Sheppard Mullin Earns Top Score in New Inclusion Blueprint
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is honored to have been named an inaugural “Inclusion Blueprint Champion” in the Inclusion Blueprint, a new collaborative project between Diversity Lab and ChIPs that provides a first-of-its-kind survey that measures both the representation of diverse lawyers and the career-enhancing inclusion activities that law firms should employ to ensure that historically underrepresented lawyers have fair and equal access to quality work, influential people, and other opportunities.
Sheppard Mullin ranked in four of the five designated categories, including: Law Firm Leadership; Business, Finance and Real Estate; Litigation; and Regulatory.
The Inclusion Blueprint includes two main categories for law firms to track, measure and benchmark their diversity and inclusion efforts at both the leadership and practice group levels: (1) current diversity representation target thresholds and year-over-year progress; and (2) ongoing inclusion practices and activities.
The Blueprint differs significantly from traditional diversity surveys as a result of these two elements. Rather than asking for a snapshot of raw data and metrics on the representation of historically underrepresented lawyers, it provides specific targets across three populations that firms should strive to achieve at both the firm leadership and practice group levels, including 30 percent representation of women, 15 percent representation of racial and ethnic minorities, and 5 percent representation of LGBTQ+ lawyers. The Blueprint also goes beyond the metrics and provides a roadmap or “blueprint” of actions that firms can take to continue to invest in their diverse talent, such as monitoring diverse lawyers’ work activities and experiences, such as work allocation and client pitches, as well as other critical development and advancement opportunities.
Sheppard Mullin is one of 13 top-scoring law firms recognized as Inclusion Blueprint Champions this year. Sheppard Mullin was also recognized on the ChIPs Honor Roll in October 2019, which noted the firms with the highest scores in female representation and inclusion activities at both the leadership and IP practice group levels.
Click here to read Diversity Lab’s press release.
About Diversity Lab
Diversity Lab is an incubator for innovative ideas and solutions that boost diversity and inclusion in law. Experimental ideas are created through our Hackathons and piloted in collaboration with more than 50 top law firms and legal departments across the country. Diversity Lab leverages data, behavioral science, design thinking, and technology to further develop and test new ideas and research, measure the results, and share the lessons learned. For more information, visit http://www.diversitylab.com/.
About ChIPs
ChIPs is a nonprofit organization focused on advancing and connecting women in technology, law and policy. ChIPs seeks to accelerate innovation in these areas by increasing diversity of thought, participation and engagement. At ChIPs, members are united in the belief that diversity, of all types, is essential to innovation and to a thriving, evolving society. Membership is open to anyone who shares this mission. Founded in 2005 by seven women chiefs of intellectual property, it has expanded beyond those roots, now with over 3,000 members and nine regional chapters in the United States and abroad. Many members are engaged at the heart of current events — as active participants in the lawmaking, policymaking, judicial, advocacy and innovation processes. Please visit http://www.chipsnetwork.org/.