"At Fish & Richardson, we are gratified about the recognition the firm has received as one of the country's top firms for diversity. We're pursuing new ideas and procedures that will help us broaden the inclusive environment we've fostered for all our attorneys and staff. While we've come a good way down this important road, we still have further to go." Peter J. Devlin, President of Fish & Richardson P.C.
The philosophy of diversity has a strong foundation at Fish & Richardson and is an integral part of our practice.
We understand the value of variety. Our mission is to promote a creative, respectful and inclusive culture which values the diversity of people, experiences, perspectives, talents and capabilities; builds and strengthens the overall diversity of the firm; and allows ingenuity to thrive.
As a firm that serves the world’s greatest innovators, we know innovation often results from seeing the world in a different way. Fish recognizes that diverse backgrounds provide unique perspectives that result in new and better solutions. Having a diverse team enhances the quality of legal services we provide to our clients and helps strengthen our standing as a premier IP law firm.
To contact a member of the Diversity Committee, please email
Diversity Initiative
For Fish & Richardson, diversity is a long-term commitment, adding value to both the law firm and the legal profession as a whole. It is an integral part of who we are as a firm.
As proud as we are of the diverse team we have been able to build at the firm, we understand that the job of promoting diversity is never complete.
Fish & Richardson’s Diversity Initiative links together a variety of programs related to recruitment, professional development, retention and outreach in the legal and business communities. This Initiative helps to foster a creative, respectful and inclusive work environment, to build new bridges to community and professional groups, and to strengthen our existing connections.
Fish & Richardson is involved in a broad range of diversity efforts nationwide to further the diversity of our firm and the legal community, and we are appreciative of the recognition we have received for our efforts in diversity.
- In 2009, Fish & Richardson was named as one of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity by MultiCultural Law magazine. We were also named to this prestigious list in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
- In 2009, Fish & Richardson received the Corporate Service Award from the Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association for its commitment to and support of diversity within the firm and throughout the legal community.
- Minority Law Journal's 2008 Diversity Scorecard, ranked Fish in the top quarter of the National Law Journal 250 Firms.
- The 2008 edition of the Vault Guide to the Top 100 Law Firms ranked the firm #10 for Best Overall Diversity for Minorities, #12 for Overall Diversity, #13 for Best Overall Diversity for GLBT, and #19 for Best Overall Diversity for Women.
- The Firm was recently recognized for its underwriting support of the Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Research database and website project.
Click here to read more the Fish & Richardson’s Diversity Initiative.
Diversity Committee
A firm-wide Diversity Committee, working closely with the National Chair of the Diversity Initiative and the Manager of Diversity, is responsible for the purposeful development, implementation and oversight of the Firm's diversity initiatives and activities. The Diversity Committee also oversees the Diversity Workgroups which focus on several strategic areas including:
- Best Practices
- Recruitment and Pipeline Initiatives
- Mentoring, Retention and Internal Advancement
- Internal Communications, Training and Marketing
- External Communications, Outreach and Marketing
To contact a member of the Diversity Committee, please email Diversity@fr.com
The members of the Diversity Committee are:
Nancy L. Stagg
Chair of Diversity Initiative and Principal, Southern California Office
Desa L. Burton
Associate, Southern California Office
Ahmed J. Davis
Principal, Washington DC Office
Roger A. Denning
Principal, Southern California Office
Peter J. Devlin
President and Principal, Boston Office
Enrique Duarte
Associate, Silicon Valley Office
Tara D. Elliott
Associate, Delaware Office
Michael E. Florey
Principal, Twin Cities Office
Timothy A. French
Principal, Boston Office
Rhonda J. Grayson
Manager of Diversity, Southern California Office, grayson@fr.com
Jonathan F. Hayden
Principal, Washington D.C. Office
Anita Kadala
Principal, Houston Office
Kelly Kiernan Largey
Chief Marketing Officer, Boston Office
Rasheed M. McWilliams
Associate, Atlanta Office
Kelly S. Mixon
Director of Attorney Hiring, Dallas Office
Russell N. Rippamonti
Principal, Dallas Office
Attracting and Retaining a Diverse Staff
Fish & Richardson is committed to building and sustaining diversity in the workplace. We work hard to attract, retain and advance the most talented and qualified legal staff - regardless of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, veteran status, marital status, or disability.
One key component of our ongoing initiative to recruit a diverse group of attorneys is the 1L Diversity Fellowship Program. Launched in 2005, the program provides fellowships to five diverse first-year law students throughout the country annually. Each selected student receives a $5,000 academic scholarship, mentoring by members of the firm, and a paid Summer Associate position in the Fish office of the student’s choice. Click here for more information about the 1L Diversity Fellowship Program and to view the application.
Fish & Richardson encourages and supports internal affinity groups such as the Black Legal Staff Affinity Group, EMPOWER Women’s Initiative, GLBT Affinity Group and the Hispanic/Latino Affinity Group.
These groups, which meet regularly, are influential in building diversity awareness and providing additional networking, mentoring and professional development opportunities for diverse professionals who share common interests or backgrounds.
The Firm also hosts an intranet site which features affinity group information, a firmwide diversity calendar and other diversity resources.
We have also focused attention on the recruitment, retention, and professional development of our women attorneys and others with family-care responsibilities.
We provide back-up child-care benefits for all employees and have revamped our maternity and parental leave policies to be among the most generous in the legal marketplace. In 2007, Fish & Richardson formalized its flexible billable hours practices with a written Reduced Hours Policy. Our law firm was also one of the first nationwide to offer benefits to domestic partners.
EMPOWER Women’s Initiative
Fish & Richardson’s Women’s Initiative (EMPOWER) was formalized in 2009 to provide expanded professional and business development opportunities, mentoring, training and support to our female legal staff. This initiative also includes a working mothers forum.
EMPOWER - which stands for Enrichment, Mentorship, Partnering, Opportunities, Wisdom, Excellence and Responsibility - encompasses the mission and goals of our Women's Initiative.
EMPOWER initially evolved from a women’s forum which began in the Southern California office. The women attorneys of the office began the group as a way to get to know each other better and also to create a forum to discuss professional development, firm policies, benefits and other matters of interest to women attorneys. The forum was soon successfully replicated in several offices across the firm.
The impact of those discussions did not stop within those walls. Through the efforts of the group, the Firm’s Management Committee and others within the firm, several policies were created and enhanced. Put a few smart women in a room together, and they are liable to come up with some creative suggestions for promoting change across the firm.
In April 2005, we hosted our first Leadership Through Enrichment, Action, and Diversity (L.E.A.D.) Retreat for our women attorneys and their clients, featuring career development and networking opportunities. We have continued this program throughout the firm and have expanded the L.E.A.D. Retreat to six different cities to date.
Fish & Richardson sponsors numerous women's organizations and events targeted at increasing representation of women in law.
Diversity in the Legal Community
To contact a member of the Diversity Committee, please email Diversity@fr.com
Improving the representation of diverse lawyers within the firm and the legal community is a priority for Fish & Richardson.
Fish & Richardson is a member of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and the California Minority Counsel Program, who each have a mission to promote diversity and maximize opportunities for minority attorneys.
We are a supporter of the "Call to Action" pledge currently circulating among Fortune 500 companies, as well as the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD).
Fish & Richardson is a member of the Boston Lawyers Group, which focuses on increasing diversity in the Boston legal community.
Fish & Richardson is a member of the Twin Cities Diversity In Practice, which focuses on attracting, recruiting, advancing, and retaining attorneys of color in the Twin Cities legal community.
We are a sponsoring member of the New York Minority Attorney Networking Series (NYMANS) which provides networking and professional development opportunities for minority attorneys.
We are longtime supporters of the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Lambda Legal in support of the gay and lesbian legal community.
Fish & Richardson was the first law firm Platinum Sponsor of the American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation (AIPLEF), an organization promoting diversity in the IP field through scholarships, mentoring, and job opportunities for minority law students pursuing careers in IP law. We have pledged $20,000 annually over three years.
We support several local, regional and national organizations devoted to increasing diversity in the legal community and we support our professionals in their outreach activities.
Fish & Richardson participates in numerous minority job fairs throughout the country, from Massachusetts and Delaware to Texas and California, and many of our attorneys actively serve as mentors for minority law students.
We host receptions and presentations on careers in intellectual property for minority law students, and we are expanding this program to multiple venues in the coming year.
We also support programs that encourage young minority students to pursue the study of science and engineering.
Additionally, we are proud to participate in and support organizations and activities such as:
- American Bar Association Diversity Summit
- American Bar Association Minority Counsel Program
- American Intellectual Property Law Education Foundation (AIPLEF)
- Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Washington, DC (APABA - DC)
- Boston Lawyer’s Group (BLG)
- California Minority Counsel Program (CMCP)
- Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC)
- Delaware Multicultural Judges and Lawyers Haile Alford Conference Scholarship Dinner
- Disability Rights Legal Center
- Earl B. Gilliam Bar Association
- Hennepin County Bar Association Anti-Bias Program
- Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)
- Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)
- Microsoft Women and Minority Law Student Intellectual Property Career Fair
- Mid-Atlantic Black Law Student Association Law Camp
- Minnesota Association of Black Lawyers (MABL)
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
- National Bar Association (NBA)
- National LGBT Bar Association
- National Organization for the Professional Advancement of Black Chemists and Chemical Engineers (NOBCChE)
- National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
- New York Minority Attorney Networking Series (NYMANS)
- North American South Asian Bar Association (NASABA)
- Texas Minority Counsel Program
- Twin Cities Diversity in Practice
- UPenn BLSA Sadie Alexander Commemorative Conference and Career Fair
- Vault/Minority Corporate Counsel Association Legal Diversity Career Fair
- Veteran’s Bar Association
- Washington Area Legal Recruitment Administrators Association (WAALRA)
- Women in Licensing, Bay Area WiLPower Career Development Workshops
- Women of Color in Law
- Women’s Power Summit on Law and Leadership
Diversity News & Events