Commitment

At Sheppard Mullin, we recognize the importance of diversity and the need to create a workplace of inclusion. We need, and our clients demand, a team of attorneys that is as diverse as the world in which we practice. Achieving and maintaining diversity is key to effective client service – a core value of our firm.

At Sheppard Mullin, we ‘walk the talk.’ Our firm was appointed in 2013 by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana as the federal monitor over the New Orleans Police Department responsible for reviewing, assessing and reporting publicly on the NOPD’s compliance with a far reaching Consent Decree involving civil rights and effective, constitutional, and professional law enforcement.

Strategic Council and Committee

Sheppard Mullin first established its diversity committee in the early 1990s to address a variety of critically important issues facing the legal profession. Since then, the firm-wide Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Committee – with top-down support – has guided and sponsored numerous initiatives and programs to help fulfill our mission in this area. The D&I Committee addresses key areas that include expanding diversity recruiting efforts, increasing the retention and promotion of women and diverse attorneys, and enhancing diversity and inclusion in firm management and leadership.

Several years ago the Firm Chair created the Diversity & Inclusion Strategic Council (DISC). Under his leadership, a smaller core group of D&I leaders within the Firm studies relevant data, develops related long-term strategic goals for D&I at Sheppard Mullin and identifies short-term, attainable objectives. The DISC is held accountable for meeting objectives and producing results.

DISC strategies have resulted in the appointment of a head of gender initiatives for the Firm, the development of specific programs that address the retention of women and diverse associates (such as a business development coaching program), increased lateral hiring of women and diverse partners, and multiple diversity recruiting partnerships between our affinity groups and internal recruiting committees.