Duane C. Quaini
Chairman
The 700 attorneys of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP span the globe, with nine offices in the United States and a presence throughout Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, and Canada. Its practice areas are as broad as its geographic representation, running the gamut from antitrust to e-commerce to life sciences.
(L to R): Douglas G. Bain, The Boeing Company; Duane C. Quaini, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP; and Veta Richardson, MCCA
Under the direction of Chairman Duane C. Quaini, partner–litigation and business regulation, the firm continues to build an impressive track record on diversity, both in actions and results. In the Chicago office, 17 percent of Sonnenschein's attorneys are minorities and 39 percent are women, statistics that mirror the firm's numbers nationwide. This summer, the firm welcomed its most diverse associate class ever—nearly half were women and half were minorities. Sonnenschein strives to ensure its inclusiveness efforts include all employees, not just attorneys, and it has amended its diversity mission statement to formalize this goal.
The firm's efforts consist of an array of issues, from pipeline to client development. It routinely attends job fairs devoted not only to minority lawyers, but also to gay and lesbian attorneys. Sonnenschein participates in many activities for minority law students, and the firm sponsors diversity training, regional diversity retreats, and affinity groups to address both demographic and life-balance issues. "Sonnenschein's diversity initiative is a journey, and we, like most other firms, have not reached our destination. But we have begun the journey, and we will persevere," says Quaini.
Sonnenschein enjoys a unique partnership with Chicago-based Pugh, Jones, Johnson & Quandt, P.C., a minority-owned law firm established in 1991. The alliance began when senior members of Sonnenschein's Chicago office approached the minority-owned firm to merge. Preferring to maintain its own identity, Pugh Jones declined the invitation, but responded with a proposal for an alliance. The two firms now collaborate on a variety of projects, including public finance, real estate, and franchising. Through this one-of-a-kind approach to diversity, both firms have enjoyed new client relationships and additional work opportunities, particularly for Sonnenschein's minority attorneys.
Sonnenschein's successes are the result of the efforts of a diverse team. The firm-wide diversity committee is chaired by an African American partner, and includes Chairman Quaini. The firm appointed an of counsel, Helise Harrington, to serve as the firm's full-time diversity manager, reporting directly to the committee and firm chair. In addition to monitoring the firm's performance on achieving goals set forth in the diversity plan, the diversity manager has a wide variety of responsibilities, including communicating clients' expectations regarding diversity throughout the firm and tracking diverse attorneys' work assignments to make sure high-profile work is distributed equitably.
Sonnenschein was ranked tenth for overall diversity and sixth for associates by Multicultural Law Magazine.
From the November/December 2005 issue of Diversity & The Bar®