Company: Phillips Lytle LLP
Diversity Team Name: Phillips Lytle Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Diversity Team Leader: Sandra E. Langs
Website: www.phillipslytle.com
At Phillips Lytle, we recognize that our ability to deliver the highest level of client service comes from having the benefit of our inclusive culture. The Phillips Lytle Diversity & Inclusion Committee is comprised of attorneys firm-wide. Our Committee is dedicated to fostering our firm’s ethos that a commitment to diversity and inclusion has a tangible impact, both internally and externally. The Committee does so by ensuring (1) that ours is a community in which each attorney is given the tools and support necessary to succeed, and (2) that the firm remains fully engaged in what is important to fostering a diverse and inclusive workplace. Our strong belief in diversity and inclusion is at the core of our work—both inside the firm and within our communities.
SIGNIFICANT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Peace Out! Diversity Pipeline Program
Phillips Lytle has developed its own innovative Peace Out! pipeline program in which teams of attorneys work with middle school students in underserved communities to introduce them to the practice of law. The firm has worked with nearly 1,500 students since the program’s inception.
Phillips Lytle Diversity Scholarships
Since 1990, the firm has bolstered its commitment to increasing diversity in our legal community through the establishment of a Phillips Lytle Diversity Scholarship at a major New York State university. Each year, the firm awards scholarships to promising law school students showing financial need, outstanding legal aptitude and a commitment to the practice of law in Western New York.
Last year, the firm collaborated with another local undergraduate college to endorse a new scholarship for diverse students pursuing a legal career.
Phillips Lytle Leadership Conferences
Phillips Lytle partners with community leaders to host and facilitate periodic leadership conferences. A valuable part of our Phillips Lytle pipeline, these events provide an opportunity for Phillips Lytle attorney volunteers and community leaders to contribute time and expertise to advance the important mission of preparing promising, economically disadvantaged, and underrepresented students for success in higher education.
Women’s Resource Group
The Phillips Lytle Women’s Resource Group seeks to develop and promote female attorneys and maximize their opportunities for business development and leadership. Innovative programs and ongoing dialogue are at the core of this initiative. The Group promotes networking, mentorship and training of women attorneys.
IDEA Awards
The firm recently partnered with a local business publication for an inaugural diversity and inclusion event. The event was developed to prioritize the importance of diversity and inclusion, champion equitable human resources practices and develop inclusive cultures. Nearly 300 were in attendance at the inaugural IDEA Awards, where 19 individuals and eight organizations were celebrated for championing diversity and inclusion in the Buffalo Niagara region.
Recognition
- AT&T Legal Diversity and Inclusion Award
- National Federal for Just Communities Community Leader Award
- IIIP Review: The State of Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession
- International INNOVATION in Diversity Award
- Two of our attorneys have received the Profiles in Diversity Journal’s Women Worth Watching® Award
- Received attorney recognition in Lawyers of Color’s Inaugural Nation’s Best List and Second Annual Hot List
- Honored with numerous local Bar Association awards for pro bono service
