First and foremost, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete is a team of exceptional lawyers who know your business and who are committed to providing the highest levels of service. We’re a smaller firm by design, and careful in our hiring practices to focus on attracting the best and brightest talent at all levels.
One thing we know is that clients want attorneys who understand their business – and our clients have let us know that having a diverse team is important. As a trusted business partner, we understand and reflect those needs.
A Diverse Past…
As a firm, Constangy has been at the forefront in advancing roles for women and minorities in the legal profession.
- In our earliest years, when women represented fewer than 3% of practicing attorneys, Mildred McClelland was one of the firm’s first partners, arguing cases in courts and before federal agencies.
- Before joining the firm in the 1960s, partner Jim Smith served on the American Bar Association’s inaugural committee advising the early efforts of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission – helping lead the way in fostering diversity in the modern workplace.
- And in 2015, we made history when Don Prophete joined the firm and we became the first large law firm (NLJ350) in the United States to have an African American attorney as a “name on the door” partner.
A Diverse Present…
We embrace the goals of the American Bar Association’s “Resolution 113” to advance diversity in the legal profession, and proudly participate in efforts to measure and increase our success in recruiting and retaining diverse professionals.
We also support and encourage our attorneys as they participate in associations that work to advance the roles of diverse professionals in the legal profession and in the broader business community. Constangy participates in sponsorship opportunities and meetings and conferences hosted by many of these organizations. Over the past year, our sponsorships have included events hosted by the following national groups (as well as a number of state and local events):
- ABA Professional Success Summit
- Center for Legal Inclusiveness
- Hispanic National Bar Association
- Leadership Council on Legal Diversity
- Minority Corporate Counsel Association
- National Asian Pacific Bar Association
- National Bar Association Commercial Law Section
- National Employment Law Counsel
- Stakeholders Chart Your Own Course
- Strength in Numbers (Thompson Reuters Legal Executive Institute)
- Women, Diversity & Change Summits
- Women, Influence & Power In Law
Where we are now:
- Women and people of color make up 56% of the firm’s current attorney roster, and 46% of our partners.
- Women and minorities account for a significant portion of the firm’s leadership, including 69% of the executive committee, 35% of office heads and 46% of practice and industry group leaders.
- 70% percent of our associates are women or minorities, creating a strong path for continued growth in diversity leadership.
- Over the past five years 65% of our internal partner and equity-partner promotions have been women and/or minorities.
- Over the past five years, 70% of attorneys joining the firm have been women and/or minorities.
- Working Mother Magazine named Constangy to its 2018, 2019 and 2020 lists of the 60 Best Law Firms for Women.
- We were ranked #1 on Vault.com’s 2020 diversity rankings as the Best Firm for Minorities (nationwide) and the #2 Best Firm for Women. We were ranked #3 in Overall Diversity, and have been in the top 5 in all categories for the past three years.
- The American Lawyer Diversity Scorecard has named us as one of the top 100 firms for minorities and a top 3 firm for African American attorneys for the past five years (2017-2021).
- The National Law Journal named Constangy as one of the top 5 firms for women attorneys in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020.
- We were named by Law360 in 2020 as a top 10 mid-size firm (150-299 attorneys) for women attorneys, women partners and women in executive committee leadership.
A Diverse Future…
“Top Down” diversity is a cornerstone of our future. We aggressively recruit talented women and attorneys of color, and we ensure that the younger attorneys coming up through the firm receive mentorship and guidance. This is all part of our commitment to attracting high-quality attorneys who truly understand our clients’ needs, while reflecting our firm’s mission since day one.
Lawyers at Constangy are diverse in every sense of the word. We come from a wide range of backgrounds, cultures and professional experiences. We find that diversity makes a broader, richer environment that produces more creative thinking and solutions. But no matter what our backgrounds, we are united in helping our clients predict, prevent, and prevail in the complexities of labor and employment law.
