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Recruiting, Retention, and Advancement

Schnader achieved Mansfield Certification Plus after successfully completing Diversity Lab’s rigorous years-long Mansfield Rule 2.0 and 3.0 programs, a tool to drive diversity in leadership roles and lateral hiring. Schnader achieved this certification by not only meeting or exceeding the Mansfield requirements, but also by increasing our diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of leadership roles by at least 30 percent.

Schnader is proud to be one of a handful of U.S.-based law firms named to Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework which is a listing of law firms that meet or exceed an established threshold of diversity measured across areas such as recruitment and retention, leadership and talent pipelines, and business strategy—as determined by a panel of experts from industry, academia, and the legal industry.

In the past several years, the Firm has adopted a number of programs designed to improve retention and advancement of diverse attorneys, and all attorneys. These programs include:

  • Individual professional development meetings with each associate. At least three times per year, a chair of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee or Associate Professional Development Committee meets with each associate individually. The purpose of these meetings is to review the nature of the work being performed, ensure the associate is receiving the appropriate level and type of work, explore opportunities for the associate both with respect to substantive work and professional development, and to assist with the associate’s individual professional development plan.
  • Monthly trainings on various topics identified by associates, such as firm economics, billing, client service, path to partnership, marketing, and business development.
  • Mentoring circles. Each associate can join one of numerous mentoring circles to ensure that questions particular to that associate’s experience level are addressed by multiple mentors, and that each associate has several confidential resources for questions, concerns, or ideas regarding their individual professional development.
  • Informal training for partners on how to provide better and more constructive feedback.
  • Improving communication and building transparency about firm policies and the path to partnership.

In 2001, Schnader became a founding member of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group (PDLG), whose mission has remained focused on issues involving lawyer recruitment, student pipeline, legal community education, and lawyer retention. We actively recruit diverse candidates from PDLG. Our attorneys also participate in PDLG programs, including helping to plan and speaking at symposiums, attending alumni conferences, and participating in mock pitch programs.

The Firm is also a charter member of the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity and Inclusion Coalition (PLDIC), which was founded in 2015, and whose mission is to promote regional economic growth by assisting employers in the greater Pittsburgh area to increase the hiring, retention, and inclusion of legal professionals from a variety of diverse backgrounds. We are actively involved in the Coalition, helping to develop its Career Advocate Program, and participating in its “Toward a Culture of Inclusion Program.” Recently, several of our Pittsburgh attorneys earned “ally-ready” certification through PLDIC’s ally-ready training program. The Managing Partner of our Pittsburgh office is a Coalition board member.

Schnader also recruits diverse candidates through job fairs with organizations, such as the Black Law Students’ Association, and through participation with a number of other organizations, including the Allegheny County Bar Association’s Summer Clerkship Program for 1L Students and the Career and Networking Expo held by Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom, as well as with law schools and their alumni associations within the geographic areas of our offices: Cardozo, New York University, Fordham, Temple, University of Pittsburgh, Rutgers University, George Washington University, and Georgetown. Each year, our summer and fall associate programs become more diverse. The incoming fall class is 100% diverse.  

Inclusion

Schnader supports an internal Women’s group that meets monthly and hosts events and substantive educational programs. Please see the separate page for our Women LEAD initiative (Leadership, Education, Advocacy and Development).

We also have a book club, open to all attorneys and staff, to facilitate a dialogue of diversity issues, including race, within the Firm. We solicit book suggestions from all members. The Firm purchases and ships the books to each participant, and the club breaks into small groups for discussions. 

We have a small group “honest conversations” program, and many attorneys and staff have chosen to participate. The groups of eight, which are intentionally designed to bring together attorneys and staff from different offices and departments, meet monthly (or sometimes more often) to have honest conversations about race, gender, and sexual identity, and share experiences and learn from each other. 

We also underwrite membership for attorneys in groups such as the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association and the California Minority Counsel Program.

Each year, we celebrate heritage months by circulating information and inviting discussions regarding the particular community being celebrated. In 2021, these efforts focused on noteworthy individuals and events relating to each community. In 2022, we are concentrating on holidays and food dishes relating to each community. The intent of this focus is not only to celebrate cultural traditions, but also to recognize traditions that unite individuals across cultural lines.

In 2021, we participated in a 21-day equity challenge, spearheaded by the United Way in commemoration of Juneteenth. This involved a daily email with articles, podcasts, or videos for self-guided learning and suggestions for reflection. Feedback was encouraged and shared anonymously.

In 2021, we also adopted a policy allowing for the use of pronouns in email signature blocks.

Although Schnader has always considered diversity and inclusion efforts in compensation decisions, the Firm has formalized this process to encourage more participation and reward those who do participate in meaningful ways.

We conducted a survey during 2021 to assess the areas where we need improvement and establish a baseline to measure our progress.

We also worked with a diversity and inclusion consultant to help us craft a strategic plan to improve inclusion throughout the Firm.

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The Higher Calling Of The Law Requires...

Inclusion. When Pennsylvania Attorney General William Schnader left politics and sought to return to private practice in Philadelphia, he discovered that no major Philadelphia law firms would hire his protégé, Bernard Segal, a Jewish attorney. In response, in 1935, William Schnader, Bernard Segal and Francis Lewis formed a new law firm, Schnader & Lewis -- the first religiously integrated law firm in Philadelphia.

Innovation. Because Schnader was religiously integrated from its founding, many local clients in the Philadelphia area would not retain the firm in the 1930s and 1940s. Accordingly, the firm sought to represent larger, national companies.

Vision. Firm founder William Schnader was president of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, which drafted and developed the Uniform Commercial Code. He successfully campaigned for the Code's adoption in 49 states.

The pursuit of freedom. At the request of President Truman, firm founder Earl Harrison, as Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, toured displaced persons camps at the end of World War II and recommended to the President that displaced persons in Europe be permitted to resettle in Palestine. His report was a major factor that led to American support for the establishment of Israel.

The pursuit of justice. Firm founder Earl Harrison testified on behalf of an African-American student denied entry to the University of Texas School of Law because of his race. The case challenged the "separate but equal" doctrine, as applied to state law schools and laid the foundation for Brown v. Board of Education. The Supreme Court eventually overturned the lower courts' decisions and ordered the University of Texas to admit qualified black applicants.

Courage. Firm founder Bernard Segal convinced the Philadelphia bar to defend nine accused Communists pro bono. The defendants were convicted but their cases were thrown out on appeal. As a result, the Justice Department abandoned Smith Act prosecutions across the country.

The pursuit of justice. When George Wallace threatened to block integration of the University of Alabama, Schnader’s Bernard Segal drafted a statement in opposition. He and Jerome Shestack called lawyers all over the country requesting their support. The statement was published in the Birmingham News with 53 prominent lawyer signatories and provided support for President Kennedy's Executive Order federalizing the Alabama National Guard.

The pursuit of justice. In the wake of George Wallace's efforts to impede the integration of the University of Alabama, and at the urging of Schnader’s Bernard Segal, President Kennedy convened 244 lawyers at the White House to ask them to move the battle for civil rights and racial equality to the courts. The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law was born and Jerome Shestack became its full-time executive director while continuing to practice at Schnader.

Inclusion. Firm founder Bernard Segal was chair of the ABA’s Committee on the Federal Judiciary. He advocated the appointment of federal judges of all genders and races.

Inclusion. Firm founder Bernard Segal was the first Jewish person to serve as Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association. He encouraged the bar into public service and expanded its racial horizons.

Inclusion. Schnader was one of the first major Philadelphia firms to hire a female attorney.

Diversity. Schnader was a founding member of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, which aims to increase the number of diverse attorneys in-house and in private practice.

Inclusion. The firm appointed Albert Dandridge as Chief Diversity Officer and charged him with increasing and developing our bench of diverse attorneys.

Service. The firm adopted Caton Village (now closed), a halfway house for women in Philadelphia, where we provided free legal clinics and social and educational activities for its residents.

Service. Schnader lawyers regularly represent undocumented children who were abused or abandoned by their parents. We help these children obtain guardians, stop removal proceedings, and begin the path to citizenship.

Service. As U.S. veterans waited an average of four years for a ruling on the denial of their disability benefits, Schnader attorneys led a campaign advocating for a solution to address the backlog.

The pursuit of justice. Schnader attorneys represented Guantanamo Bay detainees, advocating for fair treatment and due process against a byzantine legal landscape.

Service. With a nonprofit partner, Schnader attorneys and staff designed and taught a pilot life skills seminar for young adults aging out of the foster care system. The program included lessons on securing vital documents, opening a bank account, looking for jobs and going to an interview.

Service. Schnader attorneys help middle school students in Pittsburgh set up a youth court, prepare for mock trials and draft a bill of rights for their school. The students learn about Constitutional law, advocacy and restorative justice from participating in these programs.

Service. Bernard Segal, a founder of the firm, believed that Schnader's hallmark is its "dedication to the higher calling of the law," which he defined as "the lawyer's obligation to assume an active role in the pursuit of a just and ordered society, in helping to solve the emerging problems of social, economic and political importance, and to serve the public as his or her client, as she or he would serve a full-paying client."