PITTSBURGH, Pa (August 1, 2016) - Reed Smith LLP today announced the formation of a new affinity group focused on attracting, supporting and promoting attorneys with disabilities of all types, physical and mental. LEADRS (Looking for Excellence and Advancement of Disabled Attorneys at Reed Smith) joins a number of other affinity groups supporting the widest diversity across the firm.
“We’ve received tremendous encouragement from firm leadership in connection with putting together LEADRS,” said LEADRS Chair and Partner Liaison Luke Debevec. “Sandy Thomas, the firm’s Global Managing Partner, and all of Reed Smith’s Senior Management Team, together with Deborah Broyles, Director of Global Diversity & Inclusion, have all been incredibly supportive of our initiative and we are thrilled to finally announce the launch of our group.”
The key goals of LEADRS are
- to support and enhance the professional, personal, and career development of attorneys with disabilities of all types, physical and mental;
- to encourage retention and promotion of attorneys with disabilities; and
- to seek recruitment and hiring of talented attorneys with disabilities.
LEADRS Vice Chair and Associate Liaison Kevin Hara of the firm’s San Francisco office said, “The group’s name ‘LEADRS’ was driven by the goals of striving to attract, develop, and retain attorneys with disabilities; to serve our clients’ needs with the utmost quality as professionals and people; and to lead on this important issue.” Reed Smith is committed to further widening its outreach to seek qualified attorneys from the widest talent pool to increase the firm’s diversity in all of its manifestations.
LEADRS also plans to partner with clients, law schools, and disability law organizations with similar programs for persons with disabilities to help increase the visibility and inclusion of attorneys with disabilities.
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 execute the full range of strategic domestic and cross-border transactions, provide litigation and other dispute resolution services in multi-jurisdictional and other high-stakes matters and deliver regulatory counsel. 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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