The law firm of Harris Beach, PLLC has launched a diversity scholarship program in keeping with its diversity initiatives. The scholarship will be annual and take effect in the 2008-2009 school year and provides second-year law school students $7,500 paid directly to the school toward the cost of tuition.  

Scholarship recipients will be offered an opportunity to participate in the Harris Beach law student summer program and be considered for an offer of employment upon graduation.  Scholarship candidates and recipients must be members of groups traditionally underrepresented in large law firms and must express a desire to work, live and practice law in New York state.

 

“Our scholarship program is an extension of our dedication to enhancing a diverse culture at Harris Beach,” said Anthony P. Marshall, managing partner of the Harris Beach Syracuse office. “It is designed to recognize the scholastic achievements of students who represent groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in the legal community and promote employment opportunities for them in New York state where we have offices.”

 

“A vibrant and growing law firm must be reflective of the communities which it serves,” said James A. Spitz, Jr., Harris Beach CEO.  “It is our goal that those students who receive a scholarship to further their legal education ultimately return and contribute their professional skills for the benefit of our communities.  I am proud that we as a firm have incorporated diversity as a key component of our firm culture.”

 

Founded in 1856, Harris Beach is one of the country’s Top 250 law firms as ranked by the National Law Journal and has offices throughout New York state in Albany, Buffalo, Geneseo, Ithaca, New York City, Niagara Falls, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers, as well as Newark, New Jersey.

 

Amongst large upstate New York law firms, Harris Beach has proportionally more associates representing diversity and was one of the first such firms to elect an African-American as an equity partner.  Harris Beach has been noted for having a higher proportion of equity women members than the national average based on a 2006 report issued by the National Association of Women Lawyers.  The firm is also above the national average for the number of female associates, as a percentage of total associates. Unlike a traditional law firm practice, Harris Beach attorneys with less than full-time schedules can remain on the partnership track and have been elected to partnership.

 

Harris Beach attorneys have leadership roles in the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York; National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York; Rochester Black Bar Association; South Asian Bar Association of New York; Puerto Rican Bar Association; and the National Bar Association. Harris Beach is also an active member of the Workforce Diversity Network, the Upstate New York Regional Minority Purchasing Council, Inc., and the Monroe County Bar Association’s Minority Clerkship Program. Additionally, the firm recently launched the Harris Beach Diversity Compliance Team to help organizations and Minority and Women-Owned Business Enterprises work together to maintain compliance with state procurement regulations related to diversity.

 

The firm’s approximately 200 lawyers throughout New York state provide a full range of services for its clients, which include Fortune 500 corporations, privately-held companies, emerging technology businesses, financial institutions, health care providers, educational institutions, not-for-profit organizations and foundations, state and local governments and authorities, and individuals.