Diversity and Inclusion Strategies
Our diversity and inclusion strategy focuses on these main areas:
Marketing, Branding, Business Development and Community Relations
Andrews Kurth believes that our ability to capitalize on the diversity of our workforce enables us to be more effective advocates for our clients. We also recognize the importance of contributing our talents and resources to support community-based organizations in the geographic regions we share.
In actively seeking opportunities to leverage our diversity and inclusion strategy, we hope to advance our brand in the diversity space and to enhance our relationships with our clients, suppliers and the communities in which we work. Our efforts in this area include support and leadership of nonprofit organizations such as:
- National Diversity Council—Partner and Chief Diversity Officer Elizabeth Campbell serves on this organization’s board of directors.
- Houston Urban Debate League—Partner Griffin Vincent is a member of the Board of Directors; Partner Gene Locke chairs the Advisory Council; and Partner Elizabeth Campbell is President of the Board of Directors.
- Texas Diversity Council—Partner James Hernandez is a member of the council’s board of directors.
- Houston Bar Association—Senior Partner Howard Ayers served as the co-chair of the HBA’s gender Fairness Committee 2006-2007; Partner Doris Rodríguez co-chaired the HBA's Minority Opportunities Committee in 2007-2008.
Minority Bar Associations
Andrews Kurth lawyers participate in leadership positions within various local, state and national minority bar associations, including:
- Dallas Bar Association - Minority Attorney Business Development Committee and Minority Participation Committee
- Dallas Asian American Bar Association
- Hispanic Bar Association of Houston
- Houston Asian American Bar Association
- Houston Bar Association Summer Minority Law Clerk and Mentoring Program
- Mexican-American Bar Association of Houston
- Minority Corporate Counsel Association
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
- National Bar Association
Diversity Related Organizations
Our lawyers are also active members and leaders in other diversity related professional associations including:
- Council on Legal Education Opportunity
- DirectWomen
- Dress for Success
- Executive Women's Partnership of the Greater Houston Partnership
- Leadership Texas
- National Association of Women Lawyers
- Project for Attorney Retention - Founding Member
- United Negro College Fund
- United Way of Houston Women’s Initiative
- Women Presidents’ Organization
Strategic Alliances
- American Civil Liberties Union
- Anti-Defamation League
- Association of Women Attorneys
- Catalyst
- Chicano/Hispanic Law Students Association
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- Houston Area Urban League
- Houston Association of Black Journalists
- Houston Association of Hispanic Media Professionals
- Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Houston Urban Debate League
- Human Rights Campaign
- Interfaith Ministries
- National Association of Law Students with Disabilities
- National Association for Urban Debate Leagues
- National Bar Association
- National Bar Institute
- National Black Law Students Association
- National Black Nurses Association
- National Black Pre-Law Conference
- National Urban League
- Organization of Chinese Americans
- Sisters Network
- South Asian Chamber of Commerce
- Southwestern Black Students Leadership Conference
- Texas Minority Counsel Program
- Thurgood Marshall Legal Society
To drive our strategy regarding community relations the firm has appointed Partner Diana Hudson to lead these efforts in addition to our alumni relations.
Human Capital - The Power of People
Our most valuable and defining assets are the people of Andrews Kurth.
We value their skills and recognize their work and contributions as a distinct competitive advantage. Andrews Kurth seeks to recruit, hire, develop, advance and retain talented individuals to create a diverse, high performance team.
Our recruitment strategy is comprehensive and includes focused efforts to attract, retain and support the professional development of lawyers and staff. We continually seek to build upon the strengths of our employees.
- Working Together Andrews Kurth encourages a collaborative workplace that supports a strong, diverse team of professionals with a range of talents and perspectives. It is one way we provide our clients with more robust solutions to their problems.
Equally important in this equation is the workplace environment. In order to achieve their fullest potential, our professionals need an atmosphere of collegiality. We foster a workplace where all employees are treated with dignity and respect.
- Accountability To emphasize each person’s role in the ongoing implementation of our diversity and inclusion strategy, we highlight personal accountability. During the annual performance evaluation process, all lawyers are asked to describe their individual contributions in support of the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts.
- Resources for Success We seek to ensure that all personnel have the tools and resources necessary to be successful. Our extensive Professional Development programs help achieve this goal. We conduct firmwide Diversity and Inclusion Orientation sessions for all employees, and encourage formal and informal mentoring relationships. In our Continuing Legal Education workshops, we support lawyer participation and leadership of these educational programs.
Additional resources that support our professionals include our inclusive policies and benefits, such as domestic partner benefits. We participate with organizations such as the Project for Attorney Retention, of which we are a founding member.
Our comprehensive approach to diversity and inclusion includes our relationships with vendors and suppliers of goods and services. We educate our vendors about our own commitment to diversity and inclusion, and require all vendors to report whether they have been certified as a women-owned or minority-owned business, or otherwise are considered a “diverse” supplier. This is one way that we are able to promote our strategy and solidify our relationships with businesses that are often locally based in our communities.
