Diversity Initiative Recognizes Minority-Owned Law Firm
Sept. 24, 2008
Daniel Soussa--HispanicBusiness.com
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Call to Action, a diversity initiative, recently recognized Concepcion, Sexton & Martinez as a firm that exhibits excellence in law practices, adding them to its 2008 roster of top-rated minority and women-owned law firms.
The firm, based in Miami, Florida, specializes in banking law, commercial and international litigation, and constitutional law. It has represented companies such as Safeco Insurance, Sprint Communications, Union Credit Bank, and Bank of America.
Founding partner Carlos Concepcion firmly supports the purpose of Call to Action. "Retaining diverse attorneys provides corporate America with a certain business and legal perspective that is more representative of a growing customer base in America that is also becoming more diverse," he said.
The Call to Action Initiative was started in 1999 by chief legal officers of an influential group of Fortune 500 companies. Among corporations that support the initiative are Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Xerox, and Shell Oil.
In a signed statement, the CLOs declared their commitment to promote diversity in the legal profession and in particular to increase the use of minority and women-owned law firms. They pledged to take diversity into consideration when hiring legal representation.
The joint declaration was authored by Rick Palmore, CLO of Sara Lee Corp. and a member of the broad of directors of the Association of Corporate Counsels (ACC). In 2004, ACC endorsed the Call to Action.
In the Call to Action, the signatories state they "recognize that the legal and business interests of our clients require legal representation that reflects the diversity of our employees, customers and the communities where we do business."
Data from the 2000 U.S. Census indicates that Hispanics make up 15 percent of the country's population but only 3.3 percent of the country's lawyers, while African Americans comprise 13 percent of the population and 3.9 percent of lawyers. Women make up just 27 percent of the country's attorneys.
Source: HispanicBusiness.com (c) 2008. All rights reserved.
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