Though we work from multiple locations, our attorneys and staff are linked by more than technology. We are united by a culture that is defined by a firmwide commitment to professional development, teamwork, diversity, and pro bono and community support.
We recognize that fundamental to delivering high-quality service is ensuring that our lawyers and staff are given the opportunities to develop their knowledge base and skill sets. Reed Smith University, a first-of-its kind partnership with the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, is a comprehensive program designed to encourage professional growth at every career level and stage for those within the firm.
As a world-class law firm, we are committed to fostering Diversity within our ranks and providing the support needed for attorneys and staff of all backgrounds to succeed. The Minority Corporate Counsel Association named Reed Smith as a winner of its Thomas L. Sager Award—perhaps the most prestigious recognition of a law firm’s diversity efforts—for the firm’s work in creating a more inclusive and open working environment. Sara Lee Corporation, the global consumer goods company, selected Reed Smith as a preferred partner in part because of its efforts to create a diverse and inclusive workplace. The Hispanic National Bar Association selected us its “Law Firm of the Year, and The Lawyer named us as a finalist for its HR Awards in the “most effective diversity programme” category
Through its Women’s Career Advancement Initiative, the firm provides mentoring and professional support for women within the firm, and sponsors external networking events that bring together top women professionals, including business owners and managers, general counsel, government leaders and others.
We are committed to helping to improve the quality of the communities in which we work and live through Pro Bono and Community Service.
Reed Smith is a charter signatory of the American Bar Association’s Pro Bono challenge, and we have received wide recognition for our efforts. An associate in our Oakland office was named by the California Lawyer magazine as its “Attorney of the Year” for her successful efforts to persuade the Ninth Circuit to reverse a denial of asylum to a Guatemalan rape victim. The Fairfax Bar Association in Virginia named Reed Smith “Law Firm of the Year” for its dedication to pro bono work.
We have launched firmwide initiatives, such as working with the National Children’s Law Network, to provide pro bono and community service for organizations that serve children in several of the cities in which Reed Smith has a significant presence.
Reed Smith lawyers have made a difference in matters that include representing a client on death row, obtaining a ruling overturning his death sentence, and ordering a new penalty-phase hearing; providing the legal support that enabled hundreds of abused and neglected children to be adopted; and assisting with a coast-to-coast nonpartisan effort to ensure equal access to voting polls.
Firm lawyers and staff also perform community service such as mentoring children, providing school supplies, supporting battered women and their children, and repairing homes for the elderly and disabled.