LEADERSHIP COMMITMENT

Tashwanda Pinchback Dixon, a partner in our Labor and Employment practice, was selected as one of “Atlanta’s Top 100 Black Women of Influence” by the Atlanta Business League. This annual list, published since 1994, honors Black women in the metro Atlanta community who have reached senior-level positions within their profession, are leading entrepreneurs in their industry, or have attained the ability to influence large public bodies politically and in government.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Council

The firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Council works to shape the firm’s commitment to maintaining a foundation where all members possess a sense of belonging and an opportunity to contribute at their highest level and to support efforts to increase representation of marginalized groups. Some highlights of the Council’s work includes:

• Received Executive Committee approval for 50 hours of billable credit annually for significant leadership or participation in diversity, equity and inclusion-related activities and events. This policy not only emphasizes the value of work to advance DEI goals, but also ensures that those who dedicate time to these efforts, who are often from underrepresented groups, receive the appropriate credit for their work.

• Implemented new hiring practices to support the firm’s DEI goals. As part of this effort, we have adopted a model that focuses on proactively identifying needs, expanding our reach when sourcing candidates, and maintaining consistent hiring procedures.

• Reestablished its partnership with the Magic City Bar Association (MCBA), an organization (based in Birmingham, Alabama) that promotes and facilitates the professional advancement of minority attorneys and provides a forum for discussing and addressing wide variety of community issues and concerns. Since reestablishing this important partnership, the firm has hosted events between both MCBA members and Balch attorneys with law students.

• Enhanced the firm’s voluntary self-identification disclosure form to expand demographic categories, including race, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, and veteran statuses, and created a tracking system to better understand workforce demographics and increase participation in client and industry-related diversity surveys.