In its ongoing effort to promote diversity in the legal profession and other communities, Davis+Gilbert has adopted a new policy to incentivize time spent by its attorneys on diversity-related issues. Effective immediately, the firm is expanding a 50 billable hour credit category to now include work supporting diversity and inclusion within the firm and/or in their communities.
The expanded offering is in addition to 50 billable hours granted for pro bono work. In total, the firm has allocated 100 billable credit hours to attorneys who give back to the community via these important initiatives.
“It is important to align our incentive systems, including our compensation system, with our values as a firm,” said firm Chairman Ronald Urbach. “With this action and others, we hope to make it emphatically clear that we value diversity and inclusiveness.”
The firm’s previous recognition of 50 billable hours now include diversity and inclusion-related activities, which can include mentoring diverse talent, leading or attending diversity trainings, participating in diversity bar associations and volunteering at diversity-related events, among other things.
“This policy change is just one step that our firm leaders can take to show our deep commitment to creating and supporting diversity and inclusion not just at the firm, but within our communities, society and nation. We know that our attorneys’ ideas, voices, and participation are the key to our firm making a real difference on these vital issues and we commit to encouraging their efforts in any way we can,” adds Urbach.
Davis+Gilbert has been designated a top-ranked midsized law firm in New York in the 2021 Vault rankings. It has a proud history of supporting community-minded work by its attorneys, including pro bono work for the Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF) which provides pro bono legal name change services to low-income TGNCNB (transgender, gender non-conforming, non-binary) people.