Recruiting Women and Minority Attorneys
We have embarked on a recruiting strategy designed to increase the hiring of women and minority attorneys at the partner and senior associate levels, while continuing our focus on minority candidates in all staff roles. Warner Norcross & Judd has strong relationships with minority organizations on the law school campuses where we recruit, which is important to our ongoing search for minority law school graduates and summer clerk candidates. We also participate in minority job fairs.
Since 2000, Warner Norcross & Judd has sponsored a scholarship program that annually awards scholarships to outstanding minority students pursuing careers as lawyers or paralegals. To date we have awarded dozens of scholarships to Michigan students. One recipient was recognized by Michigan Lawyers Weekly as one of the top ten lawyers in Michigan.
The Firm also offers Law School Admissions Test (LSAT) preparation course scholarships. Each year Warner Norcross will award scholarships to attend a Kaplan LSAT preparation course to five minority college students in their junior year. The scholarships help minority students with an interest in attending law school to prepare to take the admissions test.
In 2009, Warner awarded $19,000 in scholarships to minority students pursuing careers in the legal profession.
Click here for more information about our Minority Scholarship Programs.
In 1991, the Firm was a founding member of the Minority Clerkship Program of the Grand Rapids Bar Association. This program places minority law students with participating firms for a summer clerkship after their first year of law school, when clerkships are difficult to obtain. The Firm has extended an offer to join the Firm as an associate to a number of people who participated in this program.
Our strengthened focus on hiring women and minorities is yielding positive results:
41% of our associates are women
35% of counsel and senior counsel are women
25% of the Firm's attorneys are women
Between 2005-2009 we hired 13 minority associates
Half of those elected into the partnership for 2010 are women
While we have made progress in this area, we are committed to increasing the number of minorities and women at the Firm and helping them develop successful careers.
Next - Retaining & Advancing Women and Minority Attorneys