Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP > Washington DC, United States > Firm Profile

Diversity & Inclusion

Hughes Hubbard has long held that diversity and inclusion make us stronger, more creative lawyers for our clients because we approach challenges from a variety of perspectives born of different life experiences.

The firm offers an uncompromising commitment to diversity and inclusion, with a strong policy to articulate it and a comprehensive program to implement it. We foster an inclusive work environment where individuals can flourish and perform at the highest level.

This commitment continues to be recognized by organizations. These include a perfect score on the 2018 Corporate Equality Index, a national benchmarking survey and report on policies and practices related to LGBTQ workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation. We have also been awarded the Gold Standard Certification by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the seventh consecutive year, one of only 15 firms nationally to have consistently achieved this recognition since the program’s inception in 2011. The award certifies and recognizes law firms that have integrated women into their highest leadership positions.

Our efforts focus on recruiting, retaining and promoting attorneys of diverse backgrounds. Our diverse attorneys are included in all aspects of firm growth: in developing new and existing client relationships, serving in leadership roles and participating in our mentoring programs. We are also involved in various pipeline initiatives to increase the diversity of the legal profession. These efforts include one-on-one mentoring by our lawyers that prepare exceptional college students from historically underrepresented populations to have success in college and the legal profession. We also partner with interested clients in further supporting these programs.

For more about our diversity program, please click here.

Meaghan Gragg Selected as a Leadership Council on
Legal Diversity Fellow

Patrice Jean and Meaghan Gragg at the
2018 LCLD Fellows First Meeting

Meaghan Gragg, a litigation partner in the firm’s New York office, has been selected as a Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow for 2018.

The LCLD Fellows Program is an intensive, year-long professional training program designed to develop the next generation of diversity leaders in the legal industry. The program connects high-potential attorneys with leading general counsel and managing partners.

Throughout Meaghan’s career, she has been deeply involved in significant and high-profile matters, both in court and before arbitral tribunals. She also has demonstrated a commitment to social responsibility through her pro bono work and substantial contributions to the firm’s diversity initiatives.

Hughes Hubbard is a New York City-based international law firm with a relentless focus on providing quality service to our clients and delivering successful results in the most complex matters. With a powerful combination of scale and agility, we offer clients innovative and effective solutions, while remaining flexible to adapt to their needs and market developments.

Firm Maintains Perfect Score on LGBTQ Equality Report

Meaghan Gragg, chair of the firm’s
LGBTQ Attorney Affinity Group, attends
the 2017 ceremony on behalf of the firm.

For the third year in a row, Hughes Hubbard earned a perfect score of 100 percent on the Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a national benchmarking survey and report on corporate policies and practices related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) workplace equality, administered by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.

Of the 947 major U.S. businesses rated from 0 to 100 this year, HHR is among a record 609 to receive a perfect score. The firm has been participating in the CEI since 2013 and has scored the top mark each year since enhancing its diversity efforts in 2015.

“We are very pleased to be recognized for our support of LGBTQ equality and inclusion in our workplace,” said Diane Lifton, co-chair of the firm’s Committee on Diversity and Inclusion. “This achievement shows our firm’s continuing commitment to having a diverse workforce and a work environment that is inclusive and respectful.”

The 2018 CEI rated more than 1,000 businesses in the report, which evaluates LGBTQ-related policies and practices, including non-discrimination workplace protections, domestic partner benefits, transgender-inclusive health care benefits, competency programs and public engagement with the LGBTQ community. HHR’s achievement in satisfying all of the CEI’s criteria results in a 100 percent ranking and the designation as a Best Place to Work for LGBTQ Equality.

“We are proud of our commitment to ensuring that each and every attorney, regardless of sexual orientation or identity, feels welcome in our law firm community,” said Meaghan Gragg, co-founder of the firm’s LGBTQ affinity group. “We will remain diligent in our efforts.”

Diversity Q&A Series With Our Affinity Group Leaders

Hughes Hubbard’s Diversity Committee, which helps the firm recruit, retain and promote attorneys of diverse backgrounds, is comprised of five affinity groups aligned by race, gender and sexual orientation. This series of Q&A articles introduces the leaders of those groups.

Latino Attorney Affinity Group Leader Seeks to Bridge Differences

Sara E. Echenique, head of the firm’s Latino Attorney Affinity Group, has been a member of the Diversity Committee since May 2015. Born in Philadelphia to Puerto Rican parents and raised in Puerto Rico, she joined the firm in October 2010 as an associate in the New York office.

Click here to read the full Q&A.

Black Attorney Affinity Group Leader Brings Life Experience to Role

Ashley Hodges, head of the firm’s Black Attorney Affinity Group, has been a member of the Diversity Committee since spring 2016. Born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, she joined the firm as a summer associate in 2013 and returned to the New York office as an associate in October 2014.

Click here to read the full Q&A.

LGBT Affinity Group Leader Strives to Further Tolerance

Meaghan Gragg co-founded the firm’s LGBT Affinity Group with former associate Danny Grossman in 2013; she joined the Diversity Committee in spring 2015. Born and raised in Miami, she began her tenure at the firm in 2008 as an associate; she was promoted to partner this month.

Click here to read the full Q&A.

Asian Affinity Group Leader Aims to Strengthen Inclusiveness

Mei Li Zhen, head of the firm’s Asian Affinity Group, has been a member of the Diversity Committee since spring 2015. Born in China and raised in Brooklyn, Zhen joined the firm as a summer associate in 2009 and as a full-time associate in the fall of 2010.

Click here to read the full Q&A.

Hughes Hubbard Receives Diversity Award From Eaton

From left: Tim Boyle, vice president and chief counsel
for competition and trade regulation at Eaton; Amanda DeBusk,
chair of Hughes Hubbard’s International Trade practice;
Mark Mcguire, executive vice president and general counsel
at Eaton; Patrice Jean, a Hughes Hubbard partner;
Ravi Soopramanien, a Hughes Hubbard associate
and Carolyn Cheverine, vice president and chief counsel
for corporate and international transactions at Eaton.

Hughes Hubbard was selected to receive the Eaton Law Department Supplier Inclusion and Diversity Excellence Award for its 2015 performance.

The award is presented to Eaton’s Law Department suppliers who exhibit a commitment to the company’s diversity effort. Eaton Corp. employs more than 100,000 people worldwide and is a global leader in power management and electrical systems.

Amanda DeBusk, chair of the firm’s International Trade department, accepted the award on Oct. 19, 2016 in front of more than 70 Eaton team members from around the world at a global legal meeting in Cleveland. Tim Boyle, vice president and chief counsel for competition and trade regulation at Eaton, highlighted the firm’s historic commitment to diversity, from Charles Evans Hughes’ early support for women’s suffrage to Amalya Kearse becoming the first black partner at a major Wall Street law firm in the 1960s to Candace Beinecke becoming the first female chair of a major New York law firm in 1999.

Patrice Jean, a partner in HHR’s Intellectual Property practice, spoke about the firm’s diversity committee, providing heartfelt remarks on diversity and discussing the great work that the committee does. Finally, Ravi Soopramanien, an associate in the firm’s D.C. office, spoke about his personal experience at HHR, describing how the firm’s reputation for diversity was important for him in deciding to join HHR.

“Diversity is a strong part of Hughes Hubbard’s identity, and I was truly honored to receive this award on behalf of the firm,” DeBusk said.

Hughes Hubbard Awarded WILEF’s Gold Standard Certification

Partners Sarah Cave and Aviva Wernick at a
Hughes Hubbard Women’s Roundtable event

Hughes Hubbard has been awarded the Gold Standard Certification by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) for the seventh year in a row, one of only 15 firms nationally to have consistently achieved this recognition since the program’s inception in 2011.

The award certifies and recognizes law firms that have integrated women into their highest leadership positions. The certification emphasizes leadership roles achieved by women equity partners, rather than the policies or practices of the firm or the number or percentage of women in partnership.

To receive gold status, firms with at least 300 lawyers in the U.S. had to meet at least four of seven criteria involving women in key positions. HHR qualified in the following five categories, with women constituting a minimum of:

• 20 percent of equity partners
• 15 percent of firm chairs and managing partners
• 20 percent of the firm’s compensation committee
• 15 percent of the top half of the most highly compensated partners (up from 10 percent)
• 7 percent of women equity partners are women of color or 3.5 percent of women equity partners are LGBT

Hughes Hubbard Sponsors Council of Urban
Professionals Gala 2016

From left to right: Hughes Hubbard associate
Debbie Placid and Hughes Hubbard partner
Patrice Jean at the CUP gala

Hughes Hubbard was among the sponsors of the Council of Urban Professionals’ 9th Annual Leadership Gala, held at Cipriani 42nd Street in Manhattan.

The gala honored extraordinary leaders whose strides in diversity and inclusion, public service, entrepreneurship and philanthropy have a made a tremendous difference in the U.S.

Founded in 2007, CUP focuses on preparing high-performing professionals of color and women for the rise to senior leadership roles within financial services, legal, media and entertainment, non-profit and public sectors. Through the CUP Fellows Program, 24 participants complete a 10-month leadership development experience that includes skill-based training and networking opportunities that prepare participants for civic involvement.

Hughes Hubbard Recipient of St. John University’s
Ron Brown Trailblazer Award

From left to right: Darryl Gibbs of AXA; Hughes Hubbard
partner Diane Lifton, co-chair of the firm’s Diversity
Committee; associate Charles Huberty; Ted Mayer,
chair of the firm; Tracey Brown of the Cochran firm,
Elaine Chiu, director of the Ronald H. Brown Center for
Law and Justice; and associate Julie Amadeo.

Hughes Hubbard’s New York office hosted the Ninth Annual Kickoff Reception for the Ronald H. Brown Law School Prep Program at St. John’s University School of Law.

The program’s mission is to increase the diversity of the legal profession by preparing exceptional college students from disadvantaged and historically underrepresented groups for success in law school and the legal profession. The kickoff reception introduced students in this year’s junior class of the program to their attorney mentors from HHR, clients Merck and AXA Equitable, and other law firms and government agencies.

More than 80 friends and supporters of the program attended. Ted Mayer delivered welcome remarks on behalf of the firm, alongside Tracey Brown, daughter of the program’s namesake Ron Brown, a former chair of the Democratic National Committee and the Secretary of Commerce in the Clinton Administration, who was the first African-American to hold this position. Summer intern Andres Santamaria, an alumnus of the program, also spoke about the positive impact that mentors have on the professional development of students in the program. Professor Elaine Chiu, the director of the program, and Darryl Gibbs, associate general counsel at AXA, praised the firm’s contributions to the program’s continued success.

Diane Lifton, Charles Huberty and Julie Amadeo lead the firm’s partnership with the prep program. In addition to Lifton, Huberty and Amadeo, Jason Benton, Jim Kobak, Bill Maguire, Brett Collings, Ashley Hodges, Ileana Loudarou, Caroline Parker-Beaudrias and Laura Escalona Trumbull volunteered to serve as mentors.

Key principles

Committed

Diversity and inclusion matters.

Leadership

We have strategically placed lawyers with varied backgrounds in positions of influence throughout the firm, including office and practice leaders.

Mentoring

We have developed both formal and informal mentoring for diverse associates as well as all associates at large. In the case of diverse associates we offer additional mentoring from members of the diversity committee and affinity groups.

Oversight

To maintain accountability, our Diversity Committee, comprised of partners, counsel, associates and staff, oversees our efforts, including mentoring, recruiting, retention, outreach and affinity groups.

Outreach

We actively recruit law students of diverse backgrounds and offer a select group the opportunity to participate in our summer program, where they can learn more about life at our firm and develop their career goals.

Support

Hughes Hubbard currently supports affinity groups for African-American lawyers, Asian lawyers, Hispanic lawyers, working mothers, LGBT lawyers and our women’s roundtable. The latter group offers firmwide video-conference sessions involving featured speakers and interactive workshops.

Long Standing Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

In keeping with our strong commitment to diversity, Hughes Hubbard is proud to be one of the initial signatories to The Association of the Bar of the City of New York’s “Statement of Diversity Principles” and The New York County Lawyers’ Association “Statement in Support of Diversity in the Legal Profession.”

“When we lose the right to be different, we lose the privilege to be free.” -Charles Evans Hughes

Our firm’s commitment to diversity can be traced back to our founder, Charles Evans Hughes, campaigning for women’s suffrage in his near-victory over Woodrow Wilson in the 1916 presidential race. In 1942, we broke ranks with other Wall Street firms in hiring the first female associate at a time when most of those firms did not even interview women. In 1969, we named as partner Amalya Kearse, the first African-American female partner of any major New York firm. Kearse went on to become the second African-American to sit on the Second Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals. In 1999, Candace Beinecke became chair of Hughes Hubbard, making her the first woman to chair a major New York law firm.