EXCELLENCE EXCELLENCE

By: Daryl K. Jones

THE MISSION: To be a major law firm in the legal community; owned and staffed by professionals diverse in age, background, gender and ethnicity, committed to providing superior legal services to our clients and leadership to the community. The vision: To be a multicultural law firm serving the legal needs of the global community. These are the sentiments of Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs, also known as IMW. When someone is considering hiring an attorney, the determining factor is almost always experience. Fortunately for their clients, IMW has over 70 years of handling everything from civil rights litigation to sports and entertainment law. IMW was founded in 1943, and first organized in Los Angeles by retired Superior Court Judge, Earl C. Broady, Sr. The firm became Ivie and McNeill in 1980 after Judge Charles R. Scarlett and Judge Robert L. Roberson, Jr. received their judicial appointments. Thereafter, the firm name was changed to Ivie McNeill & Wyatt in 1991 and became Ivie McNeill Wyatt Purcell & Diggs in 2019. IMW is a certified minority business enterprise. I had the pleasure of speaking with one of the partners of the firm, Attorney Rodney Diggs. The following is a Q and A from our conversation:

WHAT IS UNIQUE ABOUT YOUR FIRM? Our firm is unique for many reasons. First, there aren’t many black owned law firms that are our size and that have been around as long as we have – since 1943. We are an institution with a national and international presence. Our firm is unique in that we are truly diverse. Our firm has also produced 6 judges.

For a small/midsize firm to produce that many judges is rare.

WHAT ARE YOUR FIRM'S CORE VALUES? Excellence – we are committed to providing superior legal services to our clients and leadership in the community.

WHAT KIND OF LAW DO YOU PRACTICE? Employment and Civil Rights

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN PRACTICING LAW? 12 years

What inspired you to practice law? I realized after I tore my hamstring running track at UCLA and my dreams of the Olympics would never be a reality, I needed to focus on a plan B. It was between law school and business school and I realized I could do more to make an indelible impact on the world by being an attorney. It was actually while at Howard University School of Law during my 3L year and taking a trial advocacy class did it click that I wanted to be a litigator. It brought back that feeling of competitiveness I missed (being an athlete) and longed for. That was more of my inspiration to do litigation instead of transactional.

WHAT MAKES YOUR FIRM DIFFERENT FROM OTHERS? We are truly trial attorneys. Some firms advertise they are trial attorneys, but (we) are always engaged in trials and obtain favorable results for our clients. Also, we are truly diverse. I always say if a client is looking for diversity, you cannot get more diverse than our firm.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR REPRESENTATION? Call our firm.

WHAT IS YOUR LARGEST AWARD TO DATE?

$25,000,000.00 unanimous verdict, all compensatory damages.

WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOUR FIRM? ANY PLANS FOR EXPANSION? We plan to expand to other jurisdictions (i.e. Atlanta, Houston/Dallas, DC) and expand our presence internationally.