Commitment to Diversity
We know diversity isn’t just about statistics. It’s about how people see the world and relate to others. It’s about how we can better represent our clients by better connecting with witnesses, judges and jurors nationwide.
Diversity that Reflects the Global Marketplace
By choosing to represent large manufacturers and household-name corporations nationwide, Bowman and Brooke cannot help but assume the enormous responsibility of recognizing and reflecting the diversity of all the people who make up the globe. We must be responsive to the needs of our clients by reaching out to all the ethnic, racial, economic and social groups who are their clients.
"People from different backgrounds and experiences bring different perspectives and different problem-solving skills to bear on client problems," says Minneapolis' former hiring partner Michelle Rognlien. "If we all thought the same way on every issue, or if we thought about every issue the same way, we could not resolve issues creatively, and creativity is essential for trial lawyers."
In an increasingly global business world, versatility and diversity gives our clients an edge. Diversity is apparent within our firm as virtually 21% of our partners are minorities; nearly triple that of the national average. This is additionally reinforced as approximately 21% of our partners are women; roughly four percent higher than the national average. Diversity can be further expressed within our firm through the many languages and dialects some of our attorneys are fluent in, such as Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Russian, and Amharic.
Investing our Resources in the Community
Outside the office, our lawyers also participate in many community organizations that promote diversity and understanding between cultures.
We are active in the National Bar Association which works to aid the development and mainstreaming of African American lawyers. We are also members of the California Minority Counsel Program, which is similarly dedicated to increasing opportunities for minority attorneys to network and develop business relationships with in-house counsel. We join in the diversity efforts of the Minnesota Women Lawyers, the Twin Cities Black Lawyers Association, the Minnesota American Indian Bar Association, the Japanese American Society, the Arizona Women Lawyers, the Hayzel B. Daniel's Association, the Greater Phoenix Black Chamber of Commerce, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association, the Human Rights Campaign, Equality Virginia and more.
Bowman and Brooke's Female and Minority Partners
Not only do we participate but we also contribute financially to several groups that nurture young minority lawyers, including the Arizona Judicial Intern Opportunity Program, the Arizona State University Minority Legal Writing Program and the Twin Cities Diversity in Practice group whose mission is to promote the Twin Cities as a good place for lawyers of color to develop professionally and personally.
"I don’t think of our diversity efforts as a program," says partner George Soule, also a Native American. "I think of diversity as a way we do business and who we are as a firm."
This commitment has won new clients and strengthened our bond with current clients. By devoting time and resources to organizations of diverse populations, we do more than say we believe in diversity―we prove it.
We also believe our environment helps us attract top talent. Several of our attorneys of color have been recognized for their achievements; they include Chris Fowlkes and Roshan Rajkumar, as "Up and Coming" attorneys by Minnesota Lawyer, and Raj Sivananthan, has been among the Phoenix Business Journal’s "40 under 40."
"Our goal is to make diversity commonplace at Bowman and Brooke," says Larry Mann, an African American lawyer in our Detroit office. "And, we’re well on our way."
