Creating and maintaining a diverse workplace is of paramount importance to Sills Cummis & Gross. The Firm always has been an advocate of minority hiring practices and is involved in a number of minority hiring, retention, and diversity and inclusion initiatives. The Firm’s Diversity Committee and Women’s Group focus on initiatives to enhance the culture of Sills Cummis & Gross and the quality of service to the Firm’s clients. Sills Cummis & Gross also encourages its lawyers to actively participate in minority bar associations and local and national women’s groups.
The Sills Cummis & Gross Diversity Committee
The Sills Cummis & Gross Diversity Committee provides an avenue to continue to promote diversity within the Firm as well as within the legal community at large. The Committee hosts internal and external events aimed at promoting diversity and inclusion. The Firm’s minority hiring, retention and diversity initiatives also include participation in the Rutgers Law School Minority Student Program.
The Sills Cummis & Gross Women’s Group
The Sills Cummis & Gross Women’s Group is dedicated to promoting the professional and personal growth of women lawyers. Recognizing that women face unique challenges, the Women’s Group provides a forum for meaningful discussion and learning. The Group seeks to provide mentoring for our women lawyers, positioning them to lead us into the future at our Firm and in our communities. The Group sponsors both internal networking and informational programs as well as programs that include lawyers from outside the Firm. The Firm is a supporter of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association.
Initiatives
The Firm is involved in a number of minority hiring, retention and diversity initiatives outside of the Firm, including:
National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) – The Firm is a supporter of NAWL, which has been a leader in supporting and promoting advancement for women lawyers. We also sponsor membership for our women lawyers in NAWL. NAWL publishes an annual directory, a guide we have used as a tool for locating women lawyers and women-owned firms throughout the United States.
New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project (NJ-LEEP) – This is a competitive, after-school, college-prep program for Newark high school students that targets teens interested in the law and in going to college. Several of our attorneys mentor high school students for this program, which recruits potential minority lawyers.
New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA) – The Firm is a supporter of the NJWLA, an organization that is engaged in efforts in New Jersey to support and promote its members to the highest levels of law firm, government, academic, community, corporate positions and the judiciary, and to foster leadership among its membership. Our attorneys have been involved in various leadership capacities, including serving on the Executive Board.
Rutgers Law School Minority Student Program – This program serves students of any race or ethnicity who are members of groups underrepresented in the legal profession, and who have faced discrimination or overcome social and economic hardships. Every summer Sills Cummis employs a first year minority law student as part of the Firm’s summer program, which provides an opportunity for law students to hone their legal skills and gain experience.
Sponsorships
The Firm is proud to support events aimed at enhancing diversity within the legal community. Over the years, the Firm has sponsored:
- A Better Chance
Scholarship Luncheon
- American Conference on Diversity
Humanitarian Awards Dinner
- Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey
Annual Dinner
Northeast Regional Conference
Pathways to the State Judiciary Seminar
Mock Interview Workshop for Law Students
What It Takes To Succeed Event
- Association of Latin American Law Students
Gala
- Corporate Counsel Women of Color
Annual Conference
- Essex County Bar Foundation
Black History Month Celebration
- Garden State Bar Association
Annual Scholarship & Awards Gala
- Garden State Equality
Equality Ball
- Hispanic Bar Association
Annual Scholarship Gala
Annual Installation Ceremony of Officers and Trustees
Corporate Counsel Roundtable
Diverse Summer Associate Mixer
- Legal Outreach
Annual Gala
- Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association
Annual Dinner
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
Annual Convention
- National Association of Women Lawyers
Awards Luncheon
- New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project
Leadership in Diversity Gala
Impress for Success
Field Trips
- New Jersey Women Lawyers Association
Annual Women’s Initiative and Leaders in the Law Gala
Annual Fore Ladies Only! Golf Outing Clinic
- New York Women’s Bar Association
Annual Awards Dinner
- Northeast Black Law Students Association
Regional Conference
- Rutgers-Newark School of Law
Minority Student Program Annual Gala
Association of Black Law Students Annual Fund-raising Event
Rutgers Race & the Law Review Annual Symposium
- The Foundation for Ethnic Understanding
NY Cocktail Reception
- United Negro College Fund
Mayor’s Masked Ball
- Women of Color in Law Firms Group
Dinner
- Women’s Fund of New Jersey
Dinner
