Commitment
Dykema continues to renew and revitalize its commitment to diversity. Dykema has created a Diversity Committee, comprised of twelve individuals from its various offices who reflect the firm’s diversity, as well as the firm’s Chairman, an ex officio member of the Committee. The Diversity Committee is charged with the responsibility of coordinating the firm’s diversity efforts. This includes development, implementation and monitoring of programs and activities to enhance, and eliminate barriers to, diversity. The Committee is chaired by the Member in Charge of Diversity, who is appointed by the Chairman of the firm with the advice and consent of the Executive Board. The Diversity Member also serves as the Associate Professional Personnel Member and is an ex officio member of the Recruiting and Professional Personnel Committees. The Diversity Committee meets bi-monthly and has developed a comprehensive set of goals for the firm, with action plans that are being implemented.

Dykema has established, and awarded, a diversity scholarship for a University of Michigan law student, to be used toward tuition and fees in the second and third years of law school ($7,500 per year). Our first scholarship recipient joined us as a 2006 summer associate in the firm’s Detroit office, and returned as a fulltime associate in September 2007. A similar scholarship has been established at the University of Illinois Law School.

Our statistical composition: 25% of Dykema members and 55% of associates are women/attorneys of color. During 2006, we increased the number of members of color from eight to twelve, and of associates of color from thirteen to sixteen (not counting Arab-American lawyers). In the past two years, 11 women/attorneys of color have been elected to membership. Our fall 2006 class of 13 associates included four associates of color (two African-American, one Hispanic and one Asian/Pacific Islander) and seven women. Our incoming 2007 fall class of 21 includes 12 women and five associates of color (one African-American; three Asian/Pacific Islander and one American Indian), and our 2007 summer class of 25 included 15 women and nine associates of color (seven African-Americans and two Asian/Pacific Islanders). Our diversity statistics continue to improve.

Minority and Women Professional Organizations and Initiatives
Dykema attorneys regularly participate in programs that champion diversity, including the American Bar Association’s Minority Counsel Program, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, the National Bar Association and the National Association of Women Lawyers. Dykema Lawyers also participate in the National Hispanic Bar Association, Korean American Bar Association, North American South Asian Bar Association, and National Asian Pacific American Bar Association. On a local level, Dykema attorneys regularly serve on the boards of directors of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan and the Wolverine Bar Association. The Illinois and Michigan offices have created a Women’s Business Initiative that sponsors networking events. The firm regularly sponsors diversity events and hosts receptions and networking sessions at minority job fairs and career expos (e.g., 2006 National Bar Association Awards dinner and reception for Commercial Law Section; Oakland University Keeper of the Dream Scholarship Awards Banquet; Wolverine Bar Association Barristers’ Ball and Reception; University of Michigan BLSA Scholarship Banquet; Straker Bar Association’s Trailblazers Banquet; Minority Corporate Counsel Association Midwest Region Diversity Dinner; NAWL Annual Luncheon; NBLSA National Convention Career Expo; Michigan Women’s Foundation; ABA Council on Legal Education Opportunity; National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Regional Conference; North American South Asian Bar Association Annual Convention).

Summer Clerkship Opportunities
Dykema participates in the Wolverine Bar Association's summer clerkship program, and through that program, hires a minority law student after his/her first year of law school. Many Wolverine Bar summer clerks have joined Dykema as associates. Dykema also has created an informal clerkship program with the Indigenous Law Program of the Michigan State University College of Law. Through this program, Dykema has made a commitment to maintain a clerkship in its Lansing office for Native American students who are members of MSU's Indigenous Law Program. Our first clerk hired through this program subsequently became a summer associate with the firm, and has accepted an offer of employment to join the firm as an associate in the fall of 2007. We also offer the opportunity for the recipients of the Dykema Diversity Scholarships to join Dykema for the summer following their first and second years of law school.

Mentoring Program
Dykema has implemented an enhanced mentoring program. The role of the mentor, who is asked to commit to at least a two-year mentor relationship, is to assume responsibility for the guidance and development of the legal career of the Dykema attorney he/she is mentoring. The mentor’s responsibilities include monitoring work assignments; sharing performance feedback from others in the context of the mentoring elationship; and helping the attorney being mentored to develop relationships necessary to get desired work. Mentors also identify any problem areas and assist with remediation/intervention and introduce the person being mentored to contacts in the legal and business community.