State Bar of California Announces 34 First Recipients of DEI Leadership Seal Thursday, June 15, 2023 Categories: News Releases The State Bar of California announced today that 34 legal employers are receiving the first DEI Leadership Seals in the Gold, Silver, and Bronze tiers. The DEI Leadership Seal Program recognizes legal employers who implement research-driven actions that further workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion. The State Bar launched the program in January 2023 in support of its strategic plan goal of enhancing access to and inclusion in the legal system. “The State Bar is proud to showcase this amazingly robust inaugural group of DEI Leadership Seal recipients, all of whom have demonstrated their commitment to concrete actions toward a more inclusive legal profession,” said Leah Wilson, State Bar Executive Director. “We were excited to receive so many applications and look forward to establishing a community of visible leaders—from law firms, nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses―who share both the vision for and commitment to a legal profession that looks more like our diverse state.” Gold Recipients Ten employers are receiving a Gold DEI Leadership Seal, for implementing at least nine of the program’s ten action items. They are: Covington & Burling LLP Disability Rights California Fifth Season Inner City Law Center Legal Aid Association of California LimNexus Mullen & Filippi, LLP O'Melveny & Myers OneJustice Tittmann Weix LLP Silver Recipients Fourteen employers are receiving Silver DEI Leadership Seals, for implementing at least seven action items: Alameda County Homeless Action Center Children's Law Center of California Community Legal Aid SoCal Davis Wright Tremaine LLP Hanson Bridgett LLP Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi LLP Locke Lord LLP Morrison Foerster Robins Kaplan LLP San Francisco City Attorney's Office The Colleges of Law Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders Wolfsdorf Rosenthal LLP Youth Law Center Bronze Recipients Ten employers are receiving the Bronze DEI Leadership Seal, for implementing at least five action items: Buchalter California Lawyers Association Federal Home Loan Bank San Francisco Haynes Boone LLP Holland & Knight Kahana & Feld LLP Legal Services of Northern California Office of the Los Angeles County Counsel Ventura County District Attorney's Office Webber Law Group Recipients are listed on the State Bar’s DEI Leadership Seal webpage and can carry the seal on their own materials and websites. Another 43 employers (including the State Bar itself) are now on record as having committed to the program, with a year to complete the action steps that would earn them a seal. “While we are disappointed to not have achieved seal status this first go round, we look forward to earning our seal in the coming year,” said Wilson. The State Bar’s 2022 Diversity Report Card found that the demographics of California’s licensed attorneys do not reflect the diversity of the state’s population. To further its goal of increasing DEI in the profession, the State Bar published Calls to Action that legal employers and attorneys can implement, and the DEI Leadership Seal program utilizes these Calls to Action as the centerpiece of this effort. The State Bar expects to convene seal recipients later this year to share best practices and ideas for improving the program. In future years, DEI Leadership Seal Action Items will be modified to encourage employers to commit to additional, more ambitious steps toward diversity, equity, and inclusion. Previous Article Next Article