Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Diversity matters. We know this intuitively, and it has become increasingly apparent through research studies globally. Working with people who are different challenges our brain to overcome its entrenched way of thinking. Diverse teams focus more on facts, which leads to more accurate group thinking, and the debate and unfamiliarity that comes with diversity provides an important catalyst for innovation and creative thinking. Many of our clients realize this, and it is important for us to reflect our client orientation and that of our community. 

While the case for greater diversity is compelling – inclusive decision-making improves business performance – in the end the true benefits of a diverse workforce can be felt only when there is a genuine sense of organizational inclusion. From our inception, we have been an entrepreneurial-minded firm, so for us, different people with different points of view give our clients more diverse teams, more innovative ideas and ultimately, better decisions. Our goal as a firm has always been twofold – to provide the most sound and sophisticated legal counsel to our clients, and to be a firm that attracts, retains and promotes exceptional people. Diversity is critical to achieving both goals.

Because we value and celebrate diversity, you will never be asked to check your personality at the door. We each have our own unique characteristics, perspectives, passions and experiences. To help leverage these differences we create opportunities that allow for open dialogue around important issues to help us learn from each other. We recognize that the drive to diversify is an ongoing effort, and we are committed to promoting a truly diverse environment by providing ongoing training and education to reduce personal biases, by improving organizational processes to eliminate biases in decision making and by addressing potential mindset barriers through change management efforts.

International Women's Day 2023

 

Thought-Provoking Events

• In honor of Juneteenth, we hosted distinguished speaker and professor Dr. Mary Frances Berry for the webinar "Juneteenth: History, Commemoration, and Lessons for Today" where she discussed laws related to the enslavement and emancipation of people in America and how Juneteenth has been commemorated over the years.
• In June 2022, our Women’s Network team partnered with non-profits Girls on the Run, StepUp and Ms. JD for Lifting as you Climb: Empowering for Success, a luncheon dedicated to connecting and discussing advocacy and female empowerment inside and outside the workplace.
• In 2022, we partnered with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center for a virtual tour of the "Rise Up: Stonewall and the LGBTQ Rights Movement" exhibit.  Our guide, Arielle Weininger, explored critical moments in gay rights history, and showcased powerful artifacts and historic print publications from celebrations of LGBTQ+ pride in Chicagoland.
• NGE recognizes that inclusion is a skillset and not an attitude, so our firm regularly offers skills-based programming designed to help attorneys and staff manage and communicate across differences. To that end, we invited acclaimed speaker Michelle Silverthorn for a presentation on “Inclusive Leadership.” Michelle used scenario-based discussions to help our attorneys and staff understand identity differences, engage in empathy- and equity-centered conversations at work, foster culturally responsive teams, and handle the daily conversations and interactions that underlie the experiences of colleagues.
• We partnered with Asian Americans Advancing Justice—Chicago and the Anti-Defamation League to host two workshops aimed at combating Asian-American harassment, anti-Semitism, and discrimination in all its forms.  Our invited speakers taught us how to safely and effectively intervene against harassment, and shared facts to help us counter negative stereotypes.
• In 2021, we partnered with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center for a virtual tour of the "Mandela: Struggle for Freedom."  Attendees learned about Nelson Mandela's life, his achievements of mobilizing people around the globe for human rights, and his worldwide crusade demanding racial equality.
• In celebration of Black History Month 2021, we screened a documentary focused on our theme: The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.  The documentary, "Against All Odds: The Fight for a Black Middle Class," explores the historical efforts of Black Americans to establish a middle-class standard of living, and the role of the Black family in the fight for upward mobility.  Following the screening, our staff and attorneys were invited to participate in small-group roundtable discussions to learn more about our theme of Black Families, and to share and listen to their colleagues' experiences.
• We partnered with the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center in 2021 for a virtual tour of the "Notorious RBG: The Life and Times of Ruth Bader Ginsburg" exhibit.  In honor of Justice Ginsburg's achievements, our trailblazing and award-winning women leaders also shared their thoughts on "What RBG meant to me."
• We hosted Kate Harrington-Rosen in 2020 for an interactive workshop on "Navigating Difficult Conversations About Race, Diversity and Inequity," to provide a framework for understanding bias, prejudice and oppression, and how those concepts play out in interpersonal and workplace settings.  Kate introduced strategies for interrupting harm and provided guidance about how to employ those strategies in real-world scenarios. 
• To celebrate Black History Month in 2020, we screened "A More Perfect Union (1968-2013)," the sixth episode of the PBS miniseries "The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, with Henry Louis Gates, Jr."  The episode discussed African Americans' continued struggle for social and economic equality after the civil rights movement, and included a look back at the historic election of President Obama.  The series, which premiered in 2013, chronicles African American history from the origins of slavery on the African continent through the early 2000s.
• We partnered with the Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law in 2020 to host a book discussion on "It's Not You, It's the Workplace: Women's Conflict at Work and the Bias That Built It."  Authors Andie Kramer and Alton Harris led the discussion on how to avoid workplace conflict and build strong, positive women-to-women relationships that foster career success.

Honoring Pride Month

During Pride Month we celebrate sexual diversity and the achievements and contributions of LGBTQ Americans who have courageously fought for change.  In 2020, we were extremely proud to celebrate the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Bostock v. Clayton Co. confirming workplace anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ people across the country.  We remain strongly committed to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer equality, and to fostering an inclusive environment where we see each other as individuals instead of simply representatives of groups.

Taking Charge and Making Change

Far too often, law firms tout their diversity initiatives, but the work is relegated to a handful of people who are part of their diversity committee. To truly move the needle forward, however, the commitment to a more diverse and inclusive environment has to come from the top. 

With the goal of true and sustained progress, where every individual has the same opportunities to advance and succeed as others, we continue to develop best practices and policies to foster individual growth, development and the diversity of our firm, including:

• Implementing a core competency system for associate development to mitigate unconscious bias and ensure equal opportunity for associates in assignments and business development opportunities
• Adopting the Mansfield Rule to ensure a succession plan for each leadership position that includes women and minorities
• While we were pioneers in allowing attorneys to balance commitments to work, family, and personal life by maintaining flexible and reduced work schedules, we have focused on creating an environment where all attorneys believe they can utilize the flexible hours and parental leave policies without any negative impact
• Including powerful white men on the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee
• Encouraging attorneys and staff to support professional, civic and community organizations that advance the interests of minorities and women in the legal community and the community at large
• Providing billable credit for work on pro bono matters, including many that involve and affect minorities and women
• Providing the opportunity for minority attorneys to participate in the Chicago Committee's Mentorship Academy that utilizes a curriculum-based approach to provide structure and content to mentoring relationships
• Supporting and working with organizations such as the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, In Legal Color and other similar organizations to increase opportunities and diversity within the legal profession
• Participating in minority recruitment programs such as the Cook County Bar Association Minority Law Student Job Fair
• Providing scholarship support to minority students

Diversity & Inclusion Committee

Since its creation in 2002, our Diversity & Inclusion Committee has worked to expand and enhance the firm's diversity initiatives and to build upon the philosophy of inclusion long existing in the firm work environment. The Diversity & Inclusion Committee also launched two significant subgroups within the firm. The Women's Network and the Minority Initiative are designed to support and enhance opportunities available to women and minorities, respectively, and to provide forums for them to network and develop, personally and professionally, both inside and outside of the firm.