Diversity

Reinhart Boerner Van Deuren s.c. understands the value of diversity. A diverse workforce provides the highest value for client services by forging solutions to client problems from different perspectives. Likewise Reinhart vendors best serve us when they represent a diverse supplier network for goods and services needed by the firm. Reinhart is committed to several related objectives including building relationships, providing opportunities and promoting awareness.

Several of our diversity initiatives focus on building relationships. These include:

§         Firm Diversity Committee – Reinhart is dedicated to providing programs, benefits and recruiting efforts for building a more diverse workforce. Our Diversity Committee is made up of partners, associates and staff who are active in attending professional and community events and in maintaining contacts in diverse bar associations and other relevant organizations. They serve as mentors and resources for incoming attorneys of diverse backgrounds.

§         Professional Development of Minority Attorneys – Reinhart has and continues to foster professional development activities for attorneys of diverse backgrounds outside the law firm. We seek to identify innovative ways to work with other professionals to share skills and knowledge to expand the opportunities available, including the opportunity to participate in internal and external education programs, known as Reinhart University and Reinhart University Extension. We have proudly sponsored programs for the Wisconsin Association of African American Lawyers and the Wisconsin Hispanic Lawyers Association.  

§         Local Community Organizations – Reinhart is also a long-term supporter of the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee. Reinhart partners serve on the Board of both Neighborhood House of Milwaukee and the Boys & Girls Club and the firm frequently provides sponsorships for their events, which raise money for inner city community centers. Our employees contribute annually to more than 100 community organizations including the Jewish Community Center, Moms @ Work, the College Readiness 21 program and La Causa, Inc.

§         Organizations for DBEs – Our attorneys work extensively with various groups and serve in board capacities to groups such as the Wisconsin Business Resource Center, a nonprofit organization dedicated to creating, expanding and preserving businesses owned by minorities, women and those who meet the federal definition of disadvantaged.

·         Connecting Local Businesses – Members of our firm are frequent participants in state and local events that provide assistance to minorities, women and veteran-owned businesses. Reinhart attorneys offer presentations and counsel clients on implementing supplier diversity programs, including identifying ways for non-minority-owned companies to form relationships with minorities and/or women to capture business opportunities.

§         Women's Initiatives – We have long been an advocate of women's initiatives and established the Reinhart Women's Forum (RWF) as a means to attract and retain professional women. RWF provides opportunities for women at the firm to network, mentor and share business skills an strategies. In addition, we have sponsored numerous conferences for women in the communities in which we serve.

·         Diversity Clerkship Program – We currently participate in the Wisconsin State Bar Minority Clerkship Program. Attorneys are matched with a minority student who becomes a member of our annual summer associate intern program. This program encourages diversity in the legal profession by offering attorneys and students a unique opportunity to share learning experiences.

§         Diversity Outreach Shadow Program – Six times per year, we invite a young person from an area high school or community-based organization to "shadow" one of our attorneys. This program introduces training opportunities to individuals interested in a hands-on learning experience with Reinhart attorneys.

§         Internship Minority Outreach Program – We established and regularly offer a young, interested student an opportunity to work in the Legal Opportunity Youth Internship Program (LOYIP) at Reinhart. The program provides internship opportunities to high school and college students who are interested in pursuing a career in law. The goal of the program is to provide minority and socially and economically disadvantaged students training/mentorship opportunities within the legal profession. To further enhance our involvement in the program, we will be expanding our search for minority participants to surrounding communities.

§         Scholarships – Reinhart currently participates in providing scholarships for the Youth of the Year from Neighborhood House of Milwaukee, an inner city community center that empowers young children with enriched programming.

§         Minority Business Professionals – In partnership with Edgewood College, we fund a minority MBA student scholarship, sponsor an awards program recognizing distinguished alumni and provide financial support to an ethical leadership program at Edgewood College.

§         Minority Job Fairs & Student Associations – Reinhart consistently supports minority job fairs, affinity groups and professional associations, and actively advertises and recruits through minority-focused media. To provide further opportunity for networking with minority law students, we sponsor minority student bar association events, including our recent participation in the National Hispanic Law Student Association's annual meeting.

Reinhart strives to use our visibility in our communities to raise awareness of the benefits of diversity. Our work on this includes:

§         Bar Sponsored Programs & Initiatives – We are also actively involved with ethnic bar associations. We were honored to receive the Wisconsin Association of African-American Lawyers' (WAAL) Diversity Partner Award in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Part of our commitment to WAAL has included co-sponsorship of a seminar held at the Milwaukee Bar Association for recruiting and retaining minority attorneys. In addition, Reinhart sponsors the State Bar of Wisconsin's Diversity Outreach Committee's annual Diversity Counsel Programs, a full-day workshop aimed at assisting and educating Wisconsin attorneys and corporations about diversity in the legal community.

§         Sharing Our Knowledge – We provide complimentary supervisory training for members of the Minority Business Opportunity Council and our community/marketplace committee has a very rich history of being proactive in supplier diversity and outreach/business development efforts.

§         Community Organizations – Reinhart and our employees contribute to the Jewish Community Center, Central Legal, the African American Women's Association and the College Readiness 21 program of the Wisconsin Foundation for Independent Colleges.

·         State of Wisconsin Marketplace – We sponsored and actively participated in this annual Governor's event for minority business. We are active in the state programs to assist M/D/WBE's

·         Fostering Diversity – Building Strategic Alliances - This firm event was attended by approximately 125 persons of M/DBEs, large business and government. It sought to engage the participants in the steps necessary to create successful business opportunities

·         Wisconsin Women's Business Initiative Corporation (WWBIC) – We actively support WWBIC efforts to educate, support and finance small diverse business enterprises. Our attorneys provide training on an ongoing basis of interest to such entrepreneurs.