Advancing

At Jenner & Block, we advance careers by inviting everyone into the conversation. We elevate diverse lawyers to the partnership and welcome diverse lateral partners to join and lead practice groups. When she was selected as the Washington, DC Office Managing Partner earlier this year, Partner Lindsay Harrison described the firm’s commitment to advancement this way: “As an LGBTQ lawyer, one of the reasons I was initially attracted to Jenner was because it was one of the few law firms where openly LGBTQ lawyers were thriving at the time—and diversity, equity, and inclusion remains intrinsic to Jenner culture.”

In 2022, Partner Michelle Kallen joined us after serving as Solicitor General of Virginia; Special Counsel Marcus Childress joined us as well. As leaders of our practice groups and industry teams, these two share a commitment to mentorship and sponsorship.

Mentorship and Sponsorship: Keys to Continued Success 

We do not believe that it is enough to simply attract great talent. We work hard to support and retain our talent through programs that include affinity groups; a mentoring program for junior associates; a career development advisory program that begins in a lawyer’s mid-level associate years; and initiatives led by the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee. Jenner & Block also offers a variety of training and development programs, including annual diversity workshops to help increase cultural competence and inclusion in the workplace. 

In 2020, we launched our Sponsorship Program to help advance our retention goals. The innovative program pairs junior lawyers with a sponsor currently serving as a practice group leader or on the Management or Policy Committee. The sponsors work with their protégés and develop a written plan and outline goals for the sponsorship relationship.

Since the pilot launched in 2020, and the full rollout in 2021, the Sponsorship Program has been incredibly well received. Diverse lawyers are benefiting from the previously informal sponsorship network that traditionally existed among white male lawyers, as sponsors help their protégés unlock work opportunities and bring them into the fold of lucrative and high-profile client relationships.

The program is fortified by an accountability piece, as the sponsors are required to report regularly to firm leadership. This has proven an effective method for ensuring active and impactful sponsorship. Through this program, and others, our diverse partnership has grown significantly, from 17 partners of color in 2016 to 28 as of May 2023. 

Annual Elevations Highlight Commitment to Advancing Diverse Lawyers

Jenner & Block’s commitment to advancing opportunities for diverse lawyers is highlighted every December when we announce elevations to partner, as well as promotions to roles such as special counsel. And the legal industry has taken notice.

In 2022, Jenner & Block was one of only 57 law firms celebrated by the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance for having 50 percent or more women in their 2022 new partner classes. That year, the firm elevated 10 lawyers to partner; six of those were women.

Over the course of the last year, 35 lawyers have joined the ranks of partner and special counsel, either through promotions or as laterals. Of those, 22 are from underrepresented groups.

They include:

Keisha Stanford: Proud to Pay it Forward

Partner Keisha Stanford’s ability to think creatively and identify practical solutions for clients propelled her success in an international law firm. She brings more than a decade of experience to bear for clients who face high-stakes white collar criminal and government enforcement matters.

“You can find a better solution for clients when you understand them, their business, and their goals,” said Keisha, a Co-Chair of Jenner & Block’s Anti-Corruption and FCPA Practice. “During my secondment at Uber, I had the opportunity to gain an inside understanding of how businesses work and how decisions are made. I leverage that experience in my work with clients across industries today.”

Keisha is also a thought leader in the industry and has served as editor–in-chief of Jenner & Block’s Anti-Corruption Enforcement Year in Review for the past eight years. The interactive report is the go-to resource for analysis of enforcement trends in the United States, United Kingdom, and around the world. The project is also one way that Keisha mentors young lawyers.

“I genuinely enjoy sharing the information that was passed on to me and critical to my success,” said Keisha. “As the first lawyer in my family, I can’t call my parents to ask for specific insights on navigating the legal industry. I have relied on my mentors and sponsors along the way, and I’m proud to be able to play that role for others.”

“Keisha’s talent runs the gamut of everything you would want in a partner and colleague; she has fabulous judgment, manages teams and matters effectively, and has a great touch with clients,” said firm Chair Tom Perrelli. “Clients who work with Keisha always express their confidence in her and appreciation for the care she takes with their matters.”

Her commitment to supporting clients extends to her pro bono practice and is rooted in values instilled by her parents and her time doing immigration work before law school. Keisha was awarded the Albert E. Jenner Pro Bono Award in 2018 for her work representing two civilian Department of Defense lawyers.

Cayman Mitchell: Finding Support and Passing it On

As a Co-Chair of the firm’s Associates Committee and an adjunct professor at Pace University, Cayman Mitchell knows how quality mentorship can support a young lawyer in Big Law.

“I have received invaluable feedback through both formal and informal mentoring relationships at Jenner, from lawyers across all levels and primary teams,” said Cayman. “Jenner trusts junior associates to handle meaningful and impactful work with the right balance of guidance and responsibility.”

One of these mentors who can attest to Cayman’s growth is Partner Alison Stein.

“Clients across the tech industry have quickly realized how beneficial it is to have Cayman on their team,” said Alison. “They have a unique combination of being a brilliant legal thinker as well as a highly trained technician stemming from their background in computer science. That is a winning combo in our practice area of IP and emerging technologies.”

Cayman, who identifies as non-binary, believes that the firm’s culture and guidance from other queer lawyers have allowed them to embrace who they are professionally.

“I feel free to express myself in the way I dress and present both in and out of the office. I’ve never been judged or experienced pressure to alter my appearance in front of clients. Others before me have created space at Jenner where I can bring my full self to work, and I hope I can maintain that space for others.”

Indeed, Cayman is busy paying forward the support they have gained at the firm. “I’m the lawyer I am today only because of the opportunities and advice I’ve received at Jenner, and I want more junior associates to have the same experience here. I try to provide them with the freedom to ask questions, to be challenged, and to fail, which strengthens our teams and the excellence we bring to our clients.”

Creating Pipelines for Diverse Young Lawyers to Build Impactful Careers at Jenner & Block

Each summer, Jenner & Block welcomes SEO Scholars and LCLD Fellows to the firm. Pictured, left to right: Agustin DeLuna, Rabi Osagie, Kaitlyn Bowe, Lucas Reyes, and Sijay Matsinye.

Not pictured: Nicole Hernandez, Makena Mugambi, Jacob Willebeek-LeMair, Nathnael Alazar, Michelle Charles, and Naji Thompson.

The legal field has always struggled to attract and retain diverse lawyers. According to American Bar Association data, less than five percent of practicing lawyers are Black, and other racial minority groups account for only another 10 percent. Ensuring diverse students feel welcomed and supported in entering the legal profession is key to DEI progress. The right connections and work assignments help lawyers gain the skills and experiences needed to advance in their careers and create the “stickiness” needed to see lasting change. But inattention or even unconscious bias can sometimes prevent this from happening for diverse lawyers.

For these reasons, Jenner & Block offers pipeline programs that create paths for diverse candidates to succeed in the legal profession. From the day diverse law students set foot in a Jenner office, attention is given at all levels of the firm to support their success.

Fifty-four underrepresented law students participated in the 2023 summer associate class, including 13 diverse fellows from a variety of pipeline programs. Eight of these fellows participated for the first time through the Seizing Every Opportunity (SEO) Law Fellowship program, which brings diverse students entering their first year of law school to the firm for paid internships. Five were first-year Diversity Fellows—those who were former SEO Fellows or who participated through the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s (LCLD) 1L Scholars Program or the Federal Communications Bar Association’s Diversity Pipeline Program (FCBA). Through the FBCA program, diverse law students can access internship placements, academic enrichment, and mentoring with leading law firms, companies, trade associations, and non-profit organizations in the technology, media, and telecom sectors. Jenner & Block is among 13 participating law firms. 

As underrepresented lawyers advance in their careers—from a first-year associate or lateral through to partner—the firm continues to nurture their journey along the pipeline. The firm’s Work Assignment program brings together our Professional Development Team and our partners to ensure that assignments are made equitably to all lawyers. Every racially diverse junior lawyer in the firm is assigned a sponsor who either sits on a leadership committee at the firm or leads a primary team. Sponsors actively help their protégés gain the experience, support, and connections they need throughout their career at Jenner.

The firm participates in LCLD’s Pathfinders Program to support diverse mid-level associates, as well as their flagship Fellows Program, which connects diverse junior partners with leaders at companies and provides opportunities for business development and professional growth. Additionally, in 2021, we expanded our pipeline work to the United Kingdom by joining NOTICED, the UK’s first inter-firm diversity network aimed at promoting networking opportunities to integrate, celebrate, and educate on diversity across the legal sector. 

Want to Lead a Law Firm Office? Take Inspiration and Insight from Lindsay Harrison and Christine Braamskamp

Office Managing Partners Lindsay Harrison, left, and Christine Braamskamp connected in London with Lindsay’s children, Nava and Max.

Office Managing Partners Lindsay Harrison, left, and Christine Braamskamp connected in London with Lindsay’s children, Nava and Max.

One hails from a tiny hamlet in Holland, a town called Delfzijl, population 25,651. The first in her family to graduate from university, she always wanted to be a lawyer.

One is a native of the Dallas, Texas, area. She never expected to practice law for her entire career, much less at one firm.

Christine Braamskamp would eventually leave the Netherlands to practice law in England. On January 1, 2023, five years after she joined Jenner & Block’s London office, she took the helm as the office Managing Partner. 

Lindsay Harrison started at Jenner & Block as a summer associate in 2002 and, apart from finishing law school, briefly teaching, and clerking, never left. She was elevated to Managing Partner of our Washington, DC office on March 1, 2023. 

They come from different backgrounds. They have different practices – Christine in white-collar defense, leading Jenner’s Investigations Department, and Lindsay in commercial litigation, leading our Real Estate and Hospitality Practice. They are separated by an ocean and roughly 3,662 miles, but Christine and Lindsay are aligned when they share insight about leading an office: London with 42 personnel and DC with 167.

Both acknowledge that the job is a mix of managing the nitty-gritty – finances and facilities – and creating an environment where everyone is valued. Fostering such an environment means everything from designing inclusive office spaces to implementing equitable policies to promoting face-to-face meetings, whether one-to one or otherwise, with everyone in the office. 

Lindsay describes part of her role as building connections between lawyers and potential clients: “The job is to make everyone as successful as can be.”

“I really consider my role as bringing in and handing out,” says Christine. “Where there’s an opportunity to speak somewhere, hand it out. Whether it is work, or a conference, hand it out. Pass that on.”

For anyone who aspires to lead an office, step one, they say, is to get out of yours. 

“Sitting at your desk isn’t going to get you into leadership,” Christine says. “You need to build the relationships and create the friendships that will help you get through situations.” 

“This is not a job that anyone does alone,” Lindsay says. “If I’m successful, it’s because I’ve gotten and taken great advice from colleagues. An essential part of the job is listening to others, getting feedback, and acting on it. A whole has better ideas than any one individual.”

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