Recent News

October 27, 2006

Fourth Annual Diversity Reception

Over eighty minority partners, associates, judges, managing, hiring and diversity partners came together at a reception hosted by Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter to celebrate the ever increasing diversity of the profession in Central Ohio.

For the fourth year, associates and partners of color came together to meet significant leaders in the legal community as a part of the Columbus Bar Association’s Managing Partners Diversity Initiative. In May 2006, twenty-three firms, two bar associations and the local law schools renewed their initial five year commitment through 2010. This gathering is designed to ensure Columbus is viewed as a “diverse community of lawyers” by the minority attorneys, allowing them to interact with their peers in other firms and see the support given to them by the leadership from the bar and bench. The intensity of commitment is evidenced by the increase of minority attorneys at all levels.

Since the baseline survey in 2000 of diversity in the firms to the last survey in 2006, the number of minority attorneys at the partnership level increased 100 percent from 14 to 28, and associates 119 percent from 31 to 68. Diversity levels increased in firms of every size since 2000. Each category of firm - small, medium and large - reached 7 percent attorneys of color, up from an average of less than 4 percent. Attorneys of color comprised 24 percent of the total attorney growth in the signatory firms since 2000.

Participants in the 2006-10 Managing Partners' Diversity Initiative are: Bailey Cavalieri, Baker & Hostetler, Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, Bricker & Eckler, Buckingham Doolittle & Burroughs, Carlile Patchen & Murphy, Carpenter & Lipps, Chester Willcox & Saxbe, Crabbe Brown & James, Hahn Loeser + Parks, Isaac Brant Ledman & Teetor, Jones Day, Kegler Brown Hill & Ritter, Lane Alton & Horst, Luper Neidenthal & Logan, Maguire & Schneider, Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, Reminger & Reminger, Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, Squire Sanders & Dempsey, Thompson Hine, Vorys Sater Seymour and Pease and Wiles Boyle Burkholder & Bringardner. Additional participants include Capital University Law School, The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, the Columbus Bar Association, the John Mercer Langston Bar Association and the Columbus City Attorney.

Click here for photos from the event.