Keith Wetmore
Partner
Morrison & Foerster LLP (MoFo) has a strong commitment to excellence and to the advancement of lawyers of color and women in the legal profession, as evidenced by the firm’s demographics. In the western region, lawyers of color make up 7 percent of firm partners, 17 percent of associates, and 29 percent of summer associates. Women in this region account for 14 percent of the firm’s partners, 28 percent of associates, and 44 percent of summer associates. Additionally, many of the firm’s diverse attorneys have held, or currently hold, important management positions within the firm, such as those on the executive committee, board of directors, department and practice group leaders, and various committees.
MoFo has a number of activities that help it build and maintain a diverse workforce. For example, as part of its efforts to attract lawyers of color, the firm regularly participates in career fairs sponsored by minority student organizations at law schools around the country. In addition, it hosts receptions for students of color from the nation’s top law schools so they can learn more about the firm’s unique environment and meet with its attorneys.
With respect to retention, the firm believes that the best way to sustain lawyers of color is to create a dynamic and open environment that keeps its commitment to diversity in clear view. The firm encourages the celebration of ethnicity and culture through programming coordinated by the subcommittees of its Diversity Committee. MoFo has had an active, firm-wide diversity program for over 10 years. Lawyers and staff in all U.S. offices participate in diversity awareness training sessions, educational programs, and in the implementation of recommendations made at those sessions.
In each of the firm’s U.S. offices, subcommittees sponsor and participate in programs that build awareness of different ethnic and cultural traditions, social and economic situations, and personal backgrounds. For example, the firm has sponsored or participated in celebrations of African Heritage Month, Chinese New Year, Australia Day, AIDS walks, and many others.
The firm’s commitment to diversity has not gone unnoticed in the legal community. This year, the American Lawyer Media’s Minority Law Journal ranked the firm fifth in the nation in diversity. The Vault Report ranked MoFo as the most diverse law firm in the nation.
From the November/December 2003 issue of Diversity & The Bar®