Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Current Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiatives

Since its founding, McElroy Deutsch has recognized that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strengthens our mission to provide the highest quality legal services to our clients.

Above all, McElroy Deutsch has always believed that the most meaningful benefits of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are the promotion of equal opportunities for all persons, as well as the creation of a workforce in which persons are able to learn from and build on their differences to the ultimate benefit of themselves, the Firm, our clients and the public interest.

In a nation and world that is increasingly diverse – both in terms of its population, and the range of related moral and legal issues – our law firm is committed to never be satisfied with maintaining “status quo” with respect to its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts, and to consistently explore new and more effective ways to improve our performance.

Some of the Firm’s current initiatives related to that goal include:

• Our Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, whose members are representative of staff, associates, partners and of counsel from all offices. The Committee meets on a regular basis to examine the effectiveness of current policies and practices, and to explore new ways to increase and improve the Firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
• Representation by one of our attorneys in the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Commission on Racial Equality in the Law. This diverse panel of leaders in the profession was formed to conduct an incisive study of the legal system, to identify methods of addressing root causes of inequities in the profession and in the law. The Commission will identify those strategies and look specifically at ongoing anti-Black racism in the legal system and in the practice of law.
• Board-level participation in The Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity (LCD), which was formed in 2003 as The Connecticut Lawyers Group by concerned lawyers to answer the call to unite the resources, energy and commitment of the region’s leading corporations, public sector entities, law firms, law schools and state bar associations to advance diversity in the legal profession.  The LCD’s current challenge is to increase the recruitment, retention and promotion of lawyers of color and other diverse individuals, not only as good social policy but also as good business practice. One of the Firm’s partners currently serves as a Board member.
• Membership and participation in the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance – a national collaboration across law firms, legal services organizations and other stakeholders focused on race equity – dedicated to supporting pro bono initiatives that address systemic racism. The LFAA currently has 300+ member law firms. Lawyers and law firms are uniquely positioned to analyze and advocate to change laws and policies that encourage, perpetuate or allow racial injustice. LFAA will leverage the resources of the private bar, in partnership with legal services organizations, to amplify the voices of communities and individuals oppressed by racism, to better use the law as a vehicle for change that benefits communities of color and to promote racial equity in the law.
• Ongoing support of the inclusion initiatives of both Rutgers University School of Law – Newark, and Seton Hall University School of Law, by volunteering time and sponsoring organizations and events such as Rutgers Newark's ABLS and its “Jazz for Justice” event; Rutgers Newark's ALALS and its “Fiesta Con Sabor;” Seton Hall's Affinity Student Bar Associations and their Annual Diversity Banquet; and Seton Hall's Dean's Diversity Council.  In addition, several of our attorneys volunteer as mentors and speakers in furtherance of both law schools' diversity and inclusion efforts.
• Participation in the Justice Robert L. Clifford Fellowship program, which was established in 1996 in honor of the former New Jersey Supreme Court Justice, to benefit minority students at Seton Hall University School of Law.
• Participation in the Colorado Pledge to Diversity Legal Group, which was established in 1993 to significantly increase the number of racially and ethnically diverse attorneys recruited, hired, and promoted by law firms in Colorado. The Pledge Group’s major initiatives include a paid Summer Clerkship program for diverse first year law students at the University of Colorado and first year and second year evening students at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, as well as two annual diversity receptions.