Fish & Richardson Announces Support of ABA Resolution 113 "Promoting Diversity in the Legal Profession"

Fish & Richardson announced today that it has signed on as a supporter of the American Bar Association (ABA) Resolution 113 "Promoting Diversity in the Legal Profession." The Resolution urges law firms and all other legal services providers to expand and create opportunities at all levels of responsibility for diverse attorneys.

"We are proud to join the ABA and many of our clients who are committed to bringing more diversity to the legal profession," said Ahmed Davis, national chair of Fish's Diversity Initiative and a principal in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. "We work in a business environment that is increasingly diverse, and strongly believe that developing a diverse group of attorneys at Fish is critical to providing first-rate legal representation to our clients."

One example of the firm's ongoing work to recruit, retain, and advance a diverse group of attorneys is the 1L Diversity Fellowship Program, which was launched in 2005 and provides annual fellowships to diverse first-year law students across the United States. Each Diversity Fellow receives mentoring throughout their law school education, a paid summer associate position in one of Fish's domestic offices, and up to a $10,000 academic scholarship. Over the past five years, 80% of the Diversity Fellows who received offers from Fish to join the firm as associates after graduation have returned to the firm.

"By investing in these talented individuals early in their legal careers, we can provide maximum opportunities for them to grow professionally and personally, and set them on a path for success," added Davis.

Since 2015, Fish has also participated in the OnRamp Fellowship program, which offers one-year, paid fellowships to women lawyers re-entering the legal profession. The program provides women lawyers an opportunity to update their skills and legal contacts, while replenishing the talent pipeline in law firms with diverse, high-performing lawyers who have the potential and the desire to advance into leadership roles.

More recently, Fish collaborated on an innovative way to help the next generation of attorneys - of both genders and all ethnicities - gain the valuable courtroom experiences that are vital to their career development and advancement. A website, www.nextgenlawyers.com, was created as a resource for all young lawyers. The site includes the growing list of standing judicial orders that demonstrate the commitment by judges throughout the U.S. to provide courtroom opportunities to the next generation of lawyers.

"By giving opportunities to junior lawyers, who are more diverse than our senior lawyers, we aim to increase diversity and inclusion in our profession as a whole," said Davis. "At the same time, junior lawyers are gaining valuable courtroom experience that makes them better lawyers, which ultimately benefits our clients."