Since the firm’s inception over 90 years ago, Dilworth Paxson has promoted and fostered a working environment supportive of diversity. In 1952, William T. Coleman Jr., an African-American, in spite of a Harvard law degree and clerkship with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter, could not get a job in a major Philadelphia law firm until Dilworth made him an offer. Many of the Plaintiff’s briefs in Brown v. Board of Education are significantly a Dilworth work product authored by Mr. Coleman. He became a Partner in 1957 and was followed a few years later by Judge Dolores Sloviter, former Chief Judge of the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, who became one of the first women Partners in a large Philadelphia firm.
Dilworth recognizes that diversity encompasses many factors, such as race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, religion, marital status, family status, veteran status, socioeconomic status, political affiliation, and genetic information.
Dilworth strives to promote, foster and sustain diversity inclusion and prohibits discrimination on all levels. All decisions affecting employment, promotion, compensation, assignment and other aspects of the Firm’s work environment are made on the basis of qualification, performance and other pertinent work-related factors, and without discrimination against any person on the basis of any legally protected characteristics.
Further, in order to bolster opportunities for traditionally underrepresented groups in the legal profession, Dilworth actively participates in recruiting programs designed to bring more diverse candidates to the firm, and mentoring programs to aid in retention and advancement of associates. We seek to provide a supportive and collaborative business environment where individuals from diverse backgrounds can establish career pathways to fulfill their professional ambitions.
Dilworth attorneys serve on the boards of non-profit organizations actively engaged in diversity endeavors such as the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, the Urban League of Philadelphia and the Urban Affairs Coalition of Philadelphia. Additionally, the firm has sponsored and participated in the diversity efforts of state, local and minority bar associations and other professional associations, such as the firm’s sponsorship of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Annual Diversity Summit and Minority Bar Conference, the American Bar Association’s Judicial Intern Opportunity Program and the Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network’s Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellowship.
Dilworth’s Diversity Committee consists of partners and associates who work closely with firm management and administrative staff in an effort to ensure that Dilworth’s diversity efforts are carried out within the firm. Members of the firm’s Hiring Committee (including the Hiring Committee Co-Chairs) and Executive Committee serve on the Diversity Committee to provide leadership support and liaise between the management and hiring functions of the firm, as well as supporting and developing strategies to promote diversity and inclusion in the community it serves.
In our continual pursuit of excellence in legal services and judgment, Dilworth strives to create an environment of meritocracy and a working atmosphere that reflects the diverse perspectives of today’s society.