Contact: Mark Fefer, Marketing Communications, 206.757.8583 or markfefer@dwt.com
JANUARY 27, 2015 – Starbucks Coffee Company has honored Davis Wright Tremaine LLP with its 2014 Excellence in Diversity Award. The award, sponsored by the company’s Law & Corporate Affairs department, recognizes Davis Wright Tremaine for its deep commitment to diversity and inclusion.
"We are very pleased to congratulate Davis Wright Tremaine as the 2014 recipient," said Lucy Lee Helm, executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Starbucks. "The firm consistently demonstrates leadership in enhancing diversity and creating critical opportunities for legal professionals of all backgrounds."
"We are thrilled to receive this award from Starbucks, a company known worldwide for its leadership in building a culture that respects and values inclusion," said Jeff Gray, managing partner at Davis Wright Tremaine. "Having client teams with diverse perspectives is important to our success because it enables us to provide more effective and higher-value service to our clients. This recognition from Starbucks validates our commitment to building a culture that embraces diversity, and will further inspire us going forward."
Over the past decade, Starbucks has developed a process for monitoring and recognizing the work of its top outside law firms on diversity issues. This includes reviewing a detailed annual report submitted by each firm, which measures efforts and success across a wide range of factors. In 2009, Starbucks began honoring a single firm each year with the Excellence in Diversity Award.
Helm described the representation of women and other diverse categories of attorneys at Davis Wright as "strong," with "steady improvements year over year." She also praised the firm’s "innovative efforts to support work-life balance," and particularly noted the firm’s Associate Retention Task Force, whose recommendations for creating more flexible work options and career paths were recently adopted firmwide.
"Importantly," said Helm, "the firm’s leadership is engaged and committed to these efforts."
Helm said Starbucks also applauds DWT’s "generous scholarship and internship opportunities, which help build a pipeline of diverse legal talent, as well as the firm’s broad support of organizations that promote diversity in the legal profession." These programs, she said, "help make DWT best in class."
Accepting the award at Starbucks’ Seattle headquarters recently were Rob Maguire, chair of the firm’s litigation practice and relationship partner for Starbucks, and Portia Moore, chair of the firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee and a partner in the employment practice.
Davis Wright Tremaine has received numerous accolades for its diversity efforts in the past year. These include:
- A perfect score of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s annual Corporate Equality Index, recognizing the firm as one of the country’s "Best Places to Work for LGBT Equality."
- Inclusion in the 2014 list of the country’s “Best Law Firms for Women” by Working Mother magazine and the consulting firm Flex-Time Lawyers.
- Gold Certification from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum, recognizing the significant number of women in top leadership positions at the firm.
In addition, diverse Davis Wright Tremaine attorneys have been individually recognized by many different sources in the last 12 months, and have been listed among:
- The Top 20 Women in Intellectual Property Law. (Law360)
- California’s Top 100 Lawyers. (The Daily Journal)
- Oregon’s Top 25 Female Lawyers. (Super Lawyers)
- California’s Top 75 Labor and Employment Lawyers. (The Daily Journal)
- The Top 100 Entertainment Lawyers. (The Hollywood Reporter)
Davis Wright Tremaine has represented Starbucks on labor and employment issues since 1997, and has represented the company in mergers and acquisitions, real estate, and other practice areas as well. The firm’s Shanghai team has helped Starbucks open more than 1,000 stores in China.
For more on the firm’s efforts, and to read the firm’s recent annual Diversity & Inclusion Report, go to dwt.com/diversity.
For more on Starbucks’ commitment, go to starbucks.com/responsibility/community/diversity-and-inclusion.
About Starbucks
Since 1971, Starbucks Coffee Company has been committed to ethically sourcing and roasting high-quality arabica coffee. Today, with stores around the globe, the company is the premier roaster and retailer of specialty coffee in the world. Through our unwavering commitment to excellence and our guiding principles, we bring the unique Starbucks Experience to life for every customer through every cup. To share in the experience, please visit us in our stores or online at www.starbucks.com.
About Davis Wright Tremaine
Davis Wright Tremaine LLP is a national law firm with approximately 500 lawyers representing clients based throughout the United States and around the world. For more information, visit www.dwt.com.