ABOUT US > Diversity

"Face of the Young Lawyer"
An article written about Bass, Berry & Sims' attorney, Clarence Wilbon, and published in the Tennessee Young Lawyer, a publication of the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division.

"Transformers"
An article printed in Vanderbilt Lawyer about the integration of Vanderbilt Law School and Bass, Berry & Sims' founder Cecil B. Sims' involvement.  It is excerpted from D. Don Welch's forthcoming book, Vanderbilt Law School: Aspirations and Realities .



Diversity


Bass, Berry & Sims recognizes that diversity is essential to our firm's continued success.  Diversity enables us to better understand and appreciate the complexity of our clients' experiences and points of view, and we believe that diverse legal teams bring broader perspectives to problem-solving, which result in better solutions for our clients.  We are committed to building a workplace rich in diversity that reflects our profession and the communities we serve. 

Everyone at Bass, Berry & Sims shares the responsibility of building a culturally diverse workplace.  We have established a diversity committee to lead this effort.  The Diversity Committee is comprised of attorneys, including our managing partner and our hiring partners, with the authority and position to implement our diversity plan.  The Diversity Committee meets quarterly to assess the implementation of our diversity plan.

Diversity Committee
Karen Neal - Diversity Committee Chairman
David Esquivel - Lateral Hiring Partner
LuAnn Tibbetts - Lateral Hiring Manager
Anna Grizzle - Entry Level Hiring Partner
Diane Marshall - Law School Hiring Manager
Wally Dietz
Pooneh Ghiassi
Wearen Hughes
Alonda McCutcheon
Andie McKellar
Todd Rolapp
Scott Shanker
David Smith
Wendy Warren
Clarence Wilbon

"Shortly after joining the firm, I quickly realized that every individual, regardless of their race, that practices law at Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is provided both the opportunities and tools necessary to succeed in our profession.  The thing that actually has most impressed me about working at Bass, Berry & Sims PLC is that my race has never been an issue, nor has it played a major role in my success with the firm." - Clarence Wilbon

Recruitment
Our diversity plan begins with recruiting diverse attorneys.  Our hiring partners and recruiting managers (all members of the Diversity Committee) are focused intently on identifying and recruiting diverse attorneys.  We interview each year at the Atlanta-based Southeastern Minority Job Fair and the Cook County Job Fair in Chicago, and we select schools for our on-campus interviews based in part on the diversity of their student bodies. 

Our diversity plan commits us to:
  • Maintain an active Diversity Committee that will work closely with our recruiting and development committees to ensure we actively recruit, train and mentor a diverse professional workforce.
  • Promote women and minority attorneys into membership.
  • Increase number of women and minority attorneys in leadership positions within our firm.
  • Support the Diversity Committee, Female Mentor Group and other initiatives directed at firm diversity and inclusiveness. 

"Before working at Bass, I had the preconceived belief that the attorneys at the firm would be conservative and stuffy.  While clerking here during the summer, I learned that nothing could be further from the truth.  Bass attorneys are extremely talented yet down-to-earth.  As an associate at the firm, I continue to interact with partners and associates who have diverse backgrounds and respect for differing perspectives."  - Alonda Woodson McCutcheon




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Career Development
It is not enough to hire diverse attorneys.  We are committed to developing all of our attorneys, including our diverse attorneys, into productive Members and managers of the firm.  As part of our diversity plan, we actively monitor (through the Diversity Committee, as well as the Associate Development Committee and the firm's practice chairs) the practice development and assignments of associates to ensure that we are effectively developing attorneys who contribute to the firm's diversity.  We actively encourage participation in and financial support of minority bar associations and conferences.

"The firm maintains a commitment to diversity that goes beyond numbers and statistics. As a young, Hispanic lawyer, I have been mentored by a great number of people at the firm who are committed to my development as a lawyer and a person.  It is not only rhetoric, but real, tangible support.  For example, the firm undertook a massive pro bono effort on behalf of Salvadoran human rights victims that required significant out-of-pocket costs and several thousand hours of lawyer and staff time.  That a Nashville firm would support this effort, which was of particular importance to the Latino community, demonstrates a commitment to diversity that goes well beyond platitudes and policy statements." - David Esquivel

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Professional and Personal Life Integration
Our diversity plan acknowledges the fact that each of our attorneys has unique personal life priorities and requirements.  We are committed to helping our attorneys integrate their professional and personal lives so that they can satisfy the needs of their personal lives while reaching their full professional potential.  To that end, we adopted a formal policy regarding alternative work schedules.  The policy states that "attorneys can and will remain committed professionals while working a reduced schedule, and that such a schedule should not suspend attorneys' opportunities for professional growth, experience and career advancement."  Our Executive Committee implements that policy by considering and approving flex-time arrangements based on an attorney's particular personal life circumstances.

Our commitment to diversity extends to our gay and lesbian attorneys and staff. We offer domestic partnership insurance benefits and have a longstanding policy against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.

 

"At Bass, Berry & Sims you have the opportunity to be yourself and to achieve your maximum potential.  The firm works hard to ensure that hiring and promotion decisions are based upon merit and not irrelevant factors.  The diversity of our attorneys is considered to be a very positive development in the growth of our firm." - Sam Felker

 

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Promoting Diversity through Community Involvement
We recognize that we can facilitate diversity through community involvement.  Bass, Berry & Sims offers an immediate and well-developed network of volunteer and community development opportunities.

For more information, please see Community Involvement.

The firm has been involved in organizations and activities such as:
  • Our attorneys are involved throughout the year in advising and mentoring the Black Law Student Association at Vanderbilt University.
  • In 2006, our firm sponsored the Vanderbilt University Law School team for the Thurgood Marshall Mock Trial Competition of the National Black Law Students Association.
  • In 2007, we hosted our third annual seminar for minority students at Vanderbilt University Law School, regarding career development within a law firm.
  • Wendy Warren is the former chair of the Nashville Bar Association Minority Opportunities Committee.
  • Sam Felker, a Member in the Nashville Downtown office, is the chair of the Tennessee Federal Club of the Human Rights Campaign, a lobbying and advocacy group for gays and lesbians.  He was also a founder and former president of the GLBT Chamber of Commerce in Nashville.
  • In October 2006, we sponsored the Nashville Bar Association Diversity Summit, a program that focused on hiring, recruiting and retention solutions.
  • The Nashville Bar Association's Minority Opportunities Program presented Bass, Berry & Sims with its Leadership Award at the 2006 Law Week Luncheon.
  • John Speer is the co-chair of the Memphis and Shelby County Bar Association's Diversity Task Force.
  • Bass, Berry & Sims' Nashville Downtown office hosted the National Black Law Students Association Southern Region's executive board meeting in October 2006.  The students traveled from Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and Puerto Rico. 
  • On September 26, 2006, Keith Simmons, our Managing Partner, was a presenter for the "Overcoming Mid-Size and Small Firm Challenges" seminar in San Francisco.  He discussed the unique challenges to recruiting and retaining diverse attorneys for small and mid-size firms, including how to implement new strategies and methods.  

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Female Mentor Group
The Bass, Berry & Sims Female Mentor Group consists of all female attorneys in our firm.  The Female Mentor Group strives to promote collegiality and networking among our women attorneys in the firm, educate associates on the structure of our firm, support and encourage women in leadership positions in our firm, and share knowledge and experiences on balancing work and family.  This group meets monthly, typically over lunch, and often hosts guest speakers who address various topics relating to women in the corporate world.  Also, in order to promote interaction on a more informal and personal level, the Female Mentor Group sponsors small groups consisting of 12 to 13 female attorneys from different practice areas and with different levels of experience.  The small groups meet on a quarterly basis and participate in activities such as dinner, cooking classes and pottery classes.  The Female Mentor Group celebrates with an annual holiday party, and each summer, the women honor the female attorneys promoted to Membership that year.  In 2005, the Female Mentor Group hosted its first annual program.  The "Celebration of Women Executives" program invited executive female clients to a presentation on the success of women in the workforce.  In 2006, the Female Mentor Group hosted the "Salute to Women Executives" program, which featured Corbette Doyle as the guest speaker.  Doyle is the chief diversity officer of Aon Corporation.  In 2007, the Female Mentor Group hosted its third annual "Salute to Women Executives" program that featured Genevieve Bos, owner and founding publisher of Pink Magazine, as the guest speaker. 

"Being a full time practicing attorney with three sons is never easy, but the environment at Bass, Berry and Sims makes being a working mom possible.  Our firm is committed to retaining its female attorneys.  There is an incredible support network that provides professional back-up when you need it and personal support for the various challenging situations that happen with this type of lifestyle.  I am grateful for the career opportunities at Bass and, more importantly, the key relationships I have developed at the firm." - Tara Swafford



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