Diversity & Inclusion

Our commitment to diversity and inclusion is reflected as a core value and embedded throughout the life and policies of our firm. We promote an environment where all perspectives are welcome and valued, and where each individual is provided with opportunities to develop and advance. A firm-wide advisory committee led by Chief Diversity Officer Maria Lewis and a full-time, professional diversity staff guide and implement our diversity and inclusion initiatives designed to:

• Foster mutual professional and personal respect
• Create an environment in which all individuals are valued  
• Attract the best and brightest legal talent from all backgrounds
• Promote education and awareness on topics of diversity and inclusion
• Develop, retain and advance the careers of our diverse lawyers

Faegre Drinker’s 22 locations are connected through cross-office affinity groups that unite professionals across common dimensions of diversity to build relationships, increase visibility opportunities, attain formal and informal support networks and resources, and create business opportunities for the firm and one another while furthering the firm’s overall strategy.

Joining our firm is just the beginning of building a career at Faegre Drinker, and we recognize that we must provide a stable, supportive environment to encourage our diverse lawyers to develop their legal skills and explore their professional interests.

We are invested personally in the success and growth of our lawyers. The firm invests in mentoring and sponsors relationships for diverse lawyers, including peer integration, in which a mentor is assigned during each new associate's first year at the firm. We track the projects of our diverse associates to ensure that they are given opportunities to work on our most significant matters and with key clients. And we provide a mentor program that pairs  associates with senior lawyers.

We sponsor, organize and participate in a variety of major events addressing issues important to diverse communities, both in the legal profession and in the wider business communities that we serve. Faegre Drinker is proud to partner with the following national organizations: Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, Diversity Lab, Hispanic National Bar Association, Lambda Legal, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, National Asian Pacific Bar Association, National Bar Association, National LGBT Bar Association, and South Asian Bar Association.  The firm also partners with dozens of regional diversity organizations.

Building the Pipeline: Faegre Drinker believes that diversifying the legal profession begins long before law school. We work with organizations (including Cristo Rey High School in Chicago and Philadelphia, Lilly Legal on Street Law and Just the Beginning Foundation) to connect students to lawyers and mentors in their communities.

We take a comprehensive approach to recruiting, retaining and advancing the careers of our diverse lawyers. Our efforts to recruit diverse lawyers — from recent law school graduates to experienced lawyers — spans the country and the world. And we know that if we want to move the needle, we can’t do it alone. We participate in innovative programs, like the Women in Law Hackathon, 1L Diversity programs, and other new efforts that identify untapped methods for increasing diversity in the legal profession. We also partner with clients, professional associations, and community organizations to deepen our reach and magnify our impact.

We hold ourselves accountable for progress on building a diverse workforce and rely on national benchmarking surveys, such as the Women in Law Empowerment Forum and Working Mother Best Law Firms for Women, the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, Vault/Minority Corporate Counsel Association Law Firm Diversity Survey and information requests from clients.

Faegre Drinker also is proud to be recognized by Diversity Lab as a Mansfield Certified Plus firm — one of the “trailblazing law firms” that demonstrated meaningful progress in creating diverse leadership teams and developing diverse pipelines to leadership. Modeled after the National Football League’s revolutionary Rooney Rule, the Mansfield Rule measures the diversity of consideration pools for leadership positions in law firms.  Faegre Drinker is one of only 50 firms nationwide to receive the “Plus” certification, not only for meeting the consideration pool requirements but also for successfully reaching at least 30% representation in a notable number of current leadership roles.

Diversity Lab identified 64 firms as “Mansfield 2.0 Certified,” for affirmatively considering at least 30% women, lawyers of color, and LGBTQ+ lawyers for leadership and governance roles, equity partner promotions, formal client pitch opportunities, and senior leadership positions.

Faegre Drinker continues to participate in Mansfield Rule 3.0, the next iteration of this initiative, which adds lawyers with disabilities as part of the diversity demographics measured.