Perkins Coie Receives Inaugural “Champions For Disability Inclusion In The Legal Profession” Award From The American Bar Association
Firm Shares Award with Client Microsoft
SEATTLE, Wash. (April 10, 2014) - Perkins Coie has received, along with client Microsoft, the American Bar Association’s first-ever Champions for Disability Inclusion in the Legal Profession award.
The Champions award recognizes a law firm and in-house corporate counsel that have made measurable progress in the recruitment, hiring, retention and advancement to leadership positions of lawyers with disabilities. It was presented at the Commission on Disability Rights’ 4th National Conference on Employment and Education Law Impacting Persons with Disabilities at the Omni Los Angeles Hotel on April 9, 2014. Perkins Coie and Microsoft had previously signed the commission’s Disability Diversity in the Legal Profession: A Pledge for Change, which signifies an organization’s commitment to diversity.
In addition to the creation of a Lawyers with Disabilities Affinity Group in 2010, Perkins Coie’s efforts include participation in the IMPACT Career Fair for Law Students and Attorneys with Disabilities; raising awareness of the issue through firm and law school programs discussing disability diversity with clients, colleagues, outside lawyers, community leaders, professors, and law students; professional development of the firm’s lawyers with disabilities; and activities aimed at encouraging high school, college, and law students with disabilities to pursue a legal career.
Microsoft has demonstrated a commitment to disability diversity and inclusion through its establishment of a disability diversity team to drive inclusion of disability in its legal diversity efforts, creation of a disability toolkit to navigate disability and accommodation issues, and outreach to outside counsel on improving disability diversity and inclusion in their firms, among other diversity-related activities.
The mission of the ABA Commission on Disability Rights is to promote the ABA’s commitment to justice and the rule of law for people with mental, physical, and sensory disabilities and to promote their full and equal participation in the legal profession.
About Perkins Coie: Founded in 1912, Perkins Coie has more than 950 lawyers in 19 offices across the United States and Asia. We provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation and intellectual property legal services to a broad range of clients, from FORTUNE 50 corporations to small, independent start-ups, as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.
(L to R: Paulette Brown, President-elect Nominee, American Bar Association; Partner/Chief Diversity Officer, Edwards Wildman Palmer LLP; Jared D. Hagar, Senior Attorney, Perkins Coie; Mark D. Agrast, Esq., Chair, ABA Commission on Disability Rights)
