Annual Diversity Report
Diversity of Talent. Unity of Purpose.

Mission

Bilzin Sumberg's culture is built upon the unique experience, skills, perspectives and values of each of our attorneys and staff. Our diverse backgrounds and individual differences are seen as assets that enhance the quality of life for each of us and strengthen what we can accomplish as a firm. We are committed to maintaining a diverse workforce and to increasing the awareness of and sensitivity to our cultural differences in order to create an inclusive environment.

Bilzin Sumberg is comprised of exceptionally talented attorneys from a wide array of backgrounds and cultures. We pride ourselves on our ability to handle complex, sophisticated legal work, while maintaining the intimacy afforded by a law firm of 100 attorneys. Associates work closely with partners, and attorneys from different practice groups routinely work together as a cohesive team in order to provide clients with comprehensive, effective and efficient legal counsel. This culture supports and drives a commitment to diversity and to fostering a well-balanced workforce by providing all of our lawyers with the resources and opportunities to realize their full potential regardless of race, religious beliefs, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

We fully appreciate that asserting an interest in diversity will not produce results. Strategic initiatives and steadfast commitment are essential to the recruitment, mentoring and retention of a diverse group of attorneys reflective of the community in which we practice law. For this reason, in 2005, Bilzin Sumberg embarked upon a structured Diversity Initiative that includes a Diversity Committee charged with spearheading our efforts.

Diversity Initiative

The Diversity Committee is at the forefront of our Diversity Initiative. Bilzin Sumberg's Diversity Committee is comprised of twelve attorneys and staff, including the managing partner, who are all dedicated to furthering the firm's diversity initiative. The committee is charged with the development and implementation of a broad strategy designed to promote and achieve diversity. The committee has an aggressive agenda that centers on three key areas: (1) the recruitment of exceptional attorneys and law students; (2) the development, mentoring and retention of attorneys; and (3) elevating the consciousness of diversity at the firm.

Recruiting

Based on the Diversity Committee's initial assessment and recommendations, Bilzin Sumberg has already undertaken several actions in our three key areas of development. In regard to recruiting, we have increased participation in and recruitment from job fairs for minority lawyers, such as the Southeastern Minority Job Fair held in Atlanta, and Lavender Law Fair.

Bilzin Sumberg has also expanded our recruiting efforts beyond actively seeking to employ students for our immediate needs. In this vein, we felt it was important to sponsor additional programs that provided opportunities and experiences to minority students that went beyond our firm. Through the University of Miami School of Law we sponsored a student in the Professional Opportunities Program (POP). Additionally we sponsored and provided our attorneys for orientation training with the Judicial Intern Opportunities Program (JIOP). Both programs are designed to expand public and private sector legal opportunities to minority students and are aligned with our goals to enhance the minority talent in our community.

Additionally, we consider it our obligation to foster relationships with and between minority students from our community. We have conducted outreach to minority student groups, including Black Law Students Association (BLSA), Latin American Law Student Association (LALSA) and Asian-Pacific American Law Student Association (APALSA) at over twenty law schools offering support of their programs. As a direct result of our outreach to these organizations, we are proud to have supported the Sixth Annual Conference of Mid-Atlantic Asian Pacific American Law Students, hosted by the University of Pennsylvania; the LALSA annual banquet dinner at New York University; and the University of Michigan APALSA's third annual Origin's Cultural show supporting a fellowship that provides financial support to two APALSA's members who undertake unpaid public interest work during their first-year summer.

On November 14, one of our partners participated in a panel discussion, coordinated by Judge Laurel Isicoff, at the University of Miami to discuss directly with the students the topics of legal careers and diversity.

The firm is extremely proud to have hosted, on December 27, 2006 in our office, a networking reception for minority law students from the Miami area who attend law schools throughout the country. We believe this reception, which we intend to be an annual event, was the first of its kind in South Florida. We had a minority business leader as a guest speaker and we are hopeful that it will allow us an opportunity to continue attract outstanding candidates to our firm.

In December, the National Black Law Student Association held its Southern Regional Convention in Miami. By sponsoring the Law Networking Reception for this convention, our attorneys were able to interact directly with members of the organization with the goal of establishing relationships and guidance to those students in attendance.

Development, Mentoring and Retention

While recruiting is a fundamental aspect of any diversity program, efforts to retain, train and mentor minority attorneys are essential for success. Bilzin Sumberg has developed a comprehensive training program for attorneys, as well as implemented a formal mentoring program to ensure that opportunities to grow, develop and be promoted are afforded to all attorneys.

We are committed to developing our attorneys through leadership roles within our firm and to further develop our attorneys through opportunities that exist both within our law firm and our community. Bilzin Sumberg believes that maintaining a diverse leadership is the key to fostering our well-balanced workforce; we are proud that 42% of our Practice Group Leaders are female or an ethnic minority. Additionally, the firm has supported the creation of a Women Lawyer's Group. This group's goal is to provide our female attorneys with specific gender based training and to encourage internal networking and promotion among the female attorneys.

In our community, the firm encourages and supports attorneys to maintain active and leadership roles in local bar associations, community organizations and pro bono activities, such as Cuban American Bar Association (CABA), Florida Association of Women Lawyers (FAWL), Lambda Law Society, Puerto-Rican Bar Association, Overtown Youth Center and 100 Black Men of America. Additionally, it is our honor to attend and sponsor various minority based events, including the 3rd Annual Minority Mentoring Picnic and the Gay & Lesbian Task Force Annual Dinner. It is our hope that attendance at these events will develop our attorneys as leaders and reinforce, to the community, our commitment to diversity.

Consciousness of Diversity

To elevate the consciousness of diversity at the firm, we have established policies designed to offer support to our minority attorneys, such as domestic partner benefits. We are also in the process of devising a diversity awareness program that will extend to both attorneys and staff and will increase awareness of and sensitivity to cultural differences in the firm and the community.

We believe that a comprehensive diversity initiative does not cease with elevating the consciousness of diversity solely within the organization. Our strong commitment to diversity must be reinforced to the community through sponsorship of events and membership in organizations that promote our ideals and values. This year, our support of Commercial Real Estate for Women's (CREW-Miami) Cocktails, Community and Connections Reception went directly to funding projects that empower women in Miami-Dade through education and mentoring programs, skills improvement to increase employability, increased access to healthcare and increased access to affordable and sustainable housing. Membership in the ABA Minority Counsel Program and our attendance at and support of the MCCA Annual Diversity Counsel as well as Women in Professional Service Firms: Retaining & Advancing a Diverse Team conference further promote our dedication to a diverse community and firm.

Goals

Our Diversity Program has been devised to be flexible and fluid and is designed to respond to change – both within our firm and in the community. In an effort to further enhance our program, we have retained a nationally recognized consultant to monitor and review our diversity efforts and initiatives. Through extensive interviews, focus groups and surveys, we hope to gain a better understanding of the firm's performance and attitudes on diversity, and we will use this information as a foundation on which to build, sustain and grow our Diversity Initiative.