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Diversity Newsletter |
SUMMER 2010 Welcome to the Summer 2010 issue of the Mintz Levin Diversity Newsletter. In this issue we are pleased to bring you stories about recent social and service events, an announcement of a new diversity scholarship, news from the Diversity Committee, and a notice of events coming up in the fall. Please click on a headline below to read the associated article.
Herman Mintz Diversity Scholarship Faced with what we perceive to be an underrepresentation of attorneys of color in the profession generally and here at the firm specifically, the Diversity Committee, with the firm's support, has established the Herman Mintz Diversity Scholarship. Herman Mintz was one of Mintz Levin's original partners and is the father of Richard Mintz, our senior partner, who is in his sixty-second year at the firm. We felt it fitting to recognize the legacy of Herman Mintz, who helped establish Mintz Levin as a welcoming firm at a time when other Boston law firms refused to hire Jewish lawyers. The Scholarship will provide $10,000 to a law student of color. In addition, because we believe successful recruiting starts with a positive experience here at the firm, the Scholarship also provides the recipient with a paid summer position with the firm between his or her first and second year of law school that will expose the recipient to work from different practice areas, as well as pro bono work. The firm expects the recipient to continue employment during the second year of law school to further intensify the positive working experience, which hopefully would result in an offer to join the firm upon law school graduation. The Scholarship, which will be offered to students at a limited number of top law schools, will be awarded to a first-year law student of color who has demonstrated excellence in his or her education, is community-minded and demonstrates a commitment to diversity. First-year law school students will be able to apply for the scholarship after December 1, 2010. The scholarship recipient will be announced in the spring of 2011. Eddie Rodriguez will Chair the Herman Mintz Scholarship Committee, and will, along with Richard Mintz, Narges Kakalia, Katy von Mehren, John Delehanty, Reena Thadhani, Kathy Armstrong, Wendy Starr, Sue Finegan, Paula Valencia-Galbraith, and Yolanda Howze, select its recipient. Megan Clouden will coordinate the Scholarship Committee. The Diversity Committee thanks the Policy Committee for its enthusiastic support of this initiative.
Service Is a Treat for Kids, Staff, and Summer Associates On a very hot July day, summer associates Meredith Conrad and Todd Rosenbaum joined attorneys and staff to participate in an important annual New York office tradition: community service. Felicia Fleitman, recruiting coordinator for the New York office, planned an evening of fun at a local domestic violence shelter, where the Mintz Levin crew entertained the children in residence and then hosted a barbeque for the shelter's residents and staff. New York Asian Women's Center runs a shelter for victims of domestic violence and their children. The shelter itself straddles the Brooklyn-Queens border, and is surrounded by a large parking lot and a small garden and play area. In addition to housing, the Center provides multilingual culturally-sensitive counseling, group therapy, career counseling, public benefits awareness, English instruction and other services to victims of domestic violence. Upon arrival, the Mintz Levin crew was given a tour by the director of shelter operations. A few children aged two to ten followed the tour, giggling amongst themselves but too shy to acknowledge any of the friendly overtures made by the Mintz Levin visitors. After the tour, a couple of intrepid Mintz Levin chefs began grilling while others assembled in the parking lot with the residents to do what most lawyers do best - act like kids! A large bin of sidewalk chalk appeared, courtesy of Felicia, and the children's inhibitions instantly evaporated. Lawyers, soon-to-be-lawyers, never-want-to-be-lawyers, and giggling children all competed fiercely for bragging rights at hop scotch, tic tac toe, hangman and best chalk animal drawings. After more than an hour of such games, Mintz Levin litigator and resident magician, Sara Crasson, entertained children and adults alike with a quick magic show (really, how did she make those dots disappear??), and then everyone sat down to burgers, hot dogs, cool drinks and ice cream. Mintz Levin also presented a check to the shelter for funds raised during two jeans days at the firm, for which the shelter staff were very grateful. After dinner, the children and adults did several art projects together, and then it was time for one more round of hop scotch and giggles before Mintz Levin sadly wished the residents goodbye. Summer associate Meredith Conrad said that the shelter visit was one of her favorite events of the summer. Both she and fellow summer associate Todd Rosenbaum really enjoyed drawing with the kids and playing games with them. According to Todd, the shelter visit was especially gratifying because it allowed him to see, first hand, "a slice of the positive impact Mintz's work has in the community." He summed up how everyone else felt about the event by saying, "visits like this are important reminders that we can help so many people just by giving a little time." Meredith agreed that the evening was "incredibly rewarding." The next day NYAWC sent Mintz Levin a message to say "All of the residents really enjoyed themselves so much. I'm pretty sure this will be memorable day for them."
Mintz Levin Staying Classy in San Diego at the Women of Color In Law Luncheon Mintz Levin proudly continued its support of Women of Color In Law with its sponsorship of the Spring 2010 Women of Color In Law Luncheon - "Stay Classy, San Diego: Breaking Down Barriers Between Barristers". Mintz Levin Attorneys and staff joined approximately 130 lawyers and law students from San Diego for networking, lunch, and an enjoyable, interactive presentation. The Spring 2010 Luncheon continued the luncheon tradition started in 2002 by Judge Vallera Johnson, a San Diego administrative law judge. Judge Johnson started hosting luncheons to provide law students and young lawyers with the opportunity to learn about the issues that face women and minority lawyers and to network with judges and lawyers in the San Diego legal community. The luncheons have grown from a handful of attendees to a semi-annual event with attendance as high as 200 attendees. Mintz Levin assisted Judge Johnson in formalizing these events by incorporating Women of Color In Law, Inc., as a public benefit corporation. The Spring 2010 Luncheon attendee list was a who's who of minority women lawyers in San Diego and was attended by lawyers from a number of the local bar associations and diversity groups. An integral part of the luncheon was to encourage law students and young lawyers to hone their networking skills with the broad spectrum of lawyers attending the luncheon. These included several local judges, lawyers from the San Diego U.S. Attorney's Office, lawyers from the Office of the California Attorney General, lawyers working with the state and federal courts in San Diego, lawyers from a number of law firms in San Diego and professors, lawyers, and administrators from each San Diego law school. Professor Junichi Semitsu of USD Law School led an interesting and witty discussion focused on understanding and overcoming obstacles currently faced by minority and women lawyers. The panelists were women lawyers with various backgrounds, including a retired Superior Court Judge, an attorney with the Ninth Circuit, a solo practitioner and a founding member of a small firm. Each attendee participated in the presentation by holding up color coded cards to answer questions posed by Professor Semitsu (See Edye Bauer in the picture [below] demonstrating the interactive system). With the instant feedback, Professor Semitsu and the panelists focused on the specific issues the attendees were most interested in and provided insight on some of the difficult issues facing the attendees. The interactive presentation was well received and dealt with a number of serious issues in a humorous way.
Women of Color In Law is now gearing up for its Fall 2010 Luncheon with Mintz Levin's enthusiastic support.
Mintz Levin Supports San Diego Lawyers Club 2010 Catalyst for Change Annual Dinner Mintz Levin attorneys and staff enthusiastically supported the mission of the Lawyers Club of San Diego at the recent 2010 Catalyst for Change Dinner on May 26. The Lawyers Club of San Diego seeks to advance the status of women in the law and in society. Lawyers Club is a specialty bar association, comprised of female and male attorneys, judges, law students and others in the San Diego community who share our interests and goals. Gala dinner attendees enjoyed an evening of celebration, remembrance and inspiration - honoring award winners, paying tribute to the late Midge Costanza, and looking to the future with Roberta Liebenberg, chair of the American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession. During her keynote address, Liebenberg, a senior partner at Fine, Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia, provided some sobering statistics about the low numbers of women in leadership positions in the law, but expressed hope for improvement. "There are cracks in the glass ceiling, but it does still loom over us," Liebenberg said. "The percentage of women equity partners has remained stuck at 16 percent. At the current rates, women will not attain parity until 2086. … We have substantial leaks in the pipeline, but I remain optimistic that full and equal participation of women in the legal profession can be achieved." Liebenberg said equality will come when women are represented in large numbers in the ranks of law firm managing partners, equity partners, judges, corporate counsel, and law school deans. "We must and should refer business to one another so we all can become rainmakers," she said. San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis and former U.S. Representative Lynn Schenk provided a moving tribute to longtime Lawyers Club supporter and former White House presidential adviser Midge Costanza, who passed away March 23. "Throughout her life, she was passionate," said Dumanis, for whom Costanza most recently served as public affairs officer. "She opened up the offices of government to those who otherwise didn't have access. She was truly a catalyst for change."
Our Growing Diversity Committee We are very excited about the continuing growth and stature of the Diversity Committee within the firm. We have expanded our committee membership to include new members and associates who have displayed a passion for addressing diversity issues at the firm and in our profession and who we believe will bring that passion to the committee's work. In addition to our existing members, Linda Bentley, Tania Cleary, Paula Valencia-Galbraith, Helen Guyton, Yolanda Howze, Narges Kakalia, Chip Phinney, Sa Surmeli, and Tyrone Thomas have joined our committee. With our newly expanded membership, we have more formally organized certain of our initiatives. Our newly reconstituted Women's Initiatives Subcommittee includes Tania Cleary, Sue Finegan, Michele Floyd, Michelle Leinbach, Susan Weller, Narges Kakalia, Helen Guyton, and Linda Bentley. Our newly reconstituted MIATTY liaisons are Tyrone Thomas, Paula Valencia-Galbraith, Adam Sisitsky, Yolanda Howze, Maryann Civitello, and Chip Phinney. We look forward to the energy our newly expanded committee will bring to diversity issues in the coming year. Please keep in mind that committee membership is not a condition to participation in the firm's diversity efforts - I invite each of you to share any ideas, suggestions, or concerns with me or any committee member. We welcome your participation in our efforts.
Diversity Committee Guidelines for Funding Requests While the firm generously supports the Diversity Committee budget, our budget is a fixed amount from which we must satisfy numerous initiatives and programs in conjunction with our Committee mission. As a result, the Diversity Committee has prepared the following guidelines to assist our attorneys and senior professionals who seek financial support from the Diversity Committee for sponsorships, programs, and events. To make a successful funding request, the following information should be submitted to Jen Rubin:
Note that Diversity Committee financial support will not be provided for political organizations or candidates, even if those organizations or candidates are from diverse backgrounds. Once a funding request is approved, the invoice can either be paid directly or reimbursed through firm expense account procedures by sending the approval response, receipts, and other paperwork directly to Judy Steinfield.
Boston Business Journal Diversity Event – Thursday, October 21, 2010 |
Diversity Committee Jennifer Rubin, Chair Rosemary Allen Kathy Armstrong Linda Bentley Maryann Civitello Tania Cleary John Delehanty Susan Finegan Michele Floyd Amy Fowler Paula Valencia-Galbraith Helen Guyton Yolanda Howze Narges Kakalia Heather Kelly Michelle Leinbach Chip Phinney Judy Prahl Eddie Rodriguez David Salisbury Adam Sisitsky Wendy Starr Sa Surmeli Tyrone Thomas Andy Urban Katy von Mehren Susan Weller Editors Megan Clouden, Editor |
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