James Sandman
Partner
In recognition of its extraordinary commitment to diversity, Arnold & Porter LLP-one of Washington's largest law firms-has received more honors from MCCA® than any other law firm in the United States. Every year since the award's inception in 1999, Arnold & Porter's Washington, DC, office has won the Sager Award; in 2003, the Award also went to the firm's New York office. In 2001, MCCA named the firm an Employer of Choice-the only law firm MCCA has ever so recognized.
Under the leadership of managing partner James Sandman, and DC partner Bill Cook, the Washington office has increased the number of minorities by 91 percent, and the number of women by 46 percent, since 2000. In each of the past five years, more than 20 percent of new associate hires have been minorities.
Sixteen percent of the office's attorneys are minorities; 34 percent are women. In the 2003 summer associate program, 48 percent of the associates were women and 28 percent were minorities. This year, 35 percent of the summer associates were minorities and 50 percent were women-an impressive increase over last year's numbers.
(L to R): Veta Richardson, MCCA; Bill Cook, Arnold & Porter; and Hinton Lucas, DuPont
In the past year, 29 percent of the associates promoted to full equity partnership in the Washington office were lawyers of color. A female partner heads the Brussels office, another has headed the London office, and a minority attorney serves as the administrative partner of the New York office.
Additionally, minorities; women; gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender attorneys (GLBT) serve on the firm's policy, compensation, and management committees, which are the principal governing bodies of the firm, as well as on the firm's hiring committee, new partners committee, associate evaluation committee, new associates committee, summer associates committee, and professional development committee.
This award is just one of the many ways in which Arnold & Porter has been nationally-and repeatedly-recognized for its leadership in law firm diversity. The firm is ranked number four nationwide for overall diversity in the 2005 Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms. It received the 2000 "Ally for Justice" Award from the Gay and Lesbian Attorneys Association of Washington (GAYLAW) for its efforts to implement the recommendations of the District of Columbia's Task Force on Sexual Orientation and the Legal Workplace. Arnold & Porter is the only law firm ever honored by GAYLAW.
Additionally, the firm has appeared five times on Working Mother magazine's list of "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers," most recently in 2004, when it was the only law firm on the list. It was included on Fortune magazine's list of the "100 Best Companies to Work For" in both 2003 and 2004-one of only three law firms on Fortune's 2004 list.
Arnold & Porter has consistently demonstrated that its commitment to diversity is ever-growing and evolving. It is for this reason that the firm's Washington office has, for the sixth time, earned its MCCA Sager Award.
From the November/December 2004 issue of Diversity & The Bar®