Diversity
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITYOur commitment to being a diverse and inclusive place to work is at the core of our vision and our values. The firms that combined to form Hogan Lovells each have a long history of being committed to recruiting, retaining, and promoting lawyers and others with diverse backgrounds and experiences. We believe that promoting diversity is simply the right thing to do and is an integral part of Hogan Lovells. We believe that a culture of inclusion, which respects and values the diversity of all our people, significantly enhances our ability to provide excellent legal services to our clients.
DIVERSITY POLICY STATEMENT Our success as a global firm depends on our ability to attract and retain the brightest, and to foster a work environment where people of all backgrounds and experiences can reach their full potential, regardless of such factors as race, ethnicity, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation or disability. To ensure that we embrace diversity fully at Hogan Lovells, our policy is to:
- treat all with whom we interact with respect and fairness
- encourage and allow talented individuals with different personalities, points of view, skills and approaches to the provision of legal services to collaborate in an environment of mutual support
- promote equal opportunity in all areas of employment and prohibit discrimination against or harassment of members of the firm, job applicants and those with whom the firm engages
- understand better the needs of our diverse client base and the communities in which we live and work
- continuously monitor the effectiveness of our diversity policy and take proactive measures to advance it.
STRATEGY Hogan Lovells has a comprehensive strategy to enhance diversity and ensure an inclusive atmosphere at the firm. We have a global diversity leadership team comprised of firm-wide partners and other professionals, as well as office-specific diversity committees. Our diversity leadership team oversees the firm’s diversity initiatives in the countries in which we work and is a resource to clients in fulfilling their own diversity objectives. To make our vision real, we:
- recruit, nurture, develop and advance the most talented law students, graduates, lawyers and support personnel
- engage all members of Hogan Lovells with our diversity agenda and integrate diversity and inclusiveness into all firm activities
- ensure our workplace policies and processes are inclusive and designed to promote a high-performance culture that values individual contribution, teamwork, innovation and productivity.
INITIATIVES With our global reach, we have initiatives that are responsive to the varied needs of the diverse communities in which we live and work. Some of our most important initiatives currently include:
Women's Initiatives
We are proud of our long history of advancing women within the firm and placing women in leadership roles. Our formal Women’s Initiatives are designed to continue our commitment to the advancement and retention of women in our ranks. Our specific goals include:
- providing access to female role models and fostering strong informal mentoring relationships. Internal firm networking and other social events, both large and small, enable our female lawyers to make connections with other women in the firm, including more-senior partners and firm leaders, and to use that informal network as a source of inspiration and support.
- developing closer ties with clients and potential clients, enhancing business development skills in the process. Many of our offices sponsor external events that are aimed at female clients or explore topics related to advancing women in the profession. These events enhance our client relationships and also provide opportunities for junior female lawyers to develop their networking and business development skills.
- increasing awareness of issues facing women in the legal profession and becoming active outside the firm with entities that promote those goals. We raise awareness through internal activities such as panel discussions that feature senior female partners or outside speakers. Many of our lawyers are also active in bar associations and other groups devoted to the advancement and retention of women in the legal profession and frequently speak on those topics.
- providing other support for success through networking events, discussion groups, and outside speakers. Our offices are encouraged to develop activities particularly suited to the interests of women. These might include lunchtime discussion groups, client speakers, book clubs, joint community service projects and mentoring circles.
Affinity Groups and Employee Networks
Our firm takes concrete steps to promote a workplace that embraces inclusiveness. Among other elements of our multi-faceted approach, we have instituted activities through which racial and ethnic minorities and members of the firm who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender (LGBT), along with other groups traditionally underrepresented in the legal profession, can come together for general networking and to foster development and informal networking relationships.
Mentoring and Professional Development
We value mentoring at all levels, whether it occurs formally or informally, by working together or via social interactions or networking events. To support the professional development of our lawyers, we supplement day-to-day informal training with the extensive formal training of Hogan Lovells Academy on topics including legal skills, substantive law, ethics, practice management and business development.
Diversity Awareness Initiatives
Raising awareness of the value of diversity and engaging and educating all of our personnel on our vision of inclusiveness is also a part of our agenda. In 2009, for example, our London office held its first office-wide Diversity Awareness Week, which offered numerous events on an office-wide basis.
Diversity Retreats
Responding to the challenge of providing additional opportunities for our diverse lawyers to network together in a systematic way, our firm hosts workshops and retreats, such as the multi-day retreat in the United States for ethnically diverse and LGBT lawyers from the firm which featured, among other things, client panels and networking opportunities.
Engaging with Clients on Diversity, and Inclusion Initiatives
We work with our clients to enhance diversity within our respective ranks and in the wider legal profession. We host and participate in client conferences on diversity-related topics and work with clients on initiatives to widen access to legal education.
Widening Access or Pipeline Initiatives
Working with clients, local bar associations, and other external bodies, we work to promote careers in the legal profession to ethnically diverse, socially excluded and other underrepresented students to ensure that our communities retain and improve their diversity.
Work-Life Balance Initiatives
Though law is a demanding profession, our firm culture places importance on having a balanced life, whether it means spending time with family and friends, traveling or developing outside interests. To further that goal, we strive to be flexible in our approach to getting work done and to provide resources for those with family responsibilities.
For more information on our Diversity Initiatives, please contact:
Ruth Grant, London
Claudette Christian, Washington, D.C.
Related Links: Careers in our U.S. and Latin American offices Careers in our London office and our UK diversity profile Careers in Asia, Continental Europe, and the Middle East