Squire, Sanders & Dempsey L.L.P. employs lawyers with varied backgrounds, cultures, thoughts and ideas to help your business compete in today’s global marketplace.

But it’s not just about business. Fostering a multicultural environment reflective of our society makes for a strong workplace and strong communities.

But diversity isn’t just something we talk about. Squire Sanders has been a leading firm in this area for decades. For example, in 1964, we were the first major Cleveland law firm to adopt a racially nondiscriminatory hiring policy. And we have continued this tradition. Our record of action speaks for itself:

• The Minority Law Journal has consistently ranked Squire Sanders in the top 25 percent in its Diversity Scorecard, drawn from statistics collected by American Lawyer Media
• In 2006, the Minority Law Journal ranked Squire Sanders in the top 10 firms on its Diversity Scorecard Snapshot for highest percentage of minority partners and highest number of minority partners
• One woman currently sits on the firm’s seven-person management committee
• Women chair or co-chair five practices within the firm
• Squire Sanders’ two largest offices are led by African Americans
• Recognized by various organizations for our efforts on diversity including receiving the Best Practices Showcase Award from the ABA Commission on Opportunities for Women and Minorities in the Profession

These rankings and numbers underscore our commitment to diversity; however, we are far from satisfied.  We continue to focus on minority and female recruitment, retention, promotion and leadership.

Recruitment – Squire Sanders recruits at law schools with large minority populations, participates in minority clerkship programs, job fairs, conferences and workshops, and actively recruits minorities through student organizations.

Retention – We nurture well-rounded lawyers with the training and experience to provide the highest levels of client service. Through mentoring, broad work experience, continually increasing responsibilities and new challenges, we aim to keep valued members of our team.

Promotion – These retention efforts lead the way to promotion and leadership - and the results have paid off. Approximately 13 percent of the professionals in the firm are minorities including 28 partners, of counsel and counsel, and 54 associates. Squire Sanders' 34 female partners are among the nearly 200 female lawyers who collectively account for approximately one third of all US-based lawyers.

Leadership – Not only do our lawyers hold leadership positions within the firm but they are also active leaders in their respective communities. Many of our female and minority lawyers are named in various legal rankings and highlighted in major publications including The Best Lawyers in America.