Buchanan 2022 Culture Report

2022 CULTURE REPORT

When you place intentionality at the forefront of your diversity and inclusion strategy, it yields results. This past year, we progressed on our D&I journey in remarkable ways. I am proud of how we continue to cultivate a firm culture of inclusion and belonging, where differences are celebrated and embraced.

Through our award-winning D&I initiatives, every employee played a role in driving meaningful change here at Buchanan. We doubled down on our diversity recruiting efforts, leaned into courageous conversations, achieved new heights in our promotions, and found new ways to partner with clients and community organizations on D&I initiatives and programming. Furthermore, countless Buchanan employees served as role models and mentors, championing the firm’s beliefs and values both internally and through their community engagements. Likewise, our firm leadership took individual pledges, personally committing to advancing progress in our D&I journey.

This year’s Culture Report demonstrates our continued commitment to advancing D&I here at Buchanan. While we recognize that there remains much progress to be made, we are proud of our work and pledge to build upon this momentum for years to come.

JOSEPH A. DOUGHERTY Chairman and CEO

It is challenging to capture workplace culture in a report. Our culture is not quantifiable; rather, it is a qualitative measure of what it feels like to be a Buchanan employee. The values and beliefs that create our firm ethos and drive our employee engagement have remained the same. However, we have continued to increase our commitment to ensuring that our firm is an inclusive place for a diverse group of attorneys, government relations professionals and administrative staff to thrive.

This past year, we reached incredible heights and marked several milestones in our diversity and inclusion journey. Through a collection of summaries, profiles and highlights, you will find that this year’s Culture Report showcases everything that our firm values. We are proud of all that we have accomplished together with our clients and community partners. Making such remarkable progress while navigating the new normal of the hybrid workplace has not been easy for any organization, but our employees have adapted with much aplomb.

The best part about our culture though, is that it is ever-evolving. I am looking forward to our steadfast diversity journey and witnessing the great strides our firm will take to continue to foster the most inclusive workplace possible. Equally, I am excited to see our sustained impact on the profession and our communities. Everyone plays an important role in shaping our workplace culture and I invite each of you to continue on this journey with us.

LLOYD FREEMAN Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

TALENT UPDATE

At Buchanan, we believe that intentionality in talent recruitment is a pillar of any diversity and inclusion strategy. As a firm, we have worked tirelessly in creating a diverse talent pipeline by promoting and supporting the growth of people who already work at the firm, in addition to lateral and external recruitment.

Through this work, we have fostered a more inclusive workplace, and diversity continues to be an everyday commitment of the firm through every level of its human resources management: recruitment, retention and evaluation.

10.8%

increase in total number of employees of color

46.6%

of our Office Heads are women

140%

increase in our hiring of LGBT+ employees over the last year

47%

of our Section Leaders are women or underrepresented attorneys

100%

45% of our Board of Directors are women and underrepresented attorneys

48%

of our firm is now made up of women and underrepresented attorneys

increase in number of employees with disabilities over the last year

27% of our shareholder promotions this year were people of color

42.8%

36% of our promotions this year to shareholder were women

of our Compensation Committee are women and underrepresented attorneys

AFFINITY GROUPS

Since launching in 2021, the firm’s affinity groups have increased in activity and participation across the firm. The groups are driving improvements and positive changes at the firm through learning and discussion.

B.O.L.D. AFFINITY GROUP

The firm has added a floating holiday as a benefit for employees starting on January 1, 2023. A proposal of the B.O.L.D. Affinity group, the new policy encourages employees to celebrate a cultural holiday or other observance during the year.

B.R.A.V.E. AFFINITY GROUP

The firm sponsored Chapters Health Valor Program’s display of the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall in Tampa. B.R.A.V.E. Affinity Group chair James Wiltraut kicked off the week of celebration and remembrance with remarks.

C.A.R.E.S AFFINITY GROUP

The C.A.R.E.s Affinity Group was instrumental in the firm providing Bright Horizons as a benefit for employees. Bright Horizons offers dependent care, day care center access, in-home nannies, elder care, and pet care coverage for caregivers. Additionally, they donated to support the Still Remember project, an organization that provides support for the pregnancy and infant loss community.

N.O.W.

AFFINITY GROUP

One of the largest affinity groups, N.O.W., has made great progress since its inception last year and is driving real change. From working to identify which boards and organizations women in the firm should be represented on, to working with leadership to ensure our policies and procedures are equitable the group is helping the firm be a better ally for all female employees.

P.R.I.D.E. AFFINITY GROUP

During PRIDE month, Buchanan hosted “Pittsburgh Night Out P.R.I.D.E. Reception,” an in person happy hour reception celebrating Buchanan attorney and P.R.I.D.E. Affinity Group Chair Nick Bell, who was recently appointed incoming Chair of the LGBTQ+ Rights Committee of the Allegheny County Bar Association. LGBT+ owned businesses provided catering for the reception.

ABOVE: Guests enjoy the Philadelphia Diversity Summer Social. BELOW: Buchanan Chairman and CEO Joe Dougherty provides remarks during the Pittsburgh PRIDE event.

ABOVE: Adam Stanfield, Executive Director of Chapters Health Foundation and Jim Wiltraut, Senior Principal in Buchanan’s Government Relations practice group stand together at the American Veterans Traveling Tribute Wall in Tampa.

“Far too many people have not had experiences with people who identify differently. In order to create more inclusive spaces, we need to educate and expose each other to different dimensions of diversity. Understanding and appreciating our uniqueness is the key to inclusion.”

LLOYD FREEMAN

Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

HERITAGE MONTHS

Over the course of 2022, the firm made it a priority to celebrate and learn more about different cultures. One way we accomplished this was to host events and programs during Heritage Months.

JANUARY

Buchanan hosted a panel on 1/19/22 called “Equality and Opportunity: The Importance of Supplier Diversity” in commemoration of MLK Day 2022. During the webinar, the panel discussed supplier diversity best practices, how supplier diversity works to combat racial/social injustice, how to eliminate barriers for minority suppliers, and ways to measure the effectiveness of supplier diversity programs.

FEBRUARY

In honor of Black History Month, Buchanan hosted “CodeSwitching While Black.” The panel explored the whys behind code-switching, how companies committed to diversity & inclusion can eliminate the need for this behavior and more.

MARCH

Buchanan hosted “#metoo: A Movement or A Moment?” in recognition of Women’s History Month. The panel discussed the inception of the movement, the reaction, the long-term impact, and how workplace policies have been enhanced since the movement gained widespread attention and what the new federal legislation means for employers.

MAY

For Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Dimensions of Diversity featured two episodes that provided an opportunity to reflect on this history, and integrate these stories into a renewed understanding of our American narrative:

• The first episode featured Buchanan lawyers Cindy Hinkle, Fayezeh Haji Hassan and Tina Hu.

• The second episode featured Joe Centeno, a shareholder in the firm’s Labor & Employment section and Will Le, and advisor in the firm’s Government Relations Group.

JUNE

In June, Buchanan hosted a PRIDE month reception in its Pittsburgh office and a Diversity Summer Social in its Philadelphia office. The Tampa office also celebrated Caribbean American Heritage Month with a Caribbean marketplace where goods and foods from the island countries were traded along with a lunch and learn. The attendees learned about the Caribbean islands, culture, and customs and enjoyed amazing Caribbean music and food. Fruit and spices particular to the islands were traded and the group enjoyed a special presentation from Vashti Jattansingh about steel drums, which originated in her home country of Trinidad.

SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER

For Hispanic Heritage Month, Buchanan spent more time directly with the community.

In Newark, Chris Dalton and Nick Pradaxay visited East Newark Public School, an elementary school with 90% of its population identifying as Hispanic/Latino. The visit to the school was meant to inspire the students to dream big and consider careers in the law while donating much needed school supplies.

San Diego Office Head Kimberly Arouh coordinated a school supply drop off for e3 Civic High School, a new public charter school in San Diego, and an opportunity for our colleagues in that office to meet the students.

In Miami, Jennifer Olmedo-Rodriguez and Sandra Ramirez Loe visited Southside Elementary Museums Magnet School to present on Hispanic Heritage Month and careers in law.

NOVEMBER

In honor of Veterans’ Day, the B.R.A.V.E. Affinity Group collected and shared stories and photos from 13 employees who are veterans. The group also collected more than 30 stories about employees’ veteran family members.

LEFT: Buchanan attorneys Sandra Ramirez Loe and Jennifer Olmedo-Rodriguez with Southside Elementary Museums Magnet School Principal Linette Tellez. RIGHT: Hala Sandridge, head of Buchanan’s Tampa office, Kearil Abraham, associates coordinator at Buchanan, and Vashti Jattansingh, in-house counsel at Raymond James, enjoy the Caribbean marketplace.

DIVERSITY CORPORATE SHARE PROGRAM

In 2022, Buchanan continued its Diversity Corporate Share Program by adding new participating companies: Aura, Burlington Stores and Temple University Health System to our list of ongoing participating companies which includes: The Hershey Company, PNC Bank, Panasonic and South Jersey Industries (SJI).

CORPORATE TESTIMONIALS

“I’m thrilled to partner with Buchanan and Lloyd Freeman as part of the Diversity Corporate Share Program. Programs like this are critically important for developing the pipeline of future diverse leaders of the profession.”

DAMIEN ATKINS

Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel at Aura

“SJI embraces diversity and inclusion as an integral part of the company’s culture and core values. We’re proud to join with Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney on their Diversity Corporate Share Program where we have the opportunity to strengthen our workforce with additional diverse talent while also helping to develop the leaders of tomorrow.”

ERIC STEIN Senior Vice President & General Counsel at SJI

“The Diversity Corporate Share Program gave me a unique opportunity to understand the perspective of a general counsel’s work. Given that 86% of General Counsels are white, and the average age is 55, I feel I got a valuable perspective that would not otherwise be available to me as a young woman of color. Not only do I feel more equipped to understand clients as a law firm employee, I also got a peek into how GCs view outside counsel.”

MINJI KIM

Boston University School of Law

“I found Buchanan’s Corporate Share Program to be extremely valuable. During my four weeks with PNC I had the opportunity to work closely with wonderful in-house attorneys, discover an unexpected interest in banking and finance, and develop an appreciation for the importance of relationship building that is at the core of legal work.”

TESS FRYDMAN

Temple University Beasley School of Law

“I thoroughly enjoyed my corporate share experience with PNC. Learning directly from in-house attorneys expanded my understanding of all the work that is possible within the realm of the law, and contributed to my development as a law student. I am thankful Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney trusted me with the opportunity to work with such an important partner, as it enhanced my Summer Associate experience.”

JORDAN FIELDS

University of Pittsburgh School of Law

“I had a fantastic experience at The Hershey Company this summer. Hershey helped me gain so much insight into working as an in-house attorney that I will carry with me into my career. The Corporate Share also gave me exposure to new types of transactional work, which allowed me to broaden my interests in the legal field. Working closely with the general counsel and chief officers also gave me a unique and rare experience to learn from attorneys with such distinguished careers. Thank you to Buchanan for such an amazing opportunity!”

JENNIFER DELONGIS

Drexel University Thomas R. Kline School of Law

SUMMER ASSOCIATE TESTIMONIALS

DIVERSITY RETREAT

Buchanan attorneys and government relations professionals recently gathered for the 2022 Diversity Retreat at Liberty Hill for two days of learning and social time to foster inclusion and belonging.

Led by Lloyd Freeman, the programming included a conversation among firm leadership about our commitment to diversity and inclusion, strategies for defining your value proposition, increasing business development from the firm’s marketing and BD team, and tips from our professional development team for drafting effective performance reviews. We also welcomed in-house counsel from clients in our key industry groups to talk about building a book of business and successful client relationships. Additionally, Lloyd hosted a conversation around psychological safety and the diversity council presented an affinity group update.

The retreat was complete with a couple rounds of golf on Liberty Hill’s beautiful golf course and valuable conversation among colleagues.

96% are satisfied with their job at Buchanan

88% feel they are being recognized fairly based on the work they do

96% feel that Buchanan’s culture fosters a comfortable, supportive, work environment

88.5% feel connected to their colleagues in their respective offices and Sections

77% feel they can bring their whole selves to work

During the retreat, we surveyed attorneys and government relations professionals of color, those who identify as LGBT+, and those with disabilities. They reported:

92% feel that the people here at Buchanan treat each other with respect

100% would recommend Buchanan to their friends as an employer

ABOVE: Buchanan lawyers, government relations professionals, and administrative leadership enjoy the events of the 2022 Diversity Retreat.

BELOW: Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer Lloyd Freeman and CEO and Chairman Joe Dougherty welcome attendees to the 2022 Diversity Retreat.

DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY UPDATE

In the second year of the “Dimensions of Diversity” podcast, Lloyd Freeman, our Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, hosted 14 episodes, each featuring meaningful conversations with industry leaders, D&I experts, attorneys and thought leaders. The podcasts achieved an estimated 80,000 listens and shares across the major podcast platforms and covered a wide variety of subject areas. We will continue exploring thought-provoking “Dimensions of Diversity” themes in 2023.

DIVERSITY AWARDS

The firm is often recognized for its ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

MANSFIELD CERTIFICATION PLUS STATUS 5TH YEAR IN A ROW

ALLEGHENY COUNTY BAR ASSOCIATION ALLY INITIATIVE

ADDITIONAL RECOGNITION

WHAT

WE TALKED ABOUT ON DIMENSIONS OF DIVERSITY

30% representation threshold met in 100% of the applicable categories

30% representation threshold met in the new categories Nominations to Chambers USA to increase the external visibility of underrepresented lawyers with clients and in the marketplace more broadly.

“As an early adopter of the Mansfield Certification, we have seen increases in diverse representation at all levels of the firm. It has been an important tool in creating benchmarks for successful diversity and inclusion efforts, and our focus on data has helped us to stay intentional in our strategy for creating a more inclusive law firm.”

JOSEPH DOUGHERTY Chairman and CEO

Buchanan was a graduate of the inaugural cohort of the Allegheny County Bar Association (ACBA) ALLY Initiative. The Ally Initiative’s mission is to engage attorneys and their law firms, corporate legal departments, courts and other legal organizations to commit to increasing inclusivity, creating equitable workplaces, empowering historically marginalized and underrepresented members of the bar, and reflecting the community we serve, through active participation in various key programs and projects targeted to achieve these objectives.

LCLD TOP PERFORMER

The firm was named a Top Performer and a Compass Award recipient by the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD). Of the more than 400 LCLD participating firms and corporate legal departments, only 89 organizations received both awards.

The Top Performer award recognizes organizations in the top 20% for participation in LCLD programs and activities. The Compass Award recognizes individuals and organizations that fulfill participating requirements across LCLD’s programs in a single calendar year, such as, the LCLD annual membership meeting, leadership summits, leader’s pledge, LCLD fellows program, LCLD pathfinders program, and LCLD pipeline programs.

JORGE DE LA HOZ 2022 LCLD Pathfinder

TINA HU-RODGERS

2022 LCLD DC City Lead

BARBARA BINZAK BLUMENFELD

Corporate Counsel’s Women of Influence & Power in Law Awards, Collaborative Leadership

WENDY NEWTON City & State PA, Pennsylvania Power of Diversity: Women 100

JOE CENTENO

2022 Best Mentor Finalist, The American Lawyer

2022 Best Law Firm Mentor, The Legal Intelligencer

LLOYD FREEMAN

2022 Diversity in Business, Philadelphia Business Journal

Best Diversity Initiative, The Legal Intelligencer Game Changer Award, The Change our Future Foundation

CHARLENE BARKER GEDEUS

2022 Rising Star, Minority Corporate Counsel Association

CHRIS JACKSON

2022 Young Lawyer of the Year, Mercer County Bar Association

JENNIFER OLMEDO-RODRIGUEZ

Prestigious Women Award, South Florida Business and Wealth

JORGE DE LA HOZ Legal Eagle, South Florida Business and Wealth

JAIME TUITE

Women of Influence, Pittsburgh Business Times

WILL LE Outstanding Individual Service Award, Arlington County Board

MANY LAWYERS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS PROFESSIONALS WERE RECOGNIZED INDIVIDUALLY FOR THEIR WORK:

“We are very proud to be recognized by LCLD as a Top Performer. The firm has worked tirelessly to continue expanding diversity and inclusion in the profession and LCLD has been a key partner for our work.”

LLOYD FREEMAN

Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer

CHARLENE BARKER GEDEUS 2022 LCLD Fellow

PRO BONO

Community outreach is a core part of the firm’s mission. Lawyers and staff from each of our offices work together to give back and build a stronger community; whether it’s a fundraising walk, mentoring program or hours of pro bono legal counsel, our professionals tirelessly help to support those in need.

One pro bono highlight from 2022 was our work with U.D.T.J. (Understanding, Devotion, Take Action, and Justice), a community organization located in Upper Darby, PA. Eric Horst and Josh Headley provided pro bono assistance to U.D.T.J. when they sought to enter into a fiscal sponsorship agreement to help raise funds for the organization’s second annual Upper Darby Pride Festival. After consulting with Buchanan, U.D.T.J. entered into a fiscal sponsorship agreement with Amistad Law Project, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which allows U.D.T.J. to collect tax-deductible donations for the Pride Festival and other community events, with Amistad acting as its fiscal sponsor. As a result of the hard work and dedication of U.D.T.J. board members and volunteers, as well as the funds U.D.T.J. has been able to raise through the fiscal sponsorship agreement, the group expected the 2022 Upper Darby Pride Festival to double in size from the 2021 inaugural event.

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

The Buchanan Day of Service is an annual event that clearly demonstrates the firm’s dedication to the communities where we live and work. For the third annual Day of Service, each office partnered with a non-profit targeting food insecurity in the respective region. The entire firm gathered to collect and donate food, money and other supplies that help the partner organizations do the best work in the communities they serve. Nearly 10,000 items of food and other supplies were donated and more than 1,000 hours of time were donated to the organizations.

TINA HU-RODGERS DC City Lead

PHOTOS: Buchanan employees work together to collect and donate food during the Day of Service on Nov. 9, 2022.

ERIC HORST JOSH HEADLEY

TRAINING FUTURE LEGAL LEADERS

We continue to be committed to not only helping cultivate and train future leaders in the legal industry, but ensuring those future leaders come from diverse backgrounds. We partner with a number of organizations and educational entities to finance scholarships and internship opportunities for underrepresented students. We hope that through this effort every student interested in a legal career has the opportunity and resources to pursue it.

EXTERNSHIP PROGRAM FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IN MIAMI–DADE COUNTY

Buchanan partnered with predominantly Hispanic academic intuitions located in Miami-Dade County, including Belen Jesuit Preparatory School, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy and St. Brendan High School for a one-day externship program, which gave students the opportunity to shadow, meet and learn from Buchanan attorneys and leadership.

NAZARETH PREP INTERNSHIP PROGRAM (PITTSBURGH)

For the sixth year, a local student from Nazareth Prep interned at the Buchanan Pittsburgh office during the 2021–2022 academic school year. The program is committed to partnering with local companies to help close the employment to education gap and develop career pathways. They pair students with Pittsburgh employers to work onsite one day each week for the entire school year. This work experience reinforces the future-ready skills introduced in the classroom, including communication, complex thinking, and decision making.

2022 MIAMI-DADE FAWL FOUNDATION SCHOLARSHIP

Buchanan sponsors the Miami–Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers. The scholarship provides educational opportunities for women law students who demonstrate financial need, community involvement, and scholastic merit.

TOGETHER TOWARD TOMORROW

Firm leaders have set intentional diversity leadership pledges to support our mission to ensure that we continue building a firm that is making an impact among our employees, our clients, our industry peers and in our communities. A sample of the pledges are included here.

JOSEPH DOUGHERTY Chairman and CEO

“I plan to mentor one underrepresented law student to acutely focus on the talent pipeline.

I aim to schedule coffee or lunch with women or underrepresented attorneys during visits to one of the Firm offices (at least once a month) to provide these attorneys with access to senior management.”

SCOTT ANGELO Chief Information Officer

“I plan to establish an IT co-op and identify opportunities for underrepresented young people with digital career aspirations in the local Pittsburgh community.”

NOLAN KURTZ Chief Operating Officer

“I will ensure that our supplier diversity increases by engaging at least 10% more diverse business enterprises (DBEs) over the next two years and allocating at least 10% of our total spend to DBEs.”

DANIELLE ROSETTI Chief Talent Officer

“I plan to be intentional with every hiring decision by examining our sourcing, interview slates and discussions at the hiring committee level in order to expand our ranks to include more members from underrepresented groups to make us a stronger firm and better support our clients.”

BILL RYAN Chief Financial Officer

“I will reach out to attorneys within underrepresented groups to make sure that they have access and knowledge with regard to firm resources designed to help lawyers support and manage the financial aspects of their practice.”

MICHAEL ETKINS Director of Litigation

“I will ensure underrepresented groups are present in the Litigation Section’s lateral pipeline at all levels.”

MICHAEL STRAZZELLA Chair, Federal Government Relations

“I will actively participate in firm-sponsored D&I programs and discuss elements of the trainings and their impact to our practice and respective industries with the Federal Government Relations team. I will encourage my team to join the firm’s affinity groups and participate in at least two firmsponsored D&I programs to promote thought and action.

I will recruit and hire with intentionality to ensure D&I is a consideration in that process.”

“For Buchanan, DEI means that we care about our people, all of our people. We care about this being a place where everyone has an opportunity to succeed in their careers.”

LLOYD FREEMAN Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer