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The law firm of Harris Beach PLLC has launched two diversity scholarships in keeping with its diversity initiatives. The scholarships will be annual and take effect in the 2008-2009 school year.
One scholarship provides financial assistance to college seniors who are high school graduates of the Rochester City School District, or the Urban-Suburban Interdistrict Transfer Program, and planning to attend law school. Recipients will receive $2,500 for each year of law school for a maximum of three years paid directly to the school toward the cost of tuition. Another scholarship provides second-year law school students $7,500 paid directly to the school toward the cost of tuition. Recipients will be offered an opportunity to participate in the Harris Beach law student summer program and be considered for an offer of employment upon graduation.
Scholarship candidates and recipients must be members of groups traditionally underrepresented in large law firms and must express a desire to work, live and practice law in New York state.
Scholarship applications are available by contacting the Harris Beach Human Resources Department at 585-419-8800 or through the Commitment to Diversity webpage on the Harris Beach website at www.harrisbeach.com.
“Our scholarships are an extension of our dedication to enhancing a diverse culture at Harris Beach,” said James A. Spitz, Jr., CEO. “They are designed to recognize the scholastic achievements of students who represent groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in the legal community and promote employment opportunities for them in the Rochester area, as well as in other areas of New York state where we have offices.”
“A vibrant and growing law firm must be reflective of the communities which it serves,” said H. Todd Bullard, a member of the firm and leader of the Diversity Compliance Practice Team. “Harris Beach has made a significant commitment to the Rochester community and to students of the Rochester City School District. It is our goal that those students who receive these scholarships to further their legal education ultimately return and contribute their professional skills for the benefit of our community. I am proud that we as a firm have incorporated diversity as a key component of our firm culture.”
Founded in 1856 in Rochester, Harris Beach is one of the country’s Top 250 law firms as ranked by the National Law Journal and has offices throughout New York state in Albany, Buffalo, Geneseo, Ithaca, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers, as well as Newark, New Jersey. Amongst large upstate New York law firms, Harris Beach has proportionally more
associates representing diversity and was one of the first such firms to elect an African-American as an equity partner. Harris Beach has been noted for having a higher proportion of equity women members than the national average based on a 2006 report issued by the National Association of Women Lawyers. The firm is also above the national average for the number of female associates, as a percentage of total associates. Unlike a traditional law firm practice, Harris Beach attorneys with less than full-time schedules can remain on the partnership track and have been elected to partnership.
Harris Beach attorneys have leadership roles in the Greater Rochester Association for Women
Attorneys, a chapter of the Women’s Bar of the State of New York; National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York; Rochester Black Bar Association; South Asian Bar Association of New York; Puerto Rican Bar Association; and the National Bar Association. Harris Beach is also an active member of the Workforce Diversity Network, the Upstate New York Regional Minority Purchasing Council, Inc., and the Monroe County Bar Association’s Minority Clerkship Program. Additionally, the firm recently launched the Harris Beach Diversity Compliance Team to help organizations and Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises work together to maintain compliance with state procurement regulations related to diversity. |
