DE&I Initiatives

Diversity Statement:

At Spotts Fain, we are committed to a diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplace. We recognize the importance of each other’s varied backgrounds and experiences because we understand that, by having a culture of diversity and inclusivity, we are better citizens, better lawyers, and better equipped to serve our clients. Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee meets frequently and is actively engaged in evaluating and enhancing our culture and practices to cultivate a workplace comprised of diverse thoughts and experiences. Because these goals depend on retaining, promoting and sharing leadership with a diverse team of professionals, the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee works closely with the firm’s Recruiting Committee and Executive Committee to focus on these important issues.

Ways We Focus on DE&I:

A. Education

Our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (“DE&I”) Committee is actively engaged in evaluating and enhancing our culture and practices to cultivate a workplace comprised of diverse thoughts and experiences. Education is key. We are dedicated to continuous learning and education on issues of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We strive to create opportunities for all members of our firm to expand their understanding of diverse perspectives, histories, and experiences. Through training programs, workshops, seminars, and ongoing dialogue, we aim to cultivate a culture of awareness, empathy, and respect.

We offer periodic firmwide lunch discussions on key topics of interest to our attorney and non-attorney team members. Led by one or more members of the DE&I Committee, these discussions center around one or more articles that address aspects of DE&I. The topics of recent lunch discussions have included:

We also provide mandatory firm-wide training on DE&I issues. Recent firmwide training sessions have included:

  • Addressing Gender Bias in the Legal Profession, by Michelle Galloway, Esq., of Cooley LLP (September 28, 2023)
  • Overcoming Implicit Bias in the Workplace, by Michelle Galloway, Esq., of Cooley LLP (May 4, 2022)

B. Recruiting and Retention

Because our DE&I goals depend on retaining, promoting, and sharing leadership with a diverse team of professionals, the DE&I Committee works closely with the firm’s Recruiting Committee and Executive Committee to ensure inclusive hiring practices that provide equal opportunities for all candidates, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability, age, religion, or socioeconomic background.

We acknowledge that diversity, equity, inclusion, and retention are ongoing objectives that require continuous effort. We actively work to end all forms of systemic discrimination and to foster an inclusive working environment where everyone feels respected, heard, valued, and supported.

Our earliest steps as a Committee, starting in 2019, were to (1) focus on creating a welcoming environment for all who are new to our firm, (2) have an assessment done of our firm culture by SIR (the Southeastern Institute of Research), which included both anonymous surveys of the entire firm and interviews with team members representative of non-attorney and attorney team members, the results of which we shared firmwide, (3) review our retention efforts to ensure that Spotts Fain meets the needs of our existing team, (4) implement equitable processes for the review of resumes (solicited and unsolicited), (5) reinvigorate our Summer Associate program and ensure that we reach a diverse audience of law students, and (6) ensure that all of our firm’s communications are welcoming and accessible for all.

We place such a significant emphasis on recruiting as part of our DE&I efforts that we created a new subcommittee of the DE&I Committee to focus specifically on recruiting for the firm – our Recruiting Committee, which is co-chaired by John Erbach, the co-chair of our DE&I Committee. John also serves as our point person for inquiries about attorney and summer associate openings.

The members of our DE&I Committee include:

John Erbach, Shareholder, Co-Chair

Jennifer Parham, Partner, Co-Chair

Spencer Katona, Shareholder

Kasey Hoare Michelle, Partner

Chris Hurley, Associate

Marilyn Orcutt, Associate

To see current openings, visit our Careers page.