Rohan Weerasinghe
Senior Partner
Shearman & Sterling's New York office contains the largest concentration of the firm's lawyers and represents all of its 27 practice areas. More than 400 attorneys work out of this office, of whom 19 percent are minorities and 35 percent are women. More than 20 percent of the equity partners in the New York office are women and over five percent are minorities. And the firm is continuing to keep its ranks diverse: Over 20 percent of the new hires in New York are minorities and over 40 percent are women. At Shearman & Sterling, diversity is not considered an obligation but the very best way to chart new directions and meet the challenges of the future. Rohan Weerasinghe, the first person of color to serve as senior partner of a top New York law firm, helps to set the bar. "Diversity at Shearman & Sterling is integral to who we are and how we do business. Our commitment to opportunity and inclusiveness extends to all levels of the firm. We value differences; they are the source of ingenuity and distinction, and we strive to bring this principle to life through multiple diversity and multicultural initiatives."
Shearman & Sterling's active Diversity Committee is led by Anna Brown, the firm's full-time diversity management attorney, who serves as the Committee's executive director. "The firm's diversity initiative starts with strong leadership from the top and a commitment to promoting diversity within the firm and the greater legal community." The Committee meets monthly to design and implement initiatives that promote inclusiveness in the firm and the broader legal community. For example, the Diversity Committee works closely with the firm's hiring partners and recruiting department to attract diverse candidates from over 30 law schools. Additionally, attorneys bill time spent promoting diversity to a special account, and each partner's contribution to the firm's diversity goals and initiatives is an element of that partner's compensation review.
The Committee has worked with senior management to launch the firm's affinity groups, designed to encourage mentoring relationships and opportunities for networking. For example, the newly formed women's affinity group has joined with the Diversity Committee to support such programs as the recent panel discussion on "Women of Color: Being Valued and Creating Value." Equally as important, the affinity groups help the firm identify recruitment and retention opportunities and serve as a liaison with like affinity groups at corporations and law schools.
Educational programs are an important tool that the firm uses to promote a clearer understanding of inclusiveness. To promote advancement and retention of associates, the firm has instituted a number of initiatives, including sabbaticals, upward review of partners and senior associates, flexible work options and domestic partner benefits. Taking advantage of these programs is not an obstacle to advancement: Three female attorneys have been elected to partnership while maintaining a part-time schedule.
MultiCultural Law ranked Shearman & Sterling number one in the 2005 "Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity" and number 3 on its list 2005 of "Top 25 Law Firms for Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders." The Minority Law Journal ranked it among the top 15 firms overall in its 2005 Diversity Scorecard.
At press time, the N.Y. dinners had not been held. Group photos of the award winners for the northeast region will appear in the Jan./Feb. 2007 issue of Diversity & the Bar®.
From the November/December 2006 issue of Diversity & The Bar®