Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell’s commitment to diversity in the workplace begins at the top and extends to the entire firm. We believe that our workforce should be reflective of the diverse marketplace in which we do business, as well as within the local communities in which we serve.
Our commitment to our clients is to provide innovative legal services. We recognize that diverse backgrounds and cultures bring new and different perspectives that promote creativity and new ideas.
We actively recruit African-American, Hispanic, women, and other diverse attorneys historically under-represented in the legal field. In an increasingly diverse economy and legal system, we view our commitment to inclusiveness and diversity as one of our greatest strengths.
We extend employment on the basis of merit, qualifications, and competence, and our firm has a record of hiring highly qualified women and minority candidates for summer associate, associate, and partner positions. However, recruiting is only the first step. We take active steps in developing a mentoring program to foster professional development for minority partners and associates. In both recruiting and mentoring, we continuously re-evaluate the structure of our programs to ensure that we are keeping in line with legal industry trends and providing the right kind of support for each individual attorney.
When RKC first opened its doors, the norm was for attorneys to stay with one firm for their entire career. Times have changed dramatically, and it’s becoming increasingly more difficult for law firms to build loyalty and keep quality attorneys. We embrace new lawyers as the future, thus we invest heavily in helping them develop both their legal and business development skills.
Each associate is assigned a mentor whose role is to provide guidance and support with developing legal skills and setting and achieving their individual goals. We also have a more informal mentoring program with regards to business development. We recognize and makes it a priority that business development skills need to be developed and nurtured beginning several years prior to these younger attorneys being elected partner. Each minority associate and new partner is assigned to a senior attorney who has a proven track record as a firm rainmaker. Additionally, the firm’s Business Development Committee, which is comprised of a handful of senior rainmakers, has a monthly meeting in which attorneys, partners and associates, are invited to discuss their individual business development efforts and gain valuable feedback and ideas on how to increase their chances of success with their initiatives.
The firm has also retained an outside consultant to work with attorneys on all phases of the business development process. This consultant works as an extension of the firm’s Director of Marketing and helps attorneys focus on more targeted individual initiatives and some group initiatives.
RKC encourages and supports individual and group involvement in several diverse organizations and bar associations. Our philosophy is that to be productive and to make a positive contribution whether professional or on a civic level, one must be active and strive for leadership positions and become an integral part of that organization’s progress. We support several diverse organizations including:
Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell has a strict policy against discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, marital status, pregnancy, sexual orientation, disability, military service, or any other category protected by law. This non-discrimination policy governs all aspects of employment, promotion, compensation, assignment, and other terms and conditions of employment. Our offices comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act and state law providing accessibility for people with disabilities. As the legal marketplace continues to change, we are committed to continually look for new opportunities and approaches to increasing diversity within the firm.
The firm’s dedication to achieving diversity includes an emphasis on nurturing a positive workplace environment that supports the professional development needs of our diverse lawyers, including active networking, mentoring relationships, as well as ambitious work assignments. Our commitment reflects the firm's strategic focus on a team-based approach to client service, marketing and community involvement, an approach that enhances our ability to recruit and retain lawyers. Integrating our diversity efforts with our strategic plan also enables us to more fully develop economic opportunities and to encourage and support the professional and civic contributions of our minority and women attorneys.
