August 19, 2015—Reed Smith is pleased to announce that San Francisco-based partner Deborah Broyles, the firm’s Global Chair of Diversity & Inclusion, will receive the State Bar of California’s 2015 Diversity Award.
The State Bar of California Diversity Awards were established by the Board of Trustees to recognize outstanding efforts made by a bar association, law firm, organization or attorney, to promote diversity in the legal profession, in their organization or among their peers.
Deborah will receive the State Bar’s annual honor for an individual attorney in recognition for her long-term, sustained accomplishments toward promoting and increasing diversity in the legal profession.
“We are very proud of Deborah, who greatly deserves this honor for everything she has accomplished as a true champion of diversity,” said Sandy Thomas, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner. “From mentoring young attorneys, to raising awareness on the strategic importance of Diversity & Inclusion to our business, the legal community and the nation, Deborah is a true leader, and we look forward to joining the State Bar of California in shining a light on her years of service.”
Nationally, Deborah is a longtime member of the American Bar Association, the National Bar Association, and the Charles Houston Bar Association. She has further served on the Board of Directors of the California Minority Counsel Program for 10 years. In 2014, Deborah also served as the Black Women Lawyers of Northern California Affiliate Director of California Women Lawyers, and she has served many leadership roles for the California Association of Black Lawyers over the past two decades.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, Deborah is an active, longtime member of the Bar Association of San Francisco, the Bay Area African American Partners Group, and the San Francisco chapter of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. Deborah has also served six years on the Board of Directors, and currently sits on the Advisory Board, of HealthRIGHT 360, which provides comprehensive, integrated, compassionate medical and mental health care to low-income individuals with substance-use disorders. She’s further served on the Board of Directors of the Positive Resource Center, which remains the only place for people living with, or at risk for, HIV/AIDS to get comprehensive benefits counseling and employment services in San Francisco.
As a leading employment lawyer, Deborah is also a member of the National Employment Law Council, and, as a member of Reed Smith’s Labor & Employment Group, she represents many employers in all aspects of employment litigation, including in the areas of discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination, breach of contract, wage and hour issues, and other related claims.
Deborah is committed to the professional development of young minority attorneys. Throughout her career, she has consistently made herself available as a one-on-one mentor to any and all diverse attorneys, at all levels of practice and practice areas.
“I’m incredibly honored to be recognized by the State Bar, which is among the core organizations making strides for diversity in the legal profession,” said Deborah. “The mentoring and outreach that I try to do on a grassroots level throughout the state is nothing more than what we, as successful minority attorneys, have an ethical obligation to do to ensure that we replenish the pipeline behind us.”
The State Bar of California Diversity Awards will be presented at a reception during the State Bar Annual Meeting in Anaheim, California, on October 10, 2015.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,800 lawyers in 26 offices throughout the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. Founded in 1877, the firm represents leading international businesses, from Fortune 100 corporations to mid-market and emerging enterprises. Its lawyers provide litigation and other dispute-resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters; deliver regulatory counsel; and execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions. Reed Smith is a preeminent advisor to industries including financial services, life sciences, health care, advertising, entertainment and media, shipping and transport, energy and natural resources, real estate, manufacturing and technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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