Lauren Fenton-Valdivia was quoted in a Law.com Mid-Market Report article titled Midsize Law Firms Are Looking Beyond Hiring To Promote Diversity in Profession, authored by Justin Henry and Christine Charnosky.
When asked about shifting the focus from recruitment, Lauren stated, "We have turned our attention to retention and promotion[.] That's not to say recruitment took a back burner. It's more that we were already doing a good job on recruiting diverse individuals. [Now we're asking] what more can we do to retain and promote them."
Lauren goes on to mention that since 2020, Bressler partnership tracking committee has sat in on year-end reviews of all fifth-year associates and higher, so they can start thinking of themselves as members of the firm's partnership, with the aim of promoting the firm's diverse attorneys. She goes on to say, "They start having conversations with practice area leaders and they participate in that attorney's review so there isn't one of these situations where someone says 'well, I didn't know what to do,' where the firm unfortunately let somebody slip through the cracks."
Later in the article, when discussing building an inclusive talent pipeline, Lauren mentions that Bressler contributes $1,000 for Penn State students to pay for the LSAT, and that if students enroll in law school and complete a summer internship with the firm, there's an additional $1,000 scholarship component for their first year of law school.
Click here to read the full article. You may require a subscription.