As reflected in our strategic vision, “Christian & Small is committed to being a dedicated, diverse, and supportive team of legal professionals partnering with our clients to render superior service and exceptional value in the areas of litigation and business.” Diversity is one of the firm’s core values. We believe that diversity in backgrounds, experiences, and ideas enriches our lives and enhances the quality of the work performed by the professionals at Christian & Small.
We prioritize mentoring and retaining diverse attorneys and staff. Our approach is deliberate, starting with on-campus recruiting throughout the Southeast, and aggressive growth by providing opportunities and incentives to diverse laterals. This goes beyond recruitment and includes educating diverse groups of elementary to high school students about law as a career, actively engaging our lawyers with diverse educational institutions and student groups, and funding annual law school scholarships for minority students for more than ten years.
Our attorneys and leadership are actively engaged in ongoing conversations concerning diversity, and our Diversity Committee routinely reviews best practices and participates in diversity/inclusive studies and training.
Christian & Small was the first Alabama-based firm to join the prestigious Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD). Formed in 2009 to advance diversity in the legal profession, LCLD is an organization of corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to a truly diverse profession.
In 2022, Christian & Small recognized the need to refocus our efforts and chose to pursue Mansfield Rule Certification. The Mansfield Rule Certification is a year-long structured certification process designed to ensure all qualified talent at participating law firms has a transparent, fair, and equal opportunity to be considered for advancement into leadership. The focus is on opening the door wider and ensuring that opportunities for advancement are inclusive for everyone. Mansfield is intended to expand opportunities, not limit or decrease them for anyone. In July of 2024, Christian & Small became a Mansfield Rule Certified Plus law firm.
Mansfield Certification Plus is a designation awarded to law firms by Diversity Lab that signifies they have not only met the baseline requirements of the Mansfield Rule (considering a diverse pool of candidates for leadership roles) but have also achieved a demonstrably high level of diverse representation within their current leadership positions, exceeding the minimum threshold set by the rule; essentially, it indicates a firm is actively promoting diverse lawyers into leadership roles and achieving significant results in doing so.
In 2010, we partnered with Teach for America Alabama as the first
corps members were placed in our state. In our fifteen-year partnership, we have coached mock trial teams, hosted supply drives, welcomed new corps members from all over the country, collected and distributed prom dresses after devastating tornadoes, assisted teachers in funding and organizing new experiences for students, and helped students find mentors to nurture and guide them. Today, we are proud to see a number of former students pursue careers in the legal field, leading nonprofits, working in public policy, and leading the next generation of students as Teach for America teachers themselves. What began in 2010 with 30 corps members in five counties has grown to 389 TFA Alumni and Corps Members in 17 schools, and impacting more than 100,000 students.
We are proud to continue this partnership that directly impacts teachers and students in Alabama.