Diversity

At Finnegan, we don’t just value diversity, we live it every day—in thought, approach, and solutions. In fact, it’s so much a part of our culture, we’re consistently ranked as one of the nation’s top law firms for minority and overall diversity. In American Lawyer’s 2011 annual diversity scorecard of large U.S. law firms, Finnegan ranked in the top 15% in recognition of the high percentage of minority partners and associates. Additionally, Finnegan was recently recognized as a Gold Standard Firm in the 2011 inaugural year of the Women in Law Empowerment Forum’s (WILEF) Gold Standard Certification Awards initiative. This is the only initiative directed toward certifying, publicly recognizing, and broadly publicizing eligible law firms that have integrated women into the highest leadership positions in the firm.

Diversity is not a new initiative at Finnegan. It’s something that’s been important here from Day One—over 40 years ago. Our earliest mission statement committed to “Treat everyone fairly and with respect.” It still holds true today.

In fact, our approach to diversity says a lot about our culture in general. We believe in being inclusive, not exclusive. We value the idea of collaboration and working as a team. We welcome different perspectives and unique points of view. Twenty-five percent of our partnership includes minority and women attorneys; 30 percent of our attorneys are women; and nearly 20 percent of our attorneys are minorities. And most importantly, we are committed to continue to expand the diverse face of the firm through recruiting, mentoring, collaborating, and innovative approaches that ensure our lawyers and staff develop both personally and professionally.

Recruitment

It takes a very special kind of lawyer to work at Finnegan. Not only do our lawyers have law degrees, but all of our patent lawyers also have scientific or technical degrees. Our success and growth as a firm are proof of the benefits of a collaborative culture that supports a range of initiatives to attract diverse talent.

The Finnegan Diversity Scholarship, established in 2003, awards $15,000 per year for tuition and law school fees, as well as an offer to join the firm’s summer associate program. So far, this program has helped us attract four outstanding new associates.
We make a significant annual contribution to the American Intellectual Property Law Education Minority Scholarship Endowment.
We actively recruit minority and women attorneys through on-campus interviews at law schools across the country and at several minority recruiting job fairs.
Typically more than half of our summer associate programs are comprised of women or minority students.

Mentoring

A truly diverse environment is one in which everyone is a teacher—and also a learner. This philosophy is the basis of the mentorship program at Finnegan.

All of our lawyers are paired with a senior associate and partner advisor who share similar interests and backgrounds. While the formality of this effort is necessary, we find that many of our lawyers find natural mentors. Our collegial nature ensures that doors are always open, and questions—no matter the nature—are always answered.
Each of our attorneys is evaluated on professional growth and firm citizenship as part of our formal review process.
We sponsor the DC Minority Attorney Networking Series to promote professional development and networking.
We actively support the Women’s Bar Association of DC, recently sponsoring its “Initiative on Advancement and Retention of Women.”
In 2006 Finnegan launched a Women's Forum to serve internal mentoring, networking, and educational needs of the firm's female attorneys. The Women's Forum has two separate components: two larger formal events and eight sets of women's forum mentoring circles where 8-10 attorneys are grouped for informal meetings on a monthly basis.

Collaborating

We’ve formed relationships with a variety of law schools and associations focused on developing minority and women lawyers.

Howard University Law School has honored Finnegan for its contributions to the University's Institute of Intellectual Property and Social Justice. The firm has proudly supported the Institute since its beginning. The firm’s attorneys have taught an advanced patent law and social engineering course since 2004. In 2003, the firm began its collaboration with Howard University Law School to present a one-day Intellectual Property Law Seminar that continues to expand each year in number of attendees and lecturers.
Finnegan has been a Platinum Sponsor of the Howard University Law School Legal Partner Program from its inception. Each year two Finnegan attorneys share a mentoring relationship with an incoming class of Howard University Law School students and continue that relationship through their graduation and often beyond.
The firm has been a regular sponsor of the Asian Pacific American Bar Association (APABA) of the Greater Washington, DC Area. The firm annually hosts a number of programs and meetings. One of our partners is a former president of APABA, and one associate currently serves on the Board of APABA. We also sponsor the APABA Education Fund (AEF) annual scholarship dinner.
Finnegan frequently hosts events of the Women's Bar Association of DC. One of our attorneys is on the Board of Directors of the WBA Foundation and another is co-chair of the Intellectual Property Law Forum.
One of our minority partners serves on the Task Force for the DC Minority Attorney Networking Series.
One of our women attorneys serves on the DC Bar Board of Governors.
Finnegan was a patron sponsor of the DirectWomen Institute, an ABA Business Law Section initiative to promote more women lawyers on corporate executive boards.
Finnegan is a long-standing sponsor of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) Annual Convention. One of our partners currently serves on the board of NAPABA as secretary and also as co-chair of the Intellectual Property Committee.
In 2007, Finnegan sponsored the South Asian Bar Association-DC Networking Reception. We currently have two associates who serve on the board of SABA-DC as the president and treasurer.
Finnegan is a member of The Boston Lawyers Group, a consortium of law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies committed to promoting diversity in the Boston legal community.
In 2008 Finnegan sponsored The Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys in Law & Business. The conference is designed to help women of color attorneys develop critical skills necessary to become leaders in their field.
Finnegan annually sponsors the Servicemembers Legal Defense Network National Dinner. The dinner and silent auction raise funds to support the organization's efforts to end discrimination against and harassment of military personnel affected by "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and related forms of intolerance. The organization provides free legal counsel to service members in need of assistance.