Since its founding in 1951, Adams & Reese has benefited from diverse leadership in a variety of capacities, including Executive Committee members, Practice Group Leaders, Partners in Charge, and client and practice team leaders.

We know that having varied perspectives help generate better ideas to solve the complex problems of a changing – and increasingly diverse world.

The commitment to promoting diversity at Adams & Reese is not simply about doing the right thing. It is also integral to demonstrating daily our firm’s core values of providing excellence in client service, understanding who our clients are and what drives them, striving for outstanding results, and developing relationships based on trust.

We believe these values, generally held by our clients as well in their own contexts, are actually enabled by a commitment to diversity. Diversity is about understanding and appreciating differences and then focusing our relationships on our common core values as humans. We invest in our people, helping all individuals truly succeed at our law firm because doing so makes us a better firm, better equipped to meet the needs of today’s clients, and reflect not only who they are, but who our own communities are.

Our commitment means we will never be narrow of focus or restricted to limited points of view. It also means each person at Adams & Reese knows they can succeed here. We believe all our people should be given every opportunity to do substantive work and advance their careers based on their unique backgrounds and their personal and professional aspirations. That belief helps us obtain, promote, and retain the best talent.

The reality is a diverse team of professionals, considered broadly, providing their perspectives on a client matter can’t help but enhance the counsel and representation we provide as we work to advance our client’s interests. Our clients clearly understand and value this.

What General Counsel Expect

Today’s general counsel and other legal executives recognize that outside attorneys who reflect the diversity of their own organizations are more seamlessly integrated into teams that tackle the variety of legal and business tasks and challenges they face daily.

This approach ensures that selected outside counsel have the requisite experience, skills, and client service focus to achieve the best outcomes and results.

At Adams & Reese, we not only applaud the commitment of these GCs and others, but we are also ready to meet the challenge because it is fully aligned with our own aspirations. Because they understand so well the importance of diversity in outside counsel, the general counsel of some of America’s largest and most prestigious corporations have become signatories to various letters and manifestos sent to law firms.

An “Open Letter to Law Firm Partners,” signed by more than 170 corporate general counsel and chief legal officers, concludes with, “We, as a group, will direct our substantial outside counsel spend to those law firms that manifest results with respect to diversity, in addition to providing the highest degree of quality representation.” Another “Call to Action” by hundreds of general counsel states, “…we pledge that we will make decisions regarding which law firms represent our companies based in significant part on the diversity performance of the firms.”

We Walk the Talk

At Adams & Reese, we have been constantly evaluating what we are doing to ensure that our efforts align with what our colleagues and clients value, want, and need; and with the firm’s strategic plan and our “people first” philosophy. Over the decades, we have put in place programs that actively strive to advance talented attorneys into firm leadership roles, by recruiting new lawyers and lateral hires from diverse populations, and by supporting and encouraging diverse populations of high school students to consider careers in law.

ARROW

ARROW: an acronym for Advancement, Recruitment, and Retention of Women, this group provides an additional layer of mentorship, sponsorship, and support for all attorneys in their personal and professional development. Led by Elizabeth Maron and Diana Surprenant, ARROW serves as a resource for all attorneys within the firm by sponsoring education sessions in law firm economics, business development, and firm benefit offerings in all stages of their lives and careers.

Mansfield Certified Law Firm

Adams & Reese has achieved the 2023-2024 Mansfield Certification, marking the third consecutive year the firm has met the national standard of widening the leadership talent pool to increase diversity in leadership positions. Adams & Reese is recognized in the “Trendsetters” category for law firms that have achieved Mansfield Certification between 2-4 years.

Powered by Diversity Lab, Mansfield is a year-long structured certification process designed to ensure all qualified talent at law firms have a fair and equal opportunity to be considered for advancement into leadership roles. These leadership opportunities include client pitch teams, lateral partner hires, equity partner promotions, practice group leaders, management positions, and firm-wide committee appointments.

Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)

Adams & Reese is a member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), an organization of more than 400 corporate chief legal officers and general counsel of major corporations or Managing Partners of the nation’s leading law firms.

Throughout the year, LCLD hosts action programs, such as Pathfinders and Fellows, to inspire, nurture, and develop all talent within member organizations, advancing a generation of attorneys to positions of leadership.

Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)

Adams & Reese is a member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), a networking advisory coalition of more than 250 law firms and corporations advancing diversity, retention, and promotion of all attorneys.

MCCA was founded in 1997 and has funded scholarships for beginning lawyers, coached executives further along in their careers, and published industry-leading demographic information to spearhead accountable change in corporate America. Through thought leadership, professional development programs, MCCA empowers partners, members, and leading attorneys at law firms and corporation’s GC departments to have opportunities for advancement.

In 2023, Adams & Reese earned the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) Approved SILVER Seal. This prestigious accreditation is bestowed upon law firms and corporate legal departments as a national framework for successfully establishing sustainable diversity strategies and achieving actionable solutions.

Honors & Achievements

Through the years, Adams & Reese has earned many awards and recognitions for its achievements and progress in diversity.

Since 2008, our firm has been listed among the Top 200 Law Firms in Diversity on the American Lawyer Media Diversity Scorecard.

Adams & Reese has earned the “Diversity Initiative” award by ALM/Law.com; “SILVER Seal” by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association; Mansfield Certification for three consecutive years; and the “Outstanding Diversity Champion” by the Houston Business Journal, to name a few.