DIVERSITY INITIATIVES
We are motivated in our diversity initiatives by the belief that it is appropriate for corporate citizens to lead and educate on diversity issues. By doing so, we hope to have a positive impact within our firm and on the future of the communities in which we do business.
In an effort to promote diversity within the firm, HSE established an annual Diversity Scholarship in 2005. The firm provides the scholarship recipient with a $5,000 scholarship to be applied to the student’s second year tuition, and also provides a summer associate position for the summer between the recipient’s first and second year of law school.
The firm also participates in the Monroe County Bar Association Minority Clerkship Program, a program designed to attract more diverse lawyers to the Monroe County legal community. As a supporter of this initiative, and in an effort to promote diversity within the firm, HSE was the first firm to volunteer to participate in the program. Since 2005, we have hired a minority student each year through the Monroe County Bar Association Minority Clerkship Program to participate in our summer program.
Because recruiting and hiring of personnel from under-represented groups is a priority, each year the firm participates in two Black Law Students Association recruiting fairs and actively recruits students from schools comprised of predominantly minority students.
The firm has an ongoing relationship with an outside consultant who has assisted us in implementing a cultural audit and using the audit information to design and implement a series of diversity education sessions. These mandatory, firm-wide diversity education sessions are intended to educate our legal and non-legal staff on the importance of supporting each member of our diverse workforce.
To assist with the mentoring and development of our women and minority attorneys, we have developed a comprehensive mentor program to assist all attorneys in their professional development. The program pairs each new associate with a formal partner mentor who provides advice, feedback and counsel with respect to both the practice of law, generally, and one’s progression and development within the firm.
AWARDS AND RECOGNITION
Some of our women attorneys are actively involved in the Greater Rochester Association for Women Attorneys, a chapter of the Women’s Bar of the State of New York. GRAWA promotes the advancement of women in society and in the legal profession, and each year awards the Family Friendly Award to a legal organization whose policies promote a family friendly work environment. HSE was awarded the 2005 Family Friendly Award by GRAWA and the MCBA.
We believe that our policies (including, for example, our parental leave policy, our part-time and flex-time policies, and our partnership track status for associates working less than full-time) play an important role in the retention of our women attorneys.
We believe that these policies, together with our collegial and collaborative work environment, resulted in the firm being named the number one firm to work for, for three consecutive years (2004, 2005 and 2006) in the national survey of mid-level associates by the field’s premier publication, The American Lawyer.
LEADERSHIP AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Our firm supports a number of organizations dedicated to the promotion of diversity within the community, and many of our attorneys play an active role in these organizations:
- Jeffrey J. Calabrese, one of the firm’s partners, serves on the Diversity Committee of the Monroe County Bar Association and played an active role in the recently established MCBA Minority Clerkship Program.
- The firm has adopted the John Marshall High School Academy of Law and Government program and provides financial and mentoring support to the students. John Marshall High School is an urban public high school in the City of Rochester school district. One of our partners, Erika Stanat, serves as a Board Member on the Marshall Law Academy Advisory Board.
- HSE is a proud member of the Greater Rochester Diversity Council, and we have dedicated members of our Diversity Committee who participate in GRDC. The firm has been a sponsor of the GRDC Diversity Conference since 2004.
- The firm supports the National Bar Association and recently sponsored the NBA’s annual meeting in Rochester, New York. Members of the firm’s Diversity Committee participate in NBA programs.
- We support the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and recently sponsored the organization’s annual dinner in Buffalo, New York.
- Shaleeya McFadden and Kimberly Fleming are members of the Rochester Black Bar Association.
HSE WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP POSITIONS
- Maureen Alston has been Managing Partner since 2004 and a member of the firm’s Management Committee since 1998.
- Mary Ross, a partner, heads the Health Care Group and is immediate past manager of our Business Unit.
- Margaret Catillaz, a partner, heads our Immigration Group.
- Leslie Senglaub, a part-time partner, heads our Environmental and Land Use Zoning Groups.
- Erika Stanat, a partner in the Trial Group, is our Hiring Partner.
- Carol Heckman, a partner in the Trial Group, served as a Magistrate Judge in the Western District of New York for eight years.
FAST FACTS
|
Total attorneys |
132 |
|
Women attorneys |
39 |
|
Minority attorneys |
6 |
|
|
|
|
Total partners |
64 |
|
Women partners |
8 |
|
Minority partners |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Total associates |
55 |
|
Women associates |
27 |
|
Minority associates |
5 |
|
|
| Total counsel |
13 |
| Women counsel |
4 |
| |
|