HISTORY AND PROGRAMS
Mission
The Philadelphia Diversity Law Group (PDLG) PDLG is committed to fostering participation of a more diverse group of lawyers in the Greater Philadelphia Region in order to make our legal profession stronger, more productive and better equipped to address the challenges of the twenty-first century. As part of this mission, PDLG creates programs to enhance recruitment and retention of lawyers of diverse backgrounds by law firms and corporate law departments in this region.
History
In 1993, many local law firms and corporate legal departments signed a “statement of goals” presented by then Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Andre Dennis and agreed to increase minority attorney representation and retention at their organizations. Although the Philadelphia Bar Association and individual employers had made some progress since signing the statement of goals in 1993, it was recognized that a concerted effort was required if the number of minority lawyers in the Philadelphia legal community was going to increase. In 1998, Nolan Atkinson ,Jr. of Duane Morris and Jonathan Waller of Sunoco were brought together by then Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor Edward Chacker to take a hard look at this area of concern for the Philadelphia bar.
Out of the meetings between Nolan and Jon and their discussions with other lawyers a Steering Committee was formed in 2000. The Steering Committee consisted of Nolan, Jon, Andre Dennis, Greg Matthews, Tobey Oxholm, Elaine Rinaldi and Robert Vogel. The Steering Committee convened a diversity retreat on June 2, 2000. The retreat was for senior in-house counsel and law firm chairpersons, managing partners and practice leaders. Its purpose was to evaluate the status of diverse lawyers in the area bar and to brainstorm how best to move forward with initiatives to increase diversity. Working with expert consultants, the group came up with a multi-pronged approach to be implemented under the auspices of what eventually became the PDLG.
Initially, the plan was to establish a non-profit corporation which would create a registry of diverse lawyers and law students seeking positions in Philadelphia and a second registry of volunteer mentors for diverse lawyers. In addition, the new corporation would serve as a resource center for educational programs and strategies for increasing diversity as well as to promote Philadelphia as a great place for diverse lawyers to work.
The work moved forward and in 2001, PDLG was incorporated with twelve members. The founding members, as listed in the original By-Laws, were Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, Cozen and O’Connor, Dechert, Drinker Biddle & Reath, Duane Morris & Heckscher, Montgomery,McCracken Walker & Rhoads, Morgan Lewis & Bockius, Pepper Hamilton; Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, ACE USA and SUNOCO, Inc. From this modest beginning, PDLG has grown to 35 members - 23 law firms and 12 law departments.
While the mission has never changed, some of the programs designed to accomplish that mission have. Over the years, PDLG’s programs have focused on four areas: lawyer recruitment, student pipeline, legal community education and lawyer retention.
Executive Committee Members 2019 - 2020
Raymond Williams, DLA Piper
Maria Lewis, Drinker Biddle & Reath
Prince Thomas, Fox Rothschild
Julie Congdon
John Lee, Morgan Lewis
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEMBERS
PDLG Officers
Co-President – Jerome Maddox, GlaxoSmithKline
Co-President – Leslie John, Ballard Spahr
Secretary/treasurer – Albert Dandridge, Schnader
Vice President – Marie Dukes, FMC
Vice President for Programs – Lois Kimbol
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Aramark
Melissa Merkel
Archer & Greiner, P.C.
Debra Rosen
Lloyd Freeman
Ballard Spahr LLP
Leslie John
Blank Rome LLP
Sophia Lee
Christopher Lewis
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC
Joseph Centeno
CHUBB
Joy Bernstein
Comcast Cable Communications LLC
Sohana Sethi
Conrad O’Brien
Judson Aaron
Cozen O’Connor, PC
Robert Chu
Dechert LLP
Vernon Francis
Dilworth Paxson LLP
Alex Braden
Skye Nickalls
DLA Piper LLP (US)
Raymond Williams
Drinker, Biddle & Reath, LLP
Maria Lewis
Duane Morris LLP
Thomas Loder
Joseph West
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, LLC
Dennis Ziemba
Flaster/Greenberg P.C.
Angie Gambone
FMC Corporation
Marie Dukes
Fox Rothschild LLP
Steven Ludwig
Prince Thomas
Greenberg Traurig
Michael Pratt
GlaxoSmithKline, LLC
Jennean Endres
Independence Blue Cross
Lilton R. Taliaferro Jr.
Hogan Lovells US, LLP
Kelliann Payne
Holland & Knight LLP
Nipun Patel
Lincoln Financial
Brandy Smith
Littler Mendelson, P.C.
Barbara Rittinger Rigo
Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox, LLP
Suzanne Schiller
Montgomery, McCracken, Walker & Rhoads, LLP
Renee Smith
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP
John Lee
Obermayer Rebmann Maxwell & Hippel, LLP
Min Suh
Pepper Hamilton LLP
Michael Reed
Kasem Lucas
Reed Smith LLP
Luke Debevec
Shruti Engstrom
Saul Ewing LLP
Christopher Hall
Schnader, Harrison, Segal & Lewis LLP
Albert S. Dandridge, III
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co.
Amy Loperfido
Stradley, Ronon, Stevens & Young, LLP
Danielle Banks
Temple University
Sheryl Santerian
The Vanguard Group
Ginene Lewis
White and Williams LLP
Wesley Payne
Special Board Member
Nolan Atkinson
Special Board Member
Julie Congdon
Special Board Member
Lois Kimbol
Special Board Member
Aaron Skrypski
Special Board Member
Stella Tsa
Stevens & Lee
Stacey Scrivani