LOS ANGELES, February 21, 2017 – Reed Smith LLP today announced that client GE has presented the firm with the 2017 GE Global Law & Policy (GL&P) Outside Counsel Diversity & Inclusion Award.
“It’s hard to imagine a client partner more engaged and more committed to diversity than GE,” said Reed Smith’s Global Chair, Diversity & Inclusion, John Iino. “We are incredibly honored to receive this award, especially since it comes from a company that has done so much to improve diversity in corporate America.”
According to GE, “Reed Smith's exemplary Diversity & Inclusion program, along with its related efforts and tangible results, was selected as the best from among 20 law firms invited to participate. We congratulate Reed Smith for this recognition and look forward to continuing partnership in doing the right thing for GL&P and Reed Smith, our colleagues, our profession, and the next generation of legal professionals.”
Reed Smith’s relationship partner for GE, Constantine Karides, noted, “Our relationship with GE is one of our most valued, and we are extremely proud to be one of its ‘go-to’ law firms. We are grateful for the opportunity to work together toward generating meaningful impact that demonstrates the value of diversity and inclusion in the legal profession.”
In the presentation of the award, GE also noted Reed Smith London partner Daniel Winterfeldt’s groundbreaking work with the InterLaw Diversity Forum (which he founded in 2008), an organization for LGBT groups and networks in law firms, and their Apollo Project, a collaboration with the Financial Times that aims to give organizations the learning and practical tools to better embed more inclusive working practices and culture.
“It’s quite gratifying to be recognized by a client for our commitment to diversity and cultural change,” said Winterfeldt. “GE is clearly leading the charge in changing corporate culture, and we hope that we can continue to drive change in the legal sector.”
GE and Reed Smith also announced that the two organizations worked together to award the GE Global Law & Policy/Reed Smith Diversity Scholarship to Karin Umfrey, a 1L student at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law. Umfrey, who is of Mexican-American heritage, received her BA and MS from Johns Hopkins University and worked as a research assistance at John Hopkins as she pursued her degrees. In addition to a $10,000 scholarship, Umfrey was invited to attend GE’s GL&P Diversity & Inclusion Summit in January 2017, and will be considered for early acceptance into Reed Smith’s 2018 Summer Associate program.
About Reed Smith Diversity & Inclusion
At Reed Smith, we are as diverse as the continents across which we practice and the clients that we serve. We partner with legal and community-oriented organizations to ensure that our efforts to promote diversity and inclusion benefit more than just those connected to our firm. In 2001, the firm’s management team created a robust diversity program, which is now administered by a firmwide diversity committee and led by our Global Chair, Diversity & Inclusion. The Diversity & Inclusion Committee comprises both partners and associates at all levels across our U.S. and EMEA offices who meet regularly to ensure that the firm’s core business objectives of promoting diversity and inclusion are implemented throughout the organization through various initiatives. The committee and its work and efforts embody each of the firm’s core values – Integrity, Quality, Teamwork & Respect, Performance, and Innovation & Improvement – in everything it does.
About Reed Smith
Reed Smith is a global relationship law firm with more than 1,700 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, technology, and education. For more information, visit reedsmith.com.
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