knight's Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Newsletter Second Quarter 2020

www.hklaw.com

Welcome to Inclusion in Action. In this quarterly publication, we highlight some of the actionable steps Holland & Knight continues to take to address racism, bigotry, injustice and sexism. This publication also provides details about the firm's ongoing efforts to build a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization.

Standing Together Against Racism More Than 125 Firms Join Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, American Lawyer, June 2020 Holland & Knight is proud to be a charter member of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance (LFAA), a coalition of law firms working to address and dismantle racism in the legal industry and in society. The LFAA seeks to leverage the resources of the private bar in partnership with legal services organizations to amplify the voices of communities and individuals oppressed by racism. The overall goal is better use of the law as a vehicle for change that benefits communities of color and promotes racial equity in the law. Member firms acknowledge their ongoing responsibility to increase diversity and access to opportunities and inclusion of people of color within their ranks. The LFAA plans to coordinate its efforts via a network of social justice and racial equality organizations.

Town Hall Meeting: Police Violence in America, June 2020 In early June, Holland & Knight held a firmwide town hall meeting via Zoom focused on "Police Violence in America" that was attended by more than 1,300 employees. Diversity Partner Tiffani Lee facilitated the conversation regarding the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery; the resulting protests and the broader implications for racial justice in America. The town hall served as a platform for attorneys and staff to come together in a safe space and discuss topics of police brutality, racism and antiracism. To kick off the discussion, Managing Partner Steven Sonberg shared some personal reflections. He acknowledged that he and many others feel a considerable amount of discouragement and disillusionment about the state of race relations in the country, but urged everyone to let that discouragement motivate action. After the firmwide meeting, various office-level and department-level town hall events took place to encourage continued education around issues of race and racism.

Radical Candor Podcast, Tiffani Lee, June 2020 Diversity Partner Tiffani Lee was a guest on an episode of "Radical Candor," a podcast series that features experts and guests to help listeners learn, reflect and put insights into action. Host Kim Scott invited Tiffani to join her on the podcast after reading a Law360 commentary that Tiffani authored, "Lawyers Must Address Racial Injustice With Radical Candor." In the podcast, Tiffani discussed why it's important to have difficult conversations in the workplace, as well as the importance of metrics and storytelling in creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment. "We're in this moment, that I hope becomes a movement, where we're being told, 'No, you must talk about race – and not in a superficial, around-the-edges way, but in a very deep, emotional way that may cause you, and likely will cause you – and, in fact, should cause you – tremendous discomfort,'" Tiffani said.

"How to Be an Ally" Guidance, Holland & Knight, June 2020 During this time of racial injustice and social unrest, many employees at the firm frequently asked, "What can we do?" As one response, our Black Affinity Group helped prepare the "How to Be an Ally" guidance document to share with our employees and clients. The document outlines the roles individuals can play and the actions they can take to be allies to persons from traditionally underrepresented groups.

Holland & Knight Observes Juneteenth as a Firmwide Holiday, June 2020

Holland & Knight was proud to join many of its peer firms in recognizing Juneteenth as a firmwide holiday. Juneteenth, which falls on June 19 and is also known as Freedom Day or Jubilee Day, is the oldest national celebration of the end of slavery in the United States. It commemorates June 19, 1865, when Union Gen. Gordon Granger read federal orders in Galveston, Texas, that all previously enslaved people in Texas were free. To honor the day, Managing Partner Steven Sonberg encouraged attorneys and staff to reflect on racial justice issues facing the country and the solutions on which we can work, both individually and collectively. The firm's core diversity and inclusion team also distributed a curated list of suggested reading material and other resources to guide the firm's personnel during the day of reflection.

"Lawyers Must Address Racial Injustice With Radical Candor," Tiffani Lee, Law360, June 2020 In a Law360 commentary, Diversity Partner Tiffani Lee wrote that lawyers and law firms must address racial injustice. She asserted that now is the time for radical candor and bitter truth. The killings of George Floyd by the Minneapolis Police and Breonna Taylor by the Louisville Metro Police indicate that America still has not dealt with its issues of race and racism. These police killings of Black people make clear, she wrote, that the "vestiges of racism in America" are not vestiges at all; rather, racism is a pervasive, present-day reality. The commentary concluded with five recommendations that lawyers and law firms can follow to address racial injustice and systemic racism.

Spotlight on Pro Bono: Public Policy & Regulation (PP&R) Group Advises Lawyers' Committee on Proposed Police Reform Legislation, June 2020 Holland & Knight continues to increase its pro bono efforts in the fight against racism and police misconduct. Through the firm's Public and Charitable Service Department, hundreds of our attorneys have volunteered to work on pro bono matters. As one example, Holland & Knight's PP&R Group took on a pro bono project to provide strategic advice to the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law regarding police reform legislation pending in Congress. Our policy professionals met with senior leadership of the Lawyers' Committee to discuss the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2020, a civil rights and police reform bill that aims to combat police misconduct, excessive force and racial bias in policing.

They also discussed the Andrew Kearse Accountability for Denial of Medical Care Act, which would hold federal law enforcement officials criminally liable when they fail to obtain or provide medical care to individuals in their custody who are experiencing medical distress; and the Enhancing Oversight to End Discrimination in Policing Act, which seeks to override a 2018 memorandum by former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions that provided direction on the principles that should be followed when resolving a civil lawsuit against a state or local governmental entity. Approximately 24 hours later, the team provided detailed analyses on questions posed by the Lawyers' Committee, including queries related to body cameras, qualified immunity and potential attempts by Congress to override the Sessions memo, which placed limits on the U.S. Department of Justice's ability to enter into consent decrees to reform police departments.

EVENTS AND SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS A Conversation with Paul Martin of Sony Pictures, April 2020 Holland & Knight hosted Sony Pictures Entertainment Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer Paul Martin for a conversation focused on diversity and creating an inclusive environment in the workplace. Holland & Knight Associate Michelle Lee moderated the conversation with Mr. Martin, which included details of his career and the entertainment industry.

Diversity Committee Hosts YW Boston's Stand Against Racism Lunch Discussion, April 2020 Holland & Knight's Boston office Diversity Committee, chaired by Partners Dianne Phillips and Ilenna Stein, hosted the annual YW Boston Stand Against Racism lunch discussion for attorneys and staff.

The April 23 virtual program included a group discussion that focused on Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum's TEDxStanford talk, "Is My Skin Brown Because I Drank Chocolate Milk?," one of YW Boston's curated topics. The talk centered on the difficulty that many adults have in talking about racism. Dr. Tatum suggests that ageappropriate conversations with young children are one way parents and teachers can begin to interrupt the cycle of racism.

Anti-Asian Discrimination Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic, May 2020 The firm's Asian/Pacific Islander Affinity Group hosted a panel discussion on "Anti-Asian Discrimination Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic." The panel, moderated by Senior Counsel Toni Nguyen, included Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Rupa Goswami, Whole Foods Real Estate Counsel James Han, Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession's CEO Sandra Yamate, and Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council Executive Director Manjusha Kulkarni. The panel addressed the rise in anti-Asian sentiment and best practices for serving as allies to Asian Americans.

Legal Momentum Presents CLE on Women's Rights Before, During and After the COVID-19 Crisis, May 2020

On May 26, the Women's Initiative coordinated with Legal Momentum on the continuing legal education (CLE) program, "Women's Rights Before, During and After the COVID-19 Crisis." Legal Momentum, the nation's oldest legal defense and education fund for women, has worked for 50 years on gender equity issues by creating innovative public policies and bringing strategic legal challenges. New York Executive Partner Amy Leder, who serves on Legal Momentum's board of directors, introduced the panel, which was moderated by Legal Momentum's Senior Vice President Lynn Hecht Schafran. The panelists were Senior Attorney for Economic Empowerment Seher Khawaja and Staff Attorney Ting Chen. The panel discussed the unique and disproportionate impact of the pandemic on women, including women of color. They highlighted the negative economic effect the pandemic has had on female workers, as they are disproportionately represented in frontline essential jobs and are more exposed to health risks at jobs with inadequate pay. Women also are generally more likely to bear more of the household and caregiving responsibilities, causing additional strain on their time and work obligations.

Asian American Representation in the Legal Profession, May 2020 In commemoration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (May), the firm hosted Professor Ajay Mehrotra and Research Social Scientist Shih-Chun Chien for a webinar where they presented Portrait Project 2.0. The goal of the project is to understand the factors, from self-selection to discriminatory bias, that dictate the careers of Asian American lawyers and why Asian Americans are not reaching the upper echelons of the legal profession. Professor Mehrotra is the director of the American Bar Foundation, a professor at Northwestern University School of Law and co-author of the Portrait Project 2.0.

Trans Awareness in the Workplace, June 2020 More than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies now explicitly embrace gender identity nondiscrimination policies (up from 3 percent in 2002). Therefore, we are more likely now than ever before to encounter transgender people and their colleagues among our clients, opposing parties and other organizations. Holland & Knight Senior Counsel Jamie Rodriguez provided a firmwide presentation about interacting with transgender individuals, how we can be allies to the transgender community and the unique issues transgender people face in the workplace. In June 2019, Jamie was the first openly trans employee to transition at Holland & Knight. By learning her story and listening to her guidance, we are able to continue to create an inclusive workplace, where transgender people feel supported, empowered and safe to bring their authentic selves to work.

LGBT Affinity Group Caps Pride 2020 with Virtual Pride Parade, June 2020 During the COVID-19 pandemic, many events and social gatherings were canceled or postponed to slow the spread of the virus. This did not stop the firmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s LGBT Affinity Group. In celebration of Pride 2020, members presented a virtual pride parade. The video is a collection of images from past events and stories from members of the LGBT Affinity Group that depict advocacy, representation and inclusion.

Holland & Knight Partners with HUB International to Discuss Pride, June 2020 On June 30, Partner Dianne Phillips, co-chair of the firm's LGBT Affinity Group, presented "Virtual Pride 2020" to firm client HUB International via a one-hour webinar during which more than 180 HUB employees from across the continental U.S. and Canada joined a discussion with HUB New England President Mim Minichiello and Dianne. Dianne shared her personal pride journey and answered questions from the audience, of which more than 100 attendees said they had never before attended a Pride event.

AWARDS AND ACCOLADES LGBT Corporate Ally Award, April 2020 Holland & Knight received the LGBT Corporate Ally Award from the Boston Business Journal as part of the publication's annual Business of Pride program. The award recognizes Massachusetts companies that have demonstrated commitment and innovation to promote greater awareness of and solidarity with the LGBT community. In choosing Holland & Knight, the publication noted that the firm's Boston office has been a supporter of local LGBT initiatives for more than 15 years, including serving as a longtime sponsor of the annual Spirit of Justice Award dinner hosted by GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD), New England's leading LGBTQ civil rights legal organization. "We are proud of our investment in programs that benefit the LGBT community both in Boston and nationwide," said Partner Dianne Phillips, co-chair of the firm's Boston Diversity Committee and the firmwide LGBT Affinity Group. "We have a strong commitment as a firm and as individuals to diversity and inclusion that we try to demonstrate every day." Added Partner Michael Manthei, who serves as the LGBT Affinity Group co-chair with Dianne: "Holland & Knight is a leader among law firms with regard to its LGBT-friendly policies and initiatives. We are honored to receive this award in recognition of those efforts."

Street Law's 2020 Excellence in Service Award, April 2020 In honor of Holland & Knight's longtime partnership with Street Law and its dedication to the Legal Diversity Pipeline Program, Street Law recognized the firm with the 2020 Excellence in Service Award. The award recognizes the volunteer efforts of companies, law firms and organizations that provide exceptional community service in the form of a Street Law program. Senior Counsel June Marshall, a member of Street Law's Leadership Circle, accepted the award on the firm's behalf via a video presentation on April 29. "My relationship with Street Law began many years ago when I worked at Street Law as an intern during law school and continued to volunteer over the years," said June. "It is truly an honor for the firm, and a special moment for me personally, that the firm will be recognized for its continued commitment and support to Street Law."

Partner Jennifer Hernandez Named Real Estate, Construction Law Trailblazer, April 2020 Holland & Knight Partner Jennifer Hernandez has been honored as a Real Estate and Construction Law Trailblazer for 2020 by The National Law Journal. Jennifer is among a select group of attorneys recognized by the publication as outstanding practitioners who are "truly agents of change" in their industry. She is profiled in a special supplement that was published in The National Law Journal's April issue. Jennifer, who leads the firm's West Coast Land Use and Environmental Group, has achieved national prominence for her work on housing and infrastructure development, climate, brownfields redevelopment, wetlands and endangered species, as well as the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Jennifer has been a leading researcher and advocate on the abuse of CEQA lawsuits to derail critical housing and other projects to achieve economic, racially exclusionary or other non-environmental objectives. She has worked extensively with the prominent civil rights group The Two Hundred and played a leadership role in bipartisan efforts to modernize CEQA to end litigation abuse and integrate the 50-year-old law with the more than 120 environmental and public health statutory programs enacted in California after 1970. She also has published several seminal articles presenting comprehensive data on CEQA abuse and dysfunction. "CEQA has been used to keep younger, browner and less wealthy people out of communities by asserting that new housing has adverse impacts on communities," Jennifer told The National Law Journal. "It's a shameful form of discriminatory redlining that continues in California. It's a civil rights issue and acute considering California's severe housing shortage." "You can sue to block a project under CEQA anonymously, which will stall a project for seven to 11 years," she added. "It's a perfectly honed extortion tool." The publication noted Jennifer's belief that California's aging environmental and civil rights laws need to be reconciled and each given equal respect with regard to housing. "California's status quo has resulted in a shortfall of 3.5 million homes, and the nation's highest poverty and homelessness rates. The most just, and least costly, pathway for helping solve California's housing crisis requires a respectful integration of environmental and civil rights law," she said.

Holland & Knight Earns High Marks on American Lawyer's Diversity Scorecard, May 2020 Overall ranking: 40 No. 1 for most Hispanic partners No. 7 for most Hispanic non-partners No. 8 (tie) for most "other racial or ethnic group" partners

No. 20 (tie) for most African American partners

Holland & Knight Named Among Leading Law Firms by Latin Lawyer, May 2020 Holland & Knight has been recognized as one of Latin America's leading law firms worldwide, with noteworthy practices in the U.S., Mexico and Colombia, in the latest edition of Latin Lawyer 250, the definitive guide to law firms serving Latin America. Overall, 36 Holland & Knight attorneys are listed. The 2020 guide notes the firm's effort to add "serious talent in New York, as well as establishing a growing footprint in key markets in Latin America and adding to its core offering in Miami." The guide cites the firm's growing roster of lawyers dedicated to Latin American work, which has doubled in the past nine years, as contributing to its "commendable breadth of practice." International. Holland & Knight's Latin America Practice, led by Partner Roberto Pupo, is noted internationally for its work in the areas of banking and finance, capital markets, corporate, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), arbitration, litigation, anti-corruption investigations and compliance, and tax. According to the guide, Holland & Knight is "raising its game considerably when it comes to finance transactions structured under New York law in Latin America, with growing visibility in both projects and capital markets work." The guide also notes the firm's recent investment in private wealth capabilities in Miami. Mexico. The guide notes that Holland & Knight's Mexico office, led by Partner Luis Rubio, is "one of the more stable offerings by a U.S. firm in Mexico" with "strong banking and finance and capital markets teams" at its core. The guide also mentions the firm's "well-staffed tax, disputes and corporate restructuring teams which are prepared for new opportunities." Additionally, the Mexico team received accolades for its work in banking and finance, capital markets, corporate and M&A, labor, telecommunications and media, trade, energy, environment, litigation, arbitration, and real estate and tourism. Colombia. According to the guide, Holland & Knight's Bogotá office, led by Partner Enrique Gómez-Pinzón, "offers top-tier disputes counsel in Colombia, which is complemented by a robust transactional offering as well as recognized excellence in energy, Intellectual Property (IP) and labor." The office, overall, is noted for its arbitration, litigation, corporate and M&A, banking and finance, energy, IP, tax and labor practices.

SPOTLIGHT ON RECENTLY HIRED DIVERSE ATTORNEYS*  Lindsey Camp is a litigation attorney in the West Palm Beach office. She defends companies, fiduciaries and executives throughout the United States in Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), employee stock ownership plan (ESOP), labor and employment, and business disputes.

 Megan Eckel is a labor and employment attorney in the Atlanta office. She represents employers in single-

plaintiff, collective action and class action litigation involving claims of discrimination and harassment; wrongful termination; retaliation; wage and hour laws (including classification and termination pay issues); and unfair labor practices.

 Katharine Griffiths is a private wealth services attorney in the Tampa office. She focuses on complex estate planning, trust administration and probate matters.

 Mary Gong is an asset finance attorney in Holland & Knight's London office. She focuses on a variety of aircraft financing transactions. Prior to joining Holland & Knight, she completed her legal training at an international law firm based in London.

 Jamie Hill is an Atlanta litigation attorney who focuses her practice on a variety of labor and employment issues. She represents employers in litigation involving claims of discrimination and retaliation. Her discrimination practice covers state and federal law in a wide range of industries. In addition, she has experience with wage-and-hour claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

 Anna Kozlowski is a corporate services attorney in the Boston office and a member of the firm's

Healthcare & Life Sciences Team. She advises clients on a variety of healthcare regulatory and corporate transactional matters.

 Jose Morales is a corporate attorney in the Tysons office. He concentrates his practice on mergers,

acquisitions, separations and private equity transactions. His broad corporate practice focuses on securities, corporate finance and governance matters.

 Laura Lopez Nickerson is a corporate services attorney in the Denver office. She focuses her practice on M&A, securities and corporate finance, and cross-border transactions.

 Courtney Worcester is a trial attorney in the Boston office. She focuses her practice on complex commercial litigation involving corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), venture capital and private equity firms, financial institutions, and their directors and officers

* Diverse attorneys are defined by race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability status.

If you have any questions, please contact Diversity Partner Tiffani Lee, Director of Diversity and Inclusion Yusuf Zakir, or Business Analytics and Diversity Manager Hamlet Bonilla.