Dinsmore partners Alicia Bond-Lewis and J.T. Wilson are featured in the latest CLEO D.A.I.S. Diversity and Inclusion Spotlight. The topic of diversity and inclusion in the legal field is gaining a larger audience with more people weighing in on its importance. Both Alicia and J.T. gave their thoughts as to why the time has come for diversity and inclusion to be fully embraced by the legal community.
Alicia Bond-Lewis: “It is important for diversity and inclusion to be embraced within the legal field because both provide for a rich variety of approaches and experiences. When such initiatives are successfully implemented, attorneys are more engaged and happy, which in turn leads to an increase in innovative and creative problem-solving.”
J.T. Wilson: “Creating an inclusive culture of diversity affords members of the legal community a unique opportunity for existential growth. Through the lens of diversity, we can analyze an action, issue, and/or object from various perspectives. Equipped with the periscopic view this process provides, diverse teams are better positioned to strategically create, identify, and implement creative solutions to assist clients in executing their initiatives and realizing their desired goals. Embracing diversity encourages the philosophy that we have more in common than we have in distinction, and that we can do more together than we can apart.”
Dinsmore is a proud partner of CLEO (Council on Legal Education Opportunity), which was founded 50 years ago to highlight diverse attorneys, promote inclusive initiatives, and to provide opportunities for minority and low-income students to attend law school.
In recent years, the firm has taken steps to reach the growing number of diverse students entering the legal field with initiatives that include our mock interview program with first-year law students, as well as our diversity scholarship program partnership with Procter & Gamble and Lockheed Martin. We have also seen steady growth with the number of summer associates who join the firm each year. Our work in the area is far from over, but the firm is making strides and being recognized for our forward progression. Dinsmore has been named a D&I Leader by Lawyers of Color, ranked as a top 20 law firm. Data collected in the Black Student’s Guide to Law Schools & Firms places Dinsmore 17th out of nearly 400 law firms nationwide.
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