Diversity

Nossaman welcomes and supports diversity in all its forms; racial, gender, political, cultural, religious, generational, and sexual orientation. As individuals within a firm, we are comfortable with and seek out diversity in our professional and personal communities.

Our internal diversity leaders are proactive - working to recruit, develop, and retain diverse attorneys and staff. Our efforts include: sponsoring professional internships in our offices for minority high school students; co-sponsoring outside diversity events and job fairs; adopting firm policies allowing for more flexible schedules; serving as board members for bar associations and organizations promoting diversity; and working with the larger legal community to network and promote diversity goals and principles.

Nossaman is proud to play an active role in organizations that help to promote diversity in the legal profession and general community. Our specific roles in diversity efforts include:

Diversity Policies and Goals

• Signatory – Bar Association of San Francisco's "2010 Goals and Timetables and Recommendations for Minority Hiring and Advancement"
• Signatory – Bar Association of San Francisco's "No Glass Ceiling Commitment"
• Signatory – Los Angeles County Bar Association's "2005 Statement of Diversity Goals and Principles"

Diversity Organization Memberships

• Member and Past Director – California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP)
• President (Nossaman Partner Yuliya Oryol) – University of San Francisco School of Law's Women Lawyers Committee
• Member and Former Vice Chair of the Governing Board of Directors (Nossaman Partner Clothilde Hewlett) – Women's Foundation of California, The Women of Color Donor Circle
• Member (Nossaman Partner Clothilde Hewlett) - Black Women Lawyers of Northern California (BWLNC)
• Member (Nossaman Partner Clothilde Hewlett) - Charles Houston Bar Association
• Member (Nossaman Partner Clothilde Hewlett) - Bay Area Black Law Partners
  

Internship and Student Development Programs

• Sponsor – Bar Association of San Francisco's School-To-College diversity pipeline program
• Sponsor – Bar Association of San Francisco's Minority Law Student Scholarship
• Participant (since 2005) – Los Angeles Inner City Youth Internship Program
• Participant – Corporate Legal Diversity Pipeline Program
• Participant – Bar Association of San Francisco's Law Academy
• Sponsor – Black Law Students Association's (BLSA) 3rd Annual "Meet the 1L's" reception in San Francisco
• Sponsor (since 2005) – University of San Francisco School of Law's Women Lawyers Committee Transitional Student Scholarship

Diversity Events 

• Participant – San Francisco Business Times, 2010 Most Influential Women in Business Awards (San Francisco)
• Participant – Women's Foundation of California, 2010 Momentum Awards Luncheon (Beverly Hills)
• Co-Chair and Sponsor – 2010 Legacy of Leadership Awards (San Francisco)
• Participant – Women's Foundation of California, 2010 Women's Policy Institute Legislative Reception (Sacramento)
• Participant – National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 11th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Luncheon (San Francisco)
• Speaker – Black Women Lawyers of Northern California (BWLNC) Survival Series: How to (Not Just) Survive a Law Firm (San Francisco)
• Participant (since 2005) and Sponsor (since 2006) – Annual Bay Area Diversity Career Fair
• Host (since 2000) – Nossaman Women's Retreats
• Speaker – National Asian Pacific American Bar Association 2009 California Regional Conference (Los Angeles)
• Sponsor – Women's Initiative 2009 Gala (San Francisco)
• Sponsor – Oakland Asian Students Educational Services (OASES) 26th Anniversary Celebration (Oakland)
• Sponsor – Queen's Bench Bar Association's 2008 Annual Judge's Dinner (San Francisco)
• Sponsor – National Association of Women Business Owners' (NAWBO) 24th Annual Women Entrepreneurs of the Year Leaders and Legends Awards Luncheon and NAWBO University (San Francisco)
• Sponsor (since 2005) – University of San Francisco School of Law's Women Lawyers Committee Spring Panel and Fundraiser
• Sponsor – Filipino Bar Association of Northern California's (FBANC) annual Installation Dinner in San Francisco
• Sponsor – Southern California Chinese Lawyers Association's (SCCLA) 33rd Annual Installation and Awards Banquet in Los Angeles
• Sponsor – 31st Annual Asian American Bar Association (AABA) dinner in San Francisco

We encourage you to help us build a diverse professional community by sharing your insight, referring an attorney, or sending us your resume.

Please contact any of the Firm's diversity leaders shown below:

Karla MacCary
Alfred Smith
Ed Kussy
Byron Gee
Clothilde Hewlett
Allyson Sparks