Working Here
Networking Opportunities
Reed Smith is committed to providing networking opportunities to its diverse lawyers.
In 2005, our minority lawyers and firm management convened in Philadelphia for our inaugural Diversity Retreat. We engaged in internal networking sessions, discussed ways to improve retention of minority lawyers and listened to the advice of four minority in-house attorneys. Our second event took place in Dallas and focused on client-development skill building. It was met with rave reviews from the participants.
Our third Diversity Retreat took place in New York and was perhaps our most successful yet. With our growing international presence, we convened lawyers from around the world to better facilitate cross-cultural understanding among all groups represented throughout our firm. The event was marked by a mentoring workshop, a forum for open dialogue with our senior management team and a client panel, and strong participation by our firm's practice group leaders and office managing partners.
Notably, the retreat concluded with the announcement that the firm adopted "gross up" pay for its GLBT employees. Under federal law, money spent by a firm for an employee's medical insurance for his/her domestic partner must be reported as taxable income, whereas that paid for a spouse's medical insurance is not. To mitigate this disparity, the firm approved the "gross up" pay benefit.
In addition to internal programs, our diverse lawyers continue to participate in minority bar events as well as external practice-building activities to help them network.