In the Fall 2019 issue of Diversity and the Bar Magazine, Finnegan’s managing partner, Anand Sharma, was interviewed to discuss the firm’s culture and how those values help foster diversity and inclusion.
Anand spoke on how the firm prides itself on collaboration and respect. He said, “There’s only one team—it’s the Finnegan team. For example, I still maintain aspects of my practice as a litigator; when we prepare for a trial, as part of that the entire team gathers together and goes through our strategies for the case. Then after each day of the trial, we do a debrief on how it went. We bring everyone together: lawyers, paralegals, and secretaries who each speak and give their opinions on how the day unfolded. That speaks to our respect and our ethos of one team.”
On the topic of diversity, Anand spoke about some of his own experiences as a diverse lawyer and how he has dealt with specific situations. He said, “I have had [experiences with] what I would call micro-aggressions…There have been assumptions that I am still an associate or not the lead lawyer or opposing counsel might give me a visibly different level of respect. For me, I respond in one of two ways: when there are opportunities to educate people, I will take advantage of this and when the opportunities aren’t ripe, I just show them who I am through my work.”
He went on to explain what it means to him to be the firm’s first managing partner of color. “It means I need to do well in this position; not just for the firm, not just for me personally, but for those diverse attorneys that follow at this firm and at law firms, in general. But equally as important, doing well means keeping Finnegan at the top, and continuing in our legacy as an IP powerhouse.”
Read the full interview here.
