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We are an extremely diverse law firm and our diversity furthers our commitment to excellence. We believe valuing and promoting diversity should be a core value for all successful businesses, as it fosters the recognition and reward of excellence wherever or in whomever it may be found. We strive every day to create and revisit the policies, procedures, outreach, training, and, especially, the culture necessary to maintain and grow the supportive and inclusive workplace we have established here – for our attorneys and staff as well as our clients. We believe everyone, not only those who fall within recognized diverse communities, benefits from working in an environment where ideas and contributions are judged on their merit, not by whom they come from.
We present annual training sessions and host affinity groups for LGBT employees, employees of color, and our women employees. Most recently, we hosted a training session by Stephen Young of Insight Education Systems on how to prevent “microinequities,” which focused on improving communication among and within diverse groups. But formal training is only a part of our diversity awareness. At the core of our firm, beyond the formal training sessions and stated policies, a culture of openness and inclusion flourishes – a culture where our diverse lawyers and staff are comfortable expressing themselves however they see fit. And through their interactions with diverse colleagues, our non-diverse lawyers and staff receive the very best sensitivity, gender identity, and sexual orientation awareness training possible.
We regularly host diversity events for our clients, attorneys, and staff. Most recently, we hosted a firmwide discussion of NYU Professor Kenji Yoshino’s seminal work, Covering – The Hidden Assault on our Civil Rights. Before that, we celebrated Alan Shayne's and Norman Sunshine's book -- Double Life -- a dual memoir by a gay couple who thrived for decades in the highest reaches of the entertainment, art and advertising worlds while hiding their relationship. Prior to this we hosted Estate Planning for LGBT Couples, and the Gotham Media Digital Breakfast: Burying the Lede: Race, Gender, and Religion in the Media. We have hosted screenings of Freedom Riders and The Loving Story – award-winning films about seminal civil rights events – as well as events focusing on diversity in the advertising industry and on women’s rights.
We are signatories to the New York City Bar’s Statement of Diversity Principles and supporters of myriad diversity-focused organizations. For example, we support Empire State Pride Agenda, Broadway Backward/Broadway Cares, the Asian American Legal Defense Education Fund, the Council of Urban Professionals, Corporate Counsel Women of Color, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Trickle Up 100 Women Campaign, The New York Women’s Agenda, and the Studio Museum in Harlem, among other worthy institutions.
We are proud to note that the co-chair of our Diversity Committee recently received a coveted “Women of Power” Award from the National Urban League.
Our Diversity Policy follows below.
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Diversity Policy
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Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz is a diverse and inclusive law firm both in composition and practice. The employees of our firm comprise different genders, races, sexual orientations, ethnicities, and other protected employee classifications. We are committed to maintaining and promoting a diverse and inclusive workplace and are proud to state publicly that:
Our commitment to diversity is fundamental to our firm culture, critical to our ability to attract the best professionals and staff, and essential to the effective delivery of high quality legal services to our clients of all backgrounds.
Diversity Committee: The Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz Diversity Committee is co-chaired by partners Lisa Davis and Terri Seligman and counsel Wendy Stryker, and includes attorneys Sujin Kim and Mark Merriman, and our Director of Marketing, Marc Handelman. The Diversity Committee regularly examines all areas of our firm – including policies, practices, and procedures -- with an eye to structuring and leading measurable diversity initiatives.
Recruitment: We recruit attorneys and staff regardless of race, color, disability, religion, age, marital status, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, medical condition, or any other applicable protected status under federal, state and local law. We strive to ensure a diverse pool of applicants for every open position, both for professional and non-professional employees. Among other initiatives, we post job openings with organizations that support diversity, and use recruiters who have a commitment to diversity and relationships with diverse applicants. We are committed to increasing our current percentage of diverse lawyers and staff.
Retention: Recognizing that different employees have different personal needs and family pressures, we pledge to continue to find ways to provide equitable and reasonable accommodations for all attorneys and staff to the extent practicable. We will mentor diverse associates, and plan to provide a forum where diverse attorneys and other employees may seek guidance, express concerns, and raise issues relating to their relationship with the firm and their professional growth. We help employees meet work-life balance issues, and we will continue to offer benefits such as permitting covered individuals to list domestic partners on their health plans.
Sponsorship and Support: We actively participate in and support important organizations that promote diversity, equality, freedom of speech, expression, and religion and other fundamental human and civil rights. We are planning a series of diversity-themed events to be presented at the firm.
Vendors: We pledge to consider implementing a supplier diversity program such as that recommended by the National Supplier Diversity Council. Where appropriate, we would be pleased to partner or act as co-counsel with Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises in the legal community and in other industries.
Questions: If you have any questions about the Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz Diversity Policy, please contact Lisa Davis at (212) 826-5530 or ldavis@fkks.com, Terri Seligman at (212) 826-5580 or tseligman@fkks.com, or Wendy Stryker at (212) 705-4838 or wstryker@fkks.com.
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