Valuable to Our Firm and Our Clients
Diversity at Morrison & Foerster: Some Highlights
Links to Diversity Articles
Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Policy

Valuable to Our Firm and Our Clients

Long before the word became fashionable, Morrison & Foerster made a strong commitment to the idea, and the ideals, of diversity. Thirty years ago, our partners—progressive, forward-looking individuals —believed that diversity was worth pursuing both as the right thing to do and because it would be invaluable to clients. Today, a commitment to diversity has become an integral part of our firm’s identity, recognized by many respected institutions including Vault.com that ranked us the # 1 law firm for diversity for five consecutive years (2002-2003 through 2006-2007).

How is that commitment valuable? First and foremost, a diverse group of lawyers results in multiple perspectives, richer thinking, and more creative solutions to the challenges our clients face—and when everyone’s ideas and insights are welcomed and valued, our teams move more quickly to the right solution.

Second, a commitment to diversity has generated a culture of mutual respect throughout the firm.  The term “collegial” is particularly apt at Morrison & Foerster. We genuinely like working together, which offers a powerful benefit to clients: Our turnover rate is lower than many comparable firms, which ultimately translates into stable, enduring relationships with clients. Moreover, the culture at Morrison & Foerster fosters a team approach to client challenges, leveraging our collective experience to generate better, more cost-effective solutions.

Finally, a diverse team of lawyers reflects the diversity of the real world of judges, jurors, and the legal system as a whole, clearly benefiting our ability to represent clients in the courtroom.

Fostering diversity: Morrison & Foerster instituted a formal, firm-wide diversity program over 10 years ago. Today, two committees meet regularly to ensure we are deepening our commitment to diversity: the Diversity Committee and the Diversity Strategy Committee. We provide diversity awareness training to lawyers and staff throughout the firm.

Diversity at Morrison & Foerster: Some Highlights

• Vault.com, the career information site, ranked Morrison & Foerster #1 among law firms in terms of diversity for five years in a row. 
• Morrison & Foerster was one of six law firms selected to pilot the American Bar Association’s Minority Demonstration Program.
• Morrison & Foerster received the Thomas L. Sager Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association for our sustained commitment to hiring, retaining, and promoting minority attorneys in 2001, 2002, and 2003.
• The Minority Law Journal ranked Morrison & Foerster in sixth place in the “Diversity Among U.S. Law Firms” listing in 2007.
• Multicultural Law's "Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity" named the firm to its alphabetical list of top firms for 2005, 2006 and 2007.
• Racial/ethnic diversity: Lawyers of color include 10% of Morrison & Foerster partners, 32% of associates, and 40% of summer associates in 2005.
• Gender diversity: Women at Morrison & Foerster account for 18% of partners, 39% of associates, and 37% of summer associates in 2005.
• Our Diversity Initiatives, Committees, Policies, and Achievements
  "Attachment A" of this document was taken from Best Practices in Attorney Professional Development: Heading Off & Handling Wrong Turns. © 2004 by the American Bar Association. Reproduced with permission. All rights reserved. This information (Attachment A) or any portion thereof may not be copied or disseminated in any form or by any means or downloaded or stored in an electronic database or retrieval system without the express written consent of the American Bar Association.

Links to articles

• 2007-2008 Vault Rankings
  Vault, August 2006
• Reflecting America: Bay Area law firms strive to make their roster match the face of America
  San Francisco Business Times, March 19-25, 2004. 
• Diversity Hiring: Case Study #2 Morrison & Foerster (in PDF format)
  Jungle Law magazine, March/April 2004. 

Equal Employment Policy

It is the policy of Morrison & Foerster LLP to provide equal employment opportunity for all applicants and employees.  The Firm does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, creed, ethnic or national origin, ancestry, age, disability (including persons infected with HIV or persons with AIDS), veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, domestic partner status, other categories protected by law, or in retaliation for opposition to any practices forbidden under this policy.

The Firm also makes reasonable accommodation for employees with disabilities.  Requests for such reasonable accommodations should be made to any of the individuals listed in the reporting group below.

This policy applies to all areas of employment, including recruiting, hiring, training, promotion, compensation, benefits, transfer, and social and recreational programs, and includes the provision that no employee shall harass any other employee on any of the bases listed above.