Shell Oil Company Takes Steps to Increase Utilization of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms
MILWAUKEE, Sept.29 /PRNewswire/ -- The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) announced today that Shell Oil Company has become a member of NAMWOLF'S Corporate and Public Entities Partner Program (CPEPP).
CPEPP advances diversity in the legal profession by encouraging corporations to set a goal of expending a minimum of five percent of their outside counsel budget with certified minority and women owned law firms.
Shell is an industry leader in diversity and inclusiveness with a proven track record of investing in the development of the full range of local talent, supporting opportunities for minority and women owned businesses, and contributing to local communities. The company actively seeks out diverse talent, both in large and minority and women owned law firms, as part of an ongoing strategy to attract high quality talent with diverse and non-traditional views. In 2009, Shell Legal spent more than 15 percent of its budget for legal services with minority and women owned firms.
"We are proud to join NAMWOLF in providing opportunities to and empowering minority and women owned law firms," said John Esquivel, Associate General Counsel, Shell Oil Company. "Diversity and inclusiveness are more than just a simple mantra for us because, when successfully implemented, they mean we have a work environment in place that helps us attract and retain top talent, as well as find innovative solutions to complex challenges."
The long-standing and continually expanding commitment to diversity and inclusiveness demonstrated by Shell means that the company already exceeds the CPEPP goal of expending a minimum of 5% of outside counsel budget with certified minority and women owned law firms. Shell also focuses on investing in and developing processes and tools to support minority and women owned law firms, including the creation of an internal directory containing information on all the minority and women owned law firms Shell does business with.
"We believe the commitments of corporations such as Shell are the surest path to increasing diversity in the legal profession," said Yolanda Coly, NAMWOLF Managing Director. "We are delighted to welcome Shell as a partner in CPEPP."
About NAMWOLF
The National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), founded in 2001, is a nonprofit trade association comprised of minority and women owned law firms and other interested parties throughout the United States. NAMWOLF is dedicated to increasing the utilization of minority and women owned law firms by corporate legal departments. www.namwolf.org
SOURCE NAMWOLF
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