A central aspect of Stoel Rives' strategic vision is the firm's commitment to recruit, develop, and retain attorneys of diverse backgrounds and characteristics. Listed below are some of the ways Stoel Rives implements its commitment through recruiting events and outreach activities.
  • Stoel Rives and the Oregon Minority Lawyers Association (OMLA) hosted a reception on Thursday, June 11, 2009 to celebrate diversity in the legal community. The event brought together summer associates, law clerks and lawyers from the Portland metro area.

  • First-Year Diversity Fellowships. The firm has offered 19 First-Year Diversity Fellowships over the last six years. The Fellowship provides law students with full-time summer associate positions in the firm and financial stipends to offset their educational expenses. Traditionally, we have offered Diversity Fellowship positions in three of our offices each year. We are proud of our Diversity Fellowship program and welcome the diverse skills, life experiences, opinions, beliefs and backgrounds that each fellow brings to the firm.

    To find out more about our First Year Diversity Fellowships, please click on this link.

  • Summer Associate Program. In the summer 2008, the firm had 37 summer associates, with over 50 percent being diverse. The 2009 summer associate class will be 45 percent diverse. In addition to the Diversity Fellowships, the Portland office has historically participated in the First-Year Internship Program through the Oregon State Bar. The Sacramento office hosted a summer associate through the Sacramento County Bar Association Diversity Clerkship and will be hosting another one in 2009. The firm actively recruited on campus and at job fairs such as the Lewis & Clark Law School Chapter of the Black Law Students Association Job Fair, National Black Law Students Association Job Fair, Northwest Minority Job Fair and Oregon Minority Job Fair.

  • Twin Cities Diversity in Practice. Last year Stoel Rives joined Twin Cities Diversity in Practice, an organization through which corporate law departments work together to support efforts to attract, recruit, advance and retain attorneys of color in the Minneapolis-St. Paul legal community. Our Minneapolis office is actively involved with this organization including the Office Managing Partner.

  • Opportunities for Law in Oregon (OLIO). Our firm has consistently been a major sponsor of the OLIO conference, a program that encourages minority students to attend Oregon law schools and provides academic and social support to help the students succeed. In addition to financial support, the firm's sponsorship included attorney faculty, staff volunteer participation, and leadership at the conference. We also participated in other activities throughout the year, including being presenters at the retreat for incoming law students, sponsoring employment workshops, conducting mock interviews, assisting with the legal writing and bar exam workshops, and OLIO's annual fund-raiser.

  • High School Programs. For over seven years, Stoel Rives has supported local high school internship programs in Oregon and Seattle. Last year we expanded this program to our Minneapolis office where we currently have four high school students working. These programs provide low-income students with mentored internships, experiential learning activities and valuable work experience. Many of the students who participate in this program would not be able to attend a college preparatory school without our firm's support.

  • Northwest Indian Bar Association (NIBA). The firm was a Raven Sponsor for NIBA's dinner in March 2009. The funds raised at the event went to support the Urban Indian Legal Clinic which provides free legal services. Some of our senior-most partners participated in this event.

  • Washington State Bar Association Diversity Conference. The firm sponsored the 2008 Diversity Conference. In addition to financial support, two members of the firm presented on a panel at the conference, made a speech during lunch and recruited at the associated job fair. The firm will also be a sponsor of the conference in 2009.

  • Women Lawyers of Utah (WLU). The firm was a Gold Sponsor for WLU's Initiative on the Advancement and Retention of Women. In May 2008, Julia Pettit, an associate in our Salt Lake City office, was appointed as the Work-Life Balance Committee Chair for WLU. In fall 2008, the firm gave scholarships for women students to attend the WLU Annual Fall Retreat.

  • Diversity Section of the Idaho State Bar. Stoel Rives was a major sponsor and an organizer of the Inaugural Reception for the Diversity Section of the Idaho State Bar. The event was well attended by local attorneys and law firms, corporate law departments, law school professors and students, and regional diversity leaders.

  • Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Speaker. With the financial support of Stoel Rives, the Lewis & Clark Law School was able to invite Martha Minow, Professor of Law from Harvard Law School, to make the inaugural speech in this series in 2008. Professor Minow is an internationally recognized scholar and expert on human rights. The firm also sponsored the MLK Speaker again this year. Professor Gerald Torres was the keynote speaker on January 20 which coincided with the historic presidential inauguration.

  • Korean American Bar Association of Washington. The firm sponsors the Korean American Bar Association of Washington (KABA) Annual Banquet, and our current Lawyer Recruiting and Diversity Manager in Seattle, Lianne Caster, recently became President of this organization. KABA is an affiliate member of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) which held its 2008 National Conference in Seattle. The Seattle office participated in mock interviews for students attending the conference. Mary Sennes, an associate in our Minneapolis office, serves on the Board of Directors of the NAPABA Minneapolis Chapter.

  • National Latina/o Law Student Association. The firm has been a major sponsor of the National Latino/a Law Students Association Conference. In addition to financial support, the firm has provided staff assistance including the firm's Director of Lawyer Recruiting and Diversity moderating the plenary session of the conference in Madison, WI.

  • Sponsorships. Stoel Rives participates in a variety of organizations that embrace and promote diversity. Below is a sampling of associations and events we are proud to support:

    ABA National Conference for the Minority Lawyer
    Asian Bar Association
    Basic Rights Education Fund of Oregon
    California Association of Black Lawyers
    California Women Lawyers
    Girl Scouts Behind Bars
    I Have a Dream Foundation
    Idaho State Bar, Diversity Section
    Initiative for Diversity Governing Council
    Jewish Family and Child Services
    King County Bar Association, Ethnic Diversity in the Legal Profession Committee
    Lambda Legal Society
    Latina/o Bar Association of Washington
    Loren Miller Bar Association
    Minority Corporate Counsel Association
    National Bar Association
    National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness
    Northwest Indian Bar Association
    Northwest Women's Law Center
    Oregon Council for Hispanic Advancement
    Oregon Disability Sports
    Oregon Hispanic Bar Association
    Oregon Minority Lawyers Association
    Oregon State Bar Affirmative Action Committee
    Oregon State Bar Diversity Section
    Oregon Women Lawyers
    Partners in Diversity Breakfast for Champions
    Partners in Diversity CEO Forum
    Public Interest Law Association
    QLaw, GLBT Bar Association of Washington
    Sacramento Lawyers for the Equality of Gays and Lesbians (SAC LEGAL)
    Say, Hey
    South Asian Bar Association
    Unity Bar of Sacramento
    University of Washington, Alumni Ambassadors
    Utah Minority Bar Association
    Vietnamese Bar Association of Washington
    Washington Women Lawyers
    Willamette University College of Law Minority Law Students Association
    Women Lawyers of Sacramento
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2010