Schiff Hardin has a proud and long tradition of supporting attorneys of diverse races, ethnicities, and national origins. Lawyers of color head up practice groups, manage offices, and serve on the firm’s governing committees. Twenty-five percent of the firm’s associates are diverse.
We also work hard to make our profession more diverse. In 1999, the firm created a permanent endowment at Loyola University Law School for annual scholarships that are awarded to top-performing diverse first-year law students. We also underwrite an annual fellowship for Hispanic law students through the Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois. Our writing coach held a workshop for 1L women lawyers of color through the Diverse Attorneys Pipeline Project. And we house the Just the Beginning Foundation in our Chicago office and support it in other ways as well. JTBF runs educational programs designed to encourage diverse young adults to pursue legal careers.
We also host events and our lawyers volunteer with Posse, a highly respected college admission and persistence organization that provides millions of dollars in scholarships and support to diverse high school students. Networking opportunities inside and outside the firm are numerous. Schiff Hardin lawyers actively participate in organizations that connect the firm and diverse lawyers and law students. For example, we support the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. (“BWLA”). The Firm has supported various BWLA events the past several years, including spring fundraiser luncheons, national summits, and roundtable discussions.
Our attorneys also play prominent roles in bar associations, and our firm sponsors numerous events. We support bar organizations in every city where we maintain an office, including the following:
Black Women Lawyers' Association
Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms
Cook County Bar Association
Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC)
Filipino American Lawyers Association of Chicago
Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys
Hispanic Lawyers Scholarship Fund of Illinois
Hispanic National Bar Association
South Asian Bar Association
Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession
Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
National Bar Association
National Employment Law Council
National Immigration Justice Center (NIJC)
North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA)
San Francisco Bar Association, Justice & Diversity Center