Kaufman Dolowich is committed to promoting diversity in all aspects of our practice through the active recruitment, development and retention of lawyers and legal professionals with diverse backgrounds and life experiences.
We are passionate advocates for our clients, take our role as citizens seriously and are dutiful stewards of the law. We commit to advancing our clients’ interests and our own law practice through the hiring, retention and promotion of lawyers and legal professionals from all backgrounds. To us, diversity is not an end, it is a means by which to achieve the high standards to which we subscribe.
Our work in promoting diversity and inclusion in all aspects of our law firm is led by Partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Katherine S. Catlos who focuses on employment and privacy law. Katherine brings a wealth of professional and personal insight to promoting the benefits of our firm’s diverse workforce, both internally and externally.
We are a five-time Mansfield Certified law firm. We achieved our 2022-2023 Certification, one of only 240 firms to attain this notable distinction. The goal of the Mansfield Rule Certification is to increase inclusivity and diversity in law firm and legal department leadership. We take this mission seriously and are continuing our efforts to exceed Mansfield standards by offering significant education, training and networking opportunities to our team of more than 200 lawyers. We are participating in next year’s 2023-2024 certification process, further demonstrating our ongoing commitment to promoting a diverse and inclusive environment. This will be our sixth consecutive year of working towards Mansfield Certification. Kaufman Dolowich was an early adopter of the certification program in 2019 and was one of only 64 firms to achieve certification. We will continue to work diligently towards our next certification goal in the year ahead.
Select Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives 2023 – 2018
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Firm co-hosted The Water Street Club’s Insurance Industry Awards Gala, in New York, recognizing the positive impactful of diversity and inclusion work of its awardees. Our Westchester, NY partner serves on the organization’s Board of Directors.
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Dallas partners participated in an event celebrating mothers served by Helping Hands for Single Moms. Both also serve on the organization’s Board of Directors.
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A Florida associate volunteered at children’s community service event in honor of Black History Month, and serves on the board of directors of the National African American Insurance Association, Florida Chapter.
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The Firm sponsored and attended the Garden State (NJ) Bar Association’s African American Scholarship Gala.
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Two partners from California attended the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Conference.
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Two partners from New Jersey and Florida attended Minority Corporate Counsel Conference of the National Bar Association Commercial Law Section.
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A Florida partner is a Fellow of the Class X Florida Bar Leadership Academy, a program cultivating leadership talents of attorneys who represent diverse backgrounds, experiences and professional goals
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A California partner presented “Paying it Forward Through Mentoring: An Exploration in Improving the Practice of Law, Legal Ethics, and Diversity.” to a business group.
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An Associate was sponsored to participate in the 2022 National Employment Law Council Academy for advanced skills training and mentoring for minority employment defense lawyers. She is partnered with an experienced attorney mentor, and also learns by interacting with lawyers from major corporations, and leading minority labor and employment defense lawyers.
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A Florida Partner was appointed to the board of directors The Foundation for Sickle Cell Disease Research.
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Kaufman Dolowich hosted a Black History Month Open Forum. Staff from across the nation gathered to have an open discussion about diversity today in their lives, in the law industry, and at the Firm. We reviewed history, celebrated the country and the Firm’s achievements, and recognized what work can be done to further the Firm’s diversity goals.
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Kaufman Dolowich Women’s Initiative presented a session entitled “Gender Bias and Gender Diversity in Law” reviewing current law, real-life ethics, and held open discussions on handling sexist or gender biased remarks in law industry settings, direct confrontation tools, positive male partnerships, and advocacy considerations.
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During the year, members of Kaufman Dolowich’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee join Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Rule 5.0 Knowledge Sharing Calls to learn as a community to move the needle on diversity and inclusion more effectively.
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The firmwide co-managing partner Ivan Dolowich was honored by the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County. The Center uses the history and lessons of the Holocaust to teach about the dangers of antisemitism, bullying, racism, and all manifestations of intolerance. “Their mission is as relevant and important today as it has ever been, as we see antisemitism and racism prevalent throughout the country. I will continue to do whatever I can to support efforts to address these critical issues,” said Dolowich.
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Kaufman Dolowich hosted a robust seminar in which Dr. Richard Harvey, Associate Professor, Industrial-Organizational and Experiment Programs, St. Louis University, presented a live webinar to our nationwide team about collective identity and its social group phenomena.
- The Firm D&I Committee hosted an “Unconscious Bias Training” in which Professor Kimberly Norwood, Professor of Law at Washington University School of Law, presented a webinar which was designed to raise consciousness about what implicit biases are and how they can negatively influence individual decision making.
- Our D&I Committee hosted a “D&I Town Hall Forum” which was an interactive forum provided and open to everyone in the firm to learn about the firm’s Mansfield achievements and participate in an open discussion to ask questions and engage in a dialogue about diversity and inclusion in today’s current environment.
- Our Firm’s Women’s Initiative co-sponsored “A Conversation with Pamela Ryckman, author of Stiletto Network” with another multinational insurance carrier in New York City. More than 200 Kaufman Dolowich attorneys, clients and others spent an inspiring afternoon with the author discussing the topic of empowering women to work together.
- The Firm’s Women’s Initiative hosted Dr. Arin Reeves, author of “One Size Never Fits All”. Her presentation focused on recognizing and understanding the differences between how women and men communicate, work, develop business and lead in law firms.
- Kaufman Dolowich’s Women’s Initiative partnered with a global insurance provider to host a screening of the documentary film “Balancing the Scales,” which delves into the challenges facing women lawyers. In the film, lawyer and filmmaker Sharon Rowen highlights inspiring stories of women lawyers of all ages who work to help women and girls worldwide.
- Kaufman Dolowich has also co-hosted multiple programs with the PLUS Women’s Networking Initiative that have attracted speakers with national reputations.
- Our firm has hosted, co-hosted and participated in many other diversity and inclusion-focused events with our clients as well. We encourage all of our attorneys to foster relationships with our clients, and we believe strongly in the value of forging personal connections that extend beyond the business setting. As a lawyer working at our Firm, you will have access to leaders and our clients’ key stakeholders. We will provide you with the opportunity to build the career, relationships and reputation you desire.
We Encourage Our Lawyers to Be Leaders in Their Communities
In addition to firmwide initiatives, many of our lawyers are personally involved with organizations of their choosing that promote diversity and inclusion both within and outside of the practice of law. We encourage all of our lawyers to assume active leadership roles in these and other types of professional organizations. We employ lawyers who are now, or were, actively involved with organizations including:
- Armenian Bar Association
- Association of Black Women Lawyers of New Jersey
- Black Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles
- California Minority Counsel Program
- Essex County Bar Association
- Filipino Bar Association of Northern California
- Florida Association of Women Lawyers
- Florida Bar Leadership Academy
- Garden State Bar Association
- Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- Korean American Lawyers Association
- Minority Corporate Counsel Association
- New Jersey State Bar Association
- Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey
- National Asian Pacific American Bar Association
- National Association of Women Lawyers
- National Bar Association
- National Filipino American Lawyers Association
- New Jersey Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Polish American Leadership Political Action Committee (PAL-PAC)
- Queens Bench Bar Association
Are You Interested in Joining Kaufman Dolowich?
We believe that our law firm should reflect the diverse world we serve. If we sound like your type of firm, we encourage you to contact us by visiting our Careers page to learn more.
About Kaufman Dolowich
