Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney Receives ‘Diversity Initiative’ Award from The Legal Intelligencer

PHILADELPHIA – June 30, 2022 – Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney is pleased to announce that it has been recognized with the 2022 Diversity Initiative award from Law.com/The Legal Intelligencer, as part of the publication’s 2022 Pennsylvania Legal Awards. This achievement comes as a result of the firm’s commitment to diversity & inclusion (D&I), and its strategic initiatives led by Lloyd Freeman, chief diversity & inclusion officer.

The Diversity Initiative award recognizes individuals and law firms that have made a significant contribution to D&I efforts in Pennsylvania’s legal community over the past year. Freeman, who joined Buchanan in November 2020, has taken the firm’s D&I efforts to a new level by creating and driving intentional policies, launching a strategic D&I plan and leading cultural programming – both inside and outside of the firm.

“This award is really special in that it recognizes the quantifiable work that Buchanan is doing in the D&I space,” Freeman said. “We are proud of the progress we have made and look forward to continuing to serve as a law firm leader when it comes to driving diversity and inclusion in the legal industry and beyond.”

Over the past year, under Freeman’s leadership, the firm has made numerous strides to bolster D&I throughout its 15 offices and surrounding communities. Internal firm efforts include launching five affinity groups for employees who identify as People of Color, Women, LGBTQ+, Caretakers and Veterans. These groups, in tandem with Freeman and firm leadership, are responsible for enhancing recruitment, retention and promotion efforts. Furthermore, in partnership with Buchanan’s Chief Talent Officer Danielle Rossetti, he helped drive the firm’s intentional hiring strategy. Through their efforts, in 2021 alone, 35% of hires came from underrepresented groups; of those 53% are women and 18% are women of color.

In addition, Freeman regularly hosts internal trainings and workshops on topics such as implicit bias, emotional intelligence and bias in evaluations, promotions and compensation. He also works to educate the broader public on D&I issues. Through his recurring webinars and podcast series, Dimensions of Diversity, Freeman leads conversations on topics such as the role of white male allies in corporate America, the importance of supplier diversity, confronting the prejudice and violence against Asian-Americans, code-switching while Black and many others. He has also led the firm’s commitment to numerous organizations dedicated to enhancing diversity and fighting social injustice. He also works to engage firm clients in various D&I initiatives, such as Buchanan’s Diversity Corporate Share Program, which pairs a Buchanan summer associate with a firm client or participating corporation for a two-to-four week period, giving students the opportunity to learn from in-house counsel.

Freeman and the other 2022 Pennsylvania Legal Award recipients were honored on June 29, 2022 at an awards ceremony in Philadelphia.