Shipman & Goodwin LLP
Counselors at Law

CULTIVATING DIVERSITY
July 2018

We are committed to achieving a workplace that is reflective of the clients we serve and the communities in which we live and work.

Shipman & Goodwin Ranked Nationally for Female Attorneys and Partners

Shipman & Goodwin has been recognized as a Top 10 firm nationwide in two key categories of Law360’s Annual Glass Ceiling Report.

The firm ranked #6 as one of the Best Law Firms for Female Attorneys. Law360 also named Shipman & Goodwin a Best Law Firm for Female Partners, ranking it in a tie for #10 on its list of “Ceiling Smashers.” Both rankings were among firms with 150-299 attorneys, and were based on above-average representation of women at the partner and nonpartner levels.  The firm was one of only two Connecticut firms in this size range to be included in either category.

“We are proud of our success in hiring, promoting and retaining female attorneys,” said Alan Lieberman, the firm’s Managing Partner. “The firm has a long-standing commitment to diversity that is reflected on a daily basis in our philosophy and practices.”

The firm’s history of promoting women to the partner level started with the naming of its first female partner in 1942, and continues to the present day, where 44% of all of the firm’s attorneys are women, 33% of the partners are women and 64% of our associates are women. In 2018, Anne  Littlefield became Deputy General Counsel for the firm. Leander Dolphin and Joan Feldman serve as part of the firm’s seven-member Management Committee; and Linda  Yoder is now Chair of the School Law practice group. Kim Cohen and Gwen  Zittoun were promoted to Partner, and Kate Hance and Katie Kasinskas were promoted to Counsel. Katie Kasinskas was also recently recognized by the Fairfield County Business Journal as one of its “40 Under Forty” winners.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND RECOGNITION

Connecticut Bar Foundation’s James W. Cooper Fellows Program

Shipman & Goodwin attorney Dan Schwartz has been selected by the Connecticut Bar Foundation (CBF) to serve as Chair of the James W. Cooper Fellows Program. The James W. Cooper Fellows serve CBF’s goal of promoting equal access to justice in Connecticut by sponsoring programs and projects that address matters concerning the legal profession, the administration of justice, and the role of law in society.

Dan is a Sustaining Life Fellow and has been active for many years with both CBF and the Fellows Program. Most recently, he served as Vice Chair of the Fellows Program and Chair of its Education and Program Committee. Fellows are Connecticut attorneys, judges and teachers of law who demonstrate superior legal ability and devotion to the welfare of the community, state and nation, as well as to the advancement of the legal profession. 

Latonia  Williams, an associate in the firm’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights practice was selected as a 2018 James W. Cooper Fellows by the CBF, in keeping with her demonstration of the Foundation’s stated attributes.

South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut

Radhika Tahiliani, an associate in the firm’s Tax and Employee Benefits practice group, was elected Treasurer of the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut (SABAC).  SABAC was formed in 2004 to serve as a resource to South Asian lawyers, legal professionals and law students.  

MENTORING

Annual “Take A Child to Work Day” A Success For Students

Shipman & Goodwin’s Hartford office welcomed students in grades four through eight to celebrate “Take A Child to Work Day” on April 26th. The much-anticipated annual event, sponsored by the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, gave many sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren, friends and neighbors of attorneys and staff the opportunity to participate in a full day of educational (and fun!) activities. Guests took a trip to the Old State House, which included exploring the most famous trial ever to take place there through the program Freedom Once Taken: The Amistad Story. Students also participated in a mock courtroom debate and a community service project decorating flowerpots for individuals in the MARC, Inc. Residential Services program in Manchester.

Law Day 2018

On May 1st, Connecticut area high school students learned firsthand about the legal profession at Shipman & Goodwin’s Law Day 2018, an annual event designed to give students from diverse backgrounds an inside view of life at a law firm.  Approximately twenty students from Bloomfield High School and CREC’s Metropolitan Learning Center for Global and International Studies joined us for a range of activities, including a career panel with attorneys and staff at Shipman & Goodwin (moderated by Jess Ritter, Partner and CoChair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee), a mock debate (with “celebrity” judges: Alan Lieberman, Vaughan Finn, Anne Littlefield, and Rich Mills. Perhaps the highlight of the day was a trip to the Connecticut Supreme Court, where the students had an opportunity to mingle with the justices and other legal professionals and to view other students’ award-winning poetry and art. Chris Engler and Ben FrazziniKendrick acted as MCs for the day’s events.

Pipeline Activities

Shipman & Goodwin is pleased to participate in the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity’s (LCD) inaugural College Summer Internship Pipeline Program.  In addition to gaining valuable work experience, LCD summer interns participate in professional workshops, go on tours, participate in a mock trial and are assigned an attorney mentor.  Jonah Badiab, a Senior majoring in Sociology from Eastern Connecticut State University, spent the first half of this 9-week program in our Hartford office.  Shipman & Goodwin will also be hosting the program’s Mock Trial, Lunch Reception and End-of-Summer Celebration on August 3 in the Judge Day Court Room.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

UConn School of Law Diversity Week 2018
For the sixth consecutive year, Shipman & Goodwin was honored to be the exclusive law firm sponsor of Diversity Week at the UConn School of Law.

This year marked the Eighth Anniversary of Diversity Week at UConn School of Law. First organized in 2011, this campus-wide event showcases the Law School’s commitment to offering a safe and diverse environment. Diversity Week activities offer all members of the community a chance to celebrate the many differences that make each of us unique. Throughout the week, student organizations host a variety of events designed to encourage community members to take pause and appreciate how each member contributes to the Law School’s campus culture. 

This year’s activities included panel discussions on the idea of bipartisan criminal justice reform, the racial and socioeconomic disparities and implicit biases in the criminal justice system; the impact of Abrahamic religions on legal practice; and diversity of refugees in Connecticut.

Several Shipman & Goodwin attorneys participated in the programs. Alfredo Fernandez provided introductory remarks for University of New Haven Dean Lourdes Alvarez, who gave a luncheon address entitled “One Feisty Latina on Claiming Our Power for Good.” Partner Joe Williams was a panelist in a discussion entitled “Housing Divided: Residential Segregation in Connecticut.”

NBA-CLS Corporate Counsel Conference
Shipman & Goodwin was pleased to sponsor the 31st Annual Corporate Counsel Conference of the National Bar Association’s (NBA) Commercial Law Section (CLS) which was held in Dana Point, California in February. Founded in 1925, the NBA is the country’s largest and oldest organization of African-American attorneys and judges, and for more than 30 years, the CLS has brought its members together with in-house counsel at major corporations who seek to increase the diversity within their ranks.

Robert Simpson, a partner in the firm’s Business Litigation practice, has held several top leadership positions in the NBA CLS. At this year’s conference, Robert served as moderator of a Signature Panel featuring senior counsel and compliance officers discussing how they deal with high-pressure matters that include other areas of business. 

The conference also examined critical issues facing general counsel as well as ways to increase African-American recruitment and retention among in-house counsel and outside counsel law firms. Prominent attorneys from law firms and corporations around the country also discuss topics such as navigating the impact of technology, including cloud computing, data privacy and security and new disruptive technologies and tools; best practices for drafting legal documents; and leading compliance practices in financial crime.

Tri-State Diversity Council’s Women in Leadership Symposium
Christina Herrmann, Chief Talent Officer at Shipman & Goodwin, was a panelist for the 2018 Connecticut Women in Leadership Symposium held at Pratt & Whitney Stadium in East Hartford, Connecticut on May 2nd. The focus of this annual event is to bring together a diverse mix of successful women leaders who, through the discussion of topics relevant to today’s issues will educate, inspire and encourage women to reflect on their own goals and status as they strive to advance within their organizations. The theme of this year’s event was “Women Blazing Trails,” and Christina joined co-panelists: Dr. Claudia Coplein, VP and Chief Medical Officer at MassMutual; Cynthia Isales, Chief Legal Counsel at Office of Early Childhood; Gail Baker, President, ISR & Space Systems at UTC Aerospace Systems, and Dr. Michelle Cromwell, Inaugural Chief Diversity Officer and Associate VP for Inclusive Excellence at Regis College. The panel was moderated by V. Vanessa Williams, Founder & CEO of Leading Edge Consulting, LLC.  

Christina is to be presented with an award as one of the “Most Powerful and Influential Women at the 8th Annual Tri-State Diversity & Leadership Conference to be held on August 23rd in New York, where she will also present on the topic of “Leadership: Presence, Influence & Inspiration.”

CULTIVATING DIVERSITY

The Adventures and Accomplishments of Matthew A. Henson

In celebration of Black History Month, on February 21, Shipman & Goodwin Partner Andrew Davis presented a fascinating account of the adventures and accomplishments of Arctic explorer, Matthew A. Henson to a packed house in the firm’s Hartford office. Henson accompanied Admiral Robert Peary on seven voyages over a period of nearly 23 years, the most famous expedition of which, in April 1909, is recognized as the first to reach the geographic North Pole.

Andrew has extensive knowledge of Henson and worked with Henson’s Inuit children during several research expeditions to the Arctic, and volunteered to present Henson’s story, which had been largely ignored, through a slideshow, personal anecdotes and artifacts he gathered during his research.

“Nevertheless She Persisted” - The Story of Oney Judge

As part of the firmwide celebration of Women’s History Month, the firm offered lunch and a dramatic one-woman performance portraying the story of Oney Judge, a mixed-race slave owned by George and Martha Washington, who had the incredible courage to claim her own freedom in 1796 even though it meant defying the first President of the United States.
 
On March 20th, Gwendolyn Quezaire-Presutti, an award-winning artist who began historical performances in 1997, acted out in the first person this somewhat obscure yet inspiring and enriching story of courage and perseverance in keeping with the month’s national Women’s History theme, “Nevertheless She Persisted.” 

The Dragon Boat Experience 

As part of its month-long celebration of Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month, the firm partnered with Riverfront Recapture to offer “The Dragon Boat Experience,” a unique, hands-on opportunity to learn about the cultural background of Dragon Boat racing, its team building properties, and time on the water to experience one of the world’s fastest growing sports. 

On May 31st, nearly forty participants from the firm gathered at the Riverside Park Boathouse, where they received a brief history of the sport, an on-land briefing of paddling technique, skills and safety, as well as on-water commands from the staff at Riverfront Recapture. Participants then boarded two dragon boats, each holding a team of 20 people to practice what they had learned. The event, sponsored by the Diversity and Inclusion Committee, culminated in an informal dragon boat race between the two teams.

Taste of Harmony Luncheon

On June 26th, our Fairfield County offices hosted their fourth annual Taste of Harmony Luncheon. Participants brought dishes to share that represented their own cultural background or a country or culture of their choosing. Guests enjoyed a delicious, multicultural lunch hosted in the Stamford office, and in the process, were educated about their colleagues’ various backgrounds and diverse interests. 

Contact Us:

To learn more about our commitment to diversity and our diversity initiatives, please contact our Diversity & Inclusion Committee Co-Chairs: Leander A. Dolphin at (860) 251-5086 or ldolphin@goodwin.com or Jessica L. Ritter at (860) 251-5034 or jritter@goodwin.com.. 

For a complete list of diversity events/sponsorships, visit www.shipmangoodwin.com/diversityevents.

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