Hanson Bridgett receives Top Performer award for DEI efforts

Hanson Bridgett LLP has been named a Top Performer by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), recognizing those law firms and corporations showing a strong commitment to building more diverse organizations and a more inclusive legal profession. The Top Performer award recognizes those organizations in the top 20 percent for participation in LCLD programs and activities.

“We are honored to receive this award from such a prestigious organization committed to furthering DEI in the corporate world and legal profession,” said Jennifer Martinez, the firms’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer. “We know there is much more to be done, however. My mandate as the firm’s first CDEIO is to ensure we are not just paying lip service to diversity, equity, and inclusion issues once per decade. We want to ensure we take real action within our firm, the legal profession at large, and our communities.”

Earlier this year, LCLD’s Board of Directors announced a requirement for members to create a public pledge detailing actions they will take to advance diverse talent. Hanson Bridgett created its pledge in advance of the June 2022 deadline, which outlines not only the firm’s commitment to advancing diverse talent but also the personal investment of the firm’s managing partner to this work. Hanson Bridgett’s pledge can be read here.

The Top Performer award comes on the heels of several national awards and recognition for the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. The start of 2021 was part of an intentional strategy to expand the firm’s initiatives, starting with some internal changes. The firm appointed Kristina Lawson as the firm’s first female managing partner who named the firm’s first Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer, Jennifer Martinez, followed by the appointment of the firm’s first Director of Pro Bono and Social Impact, Samir Abdelnour. Recently, the firm received Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s 2021 George B. Vashon Award as well as achieving Mansfield 4.0 Certification Plus Status. Earlier this year, Lawson was selected for Corporate Counsel’s 2021 Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards, the firm was named as a Best Law Firm for Women for the 12th year, and the firm received two honors at the ELEVATE awards.