Norris McLaughlin’s Commitment to Diversity & Inclusion

At Norris McLaughlin, fostering and maintaining a diverse and inclusive workplace is an essential part of our firm’s culture and one of our core values. Being a full and committed partner to our clients, who similarly value diversity and inclusion in their workplaces, provides Norris McLaughlin with an invaluable opportunity to not only achieve our clients’ desired legal outcomes, but also to create sustained working relationships that value every voice at the table. This professional imperative is an indispensable component of our firm’s success and enables us to provide optimal representation for our clients.  

Norris McLaughlin’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee works directly with the firm’s Management Committee to shape the steps necessary to recruit, retain, and advance women and diverse attorneys across all offices. The Committee implements an annual plan for advancing these efforts through programming and sponsorship to create diversity and inclusion awareness among our colleagues and in the broader marketplace.  The firm is committed to offering professional training and educational programs to support our attorneys and staff as we strive continually to build our cultural competencies, and use that knowledge to help us develop a better and more successful work environment. Offering our employees the most current information on issues surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion along with the opportunity to be seen and heard allows our firm to expand on its long-standing commitment to equal opportunity. 

Norris McLaughlin understands the significant impact of a diverse workplace to our growth and development. This focus is reflected throughout our firm on a daily basis, in our recruitment efforts, in our work-life balance practices, and through our involvement in various professional organizations and community initiatives that share and promote diversity and inclusion. Our goal is to work together to promote a dynamic, inclusive environment for our team and our clients to achieve the very best results. The firm understands that it benefits from a diverse workplace in which attorneys of different backgrounds can provide unique perspectives to the practice of law and seeks to pass this benefit on to our clients.  

At Norris McLaughlin, we do not simply talk the talk – we commit to diversity and inclusion through our actions, both inside the firm and in the communities we serve:

• We support our attorneys through mentoring, skills training, and practice development initiatives within the firm.
• We encourage our attorneys to pursue membership and leadership opportunities in the firm, in legal and trade associations, and in community organizations and affinity groups.
• Women and attorneys of diverse backgrounds are members of firm leadership, serving on our Management Committee and Compensation Committee and as chairs of multiple practice groups. 
• The NM Women’s Forum is a women attorney-led initiative that undertakes a wide variety of programming determined by the forum membership.
• The firm regularly sponsors programs and events by organizations that share our commitment to building diversity in the legal profession and support the firm’s attorneys who lead these programs.  Organizations we have supported include the following:
  • Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey
  • Garden State Bar Association
  • Hispanic Bar Association of New Jersey 
  • International Women’s Insolvency & Restructuring Confederation
  • Jewish Law Symposium 
  • New Jersey Women Lawyers Association
  • South Asian Bar Association of New Jersey
  • The #Empowered Women Conference

The women attorneys and diverse attorneys at Norris McLaughlin are leaders in the legal community and are consistently recognized among our peers with honors for outstanding professional achievements within the following organizations and publications:

• Meritas Women’s Leadership Congress
• Best Lawyers
• Super Lawyers
• Chambers & Partners
• Martindale Hubbell
• Local and State Bar Associations 
• Local, State and National Community and Trade Organizations