Commitment to diversity and inclusion is a core value at Kaufman & Canoles, and it is our mission to maintain equality throughout all aspects of our business. Not only does it make us a stronger, better service provider for our clients, it is simply the right thing to do. That’s why we have established a Diversity & Inclusion Committee to:
- Develop policies to recruit, hire and retain more attorneys of diverse backgrounds;
- Promote the firm’s image as a leader in the profession and in our communities committed to inclusiveness in employment; and
- Emphasize the importance of diversity and inclusion in the firm’s recruiting, retention, mentoring, leadership development, training and community outreach.
In an effort to improve our recruiting of talented diverse attorneys, we focus on early identification of minority candidates who demonstrate an aptitude for and interest in the legal profession, sponsor events in our community that raise awareness and funds for minority organizations, attend diversity seminars, host minority recruiting events to introduce students to the firm, and serve on non-profit boards that promote diversity within our community.
Diversity & Inclusion Events
The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2025 events:
| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Workplace Inclusion Network | 2025 |
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| National Latina/o Law Student Association | 28th Annual National Conference | March 13-15, 2025 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | 61st Annual Tidewater Humanitarian Awards | March 27, 2025 |
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| William & Mary Black Law Students Association | Annual BLSA Symposium | April 19, 2025 |
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| Richmond SHRM | 11th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Symposium | May 21, 2025 |
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| Hampton Roads SHRM | Reframing DEI Webinar | July 17, 2025 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities |
Inclusion Summit |
September 5, 2025 |
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| University of Richmond School of Law | Affinity Group Reception | November 10, 2025 |
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| William & Mary Law School | Affinity Group Reception | November 20, 2025 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2024 events:
| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | 60th Annual Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner | March 21, 2024 |
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| William & Mary Law Black Law Students Association | Oliver Hill Scholarship Reception/Alumni Weekend | April 13, 2024 |
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| Richmond SHRM | 10th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Symposium | May 15, 2024 |
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| YWCA | Conference on Racial Equity & Social Transformation | June 5, 2024 |
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| Southeastern Law Student Consortium (SELSC) | Southeastern Law School Consortium Job Fair | July 11-July 12, 2024 |
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| Hampton Roads Chamber | Moving Forward with DEI: Continuing the Journey of Progress | August 1, 2024 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Inclusion Summit | September 5, 2024 |
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| Virginia Bar Association | Civil Rights Law Institute | October 10-October 11, 2024 |
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| University of Richmond School of Law | Affinity Group Reception | November 7, 2024 |
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| William & Mary Law School | Affinity Group Reception | November 13, 2024 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2023 events:
| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | 59th Annual Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner | March 30, 2023 |
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| Museum of Contemporary Art | Lecture: Valerie Cassel Oliver on Kara Walker | May 11, 2023 |
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| YWCA of South Hampton Roads | Conference on Racial Equity and Social Transformation | June 15-16, 2023 |
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| Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association (MABLSA) | Annual Virtual Job Fair | August 5, 2023 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Inclusion Summit | September 18, 2023 |
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| Virginia Beach Minority Business Council | 2023 Conference & Expo “Grow. Build. Succeed.” | November 9, 2023 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2022 events:
| Virginia Women in Public Finance – Virginia Chapter | Gold Annual Sponsorship | 2022 |
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| Hampton Roads Chamber | Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Forum: Collaboration | February 24, 2022 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | 58th Annual Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner | March 28, 2022 |
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| William & Mary Black Law Students Association | Oliver Hill Scholarship Banquet/Alumni Weekend | April 9, 2022 |
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| Hampton Roads Community Foundation | Racial Inequities in Law: A Virtual Discussion on the Intersectionality of Equity, Laws and Policy in Our Region | May 24, 2022 |
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| Civil Rights Institute | Annual symposium exploring civil rights through legal and societal perspectives. | June 6-7, 2022 |
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| Southeastern Minority Job Fair | Southeastern Minority Job Fair | July 14-15, 2022 |
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| Hampton Roads Chamber | Virtual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum | |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Inclusion Summit | September 19, 2022 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Firm-Wide Implicit Bias Training | October, 2022 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2021 events:
| American Bar Association | Forum D&I Brunch: The Architecture of Inclusion: Keys to Designing and Building a Diverse, Equitable, and Inclusive Workplace | February 18, 2021 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | 57th Annual Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner | March 18, 2021 |
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| Richmond SHRM | 7th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Symposium | May 20, 2021 |
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| Old Dominion Bar Association | Annual Meeting | May 20-23, 2021 |
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| Southeastern Minority Job Fair | Southeastern Minority Job Fair | July 15-16, 2021 |
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| William & Mary Law School | Affinity Group Reception | October 13, 2021 |
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| Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association (MABLSA) | Virginia Academic Retreat | October 23, 2021 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2020 events:
| Hampton Roads Chamber | 2020 Diversity Forum – The Business Case for Diversity & Inclusion | February 19, 2020 |
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| Virginia Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Division | Law School Liaison Recruiting Roundtable | June 10, 2020 |
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| Hampton Roads Chamber | Virtual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Forum | July 9, 2020 |
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| Virginia State Bar (VSB) | Virtual Town Hall with the VSB Young Lawyers and Diversity Conference | July 23, 2020 |
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| Women’s March | Feminist Future Series #3: Respect, Principles and Solidarity: Concrete Tools For White Women To Dismantle Racist Systems | August 13, 2020 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Tidewater Humanitarian Awards Dinner | August 26, 2020 |
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| The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) | Working Toward Solutions: Workshops on Diversity and Inclusion Part 1 | September 2, 2020 |
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| Richmond SHRM | 6th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Symposium | September 23, 2020 |
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| The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) | Time to Talk: Explicitly Addressing Implicit Bias | September 24, 2020 |
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| The Virginia Bar Association (VBA) | Working Towards Solutions: Workshop on Diversity and Inclusion Part 2 | October 13, 2020 |
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| Hampton Roads Chamber | HR Chamber Virtual Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Forum – How Businesses are Creating an Inclusive Culture | December 3, 2020 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2019 events:
| Hampton Roads Chamber | 2nd Annual Diversity in Business Forum | Feb. 21, 2019 |
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| Richmond SHRM | 5th Annual Diversity & Inclusion Symposium | March 21, 2019 |
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| University of Virginia Black Law Students Association | Spring Diversity Reception | April 8, 2019 |
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| William & Mary Black Law Students Association | Annual Oliver Hill Scholarship Banquet | April 13, 2019 |
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| Hampton Roads Association of Legal Administrators (HRALA) | Monthly Luncheon – 25 Diversity & Inclusion Tips | June 11, 2019 |
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| Southeastern Minority Job Fair (SEMJF) | Bronze Sponsor at the Southeastern Minority Job Fair | July 19, 2019 |
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| Virginia State Bar (VSB) | 2nd Annual State Forum on Legal Diversity | September 20, 2019 |
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| Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association (MABLSA) | Virginia Academic Retreat | October 19, 2019 |
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| University of Richmond | Affinity Group Reception | October 21, 2019 |
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| Hampton Roads Chamber | Diversity in Business Forum | October 22, 2019 |
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| Virginia State Bar | YLC Annual Bench-Bar Dinner | October 29, 2019 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2018 events:
| Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association (MABLSA) | 50th Annual Regional Convention | Feb. 7-11, 2018 |
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| William & Mary Black Law Students Association (BLASA) | Annual Oliver Hill Scholarship Banquet | Feb. 24, 2018 |
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| Richmond SHRM | 4th Annual Diversity and Inclusion Symposium | March 15, 2018 |
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| University of Virginia Black Law Students Association | Spring Diversity Reception | March 29, 2018 |
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| William & Mary Law Career Center | Diversity Association Meet & Greet | Sept. 21, 2018 |
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The K&C Diversity & Inclusion Committee participated in the following 2017 events:
| American Bar Association | Implementing Diversity and Inclusion Initiative in the Workplace Webinar |
Jan. 24, 2017 |
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| William & Mary Law School | 1L-Alumni Mock Interview Program | Feb. 3, 2017 |
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| PLI On-Demand Web Program | Diversity & Inclusion in Law Practice 2016 | Feb. 10, 2017 |
| Virginia State Bar YLC Annual Bench-Bar Dinner | Jepson Alumni Center, Richmond | March 8, 2017 |
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| William & Mary Black Law Student Association (BLSA) | BLSA Oliver Hill Brunch | April 8, 2017 |
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| The Southeastern Minority Job Fair (SEMJF) | Gold Sponsor at the Southeastern Minority Job Fair | July 21-22, 2017 |
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| Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association Regional Job Fair | Table Talk Sponsor at the MABLSA Job Fair | Aug. 12, 2017 |
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| Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities | Eastern VA Regional Diversity & Inclusion Conference | Nov. 1, 2017 |
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Letter from Diversity & Inclusion Chair
We know that a diverse workplace makes us better at what we do – serving our clients and our communities. At Kaufman & Canoles, we recognize the social necessity of a diversity policy, but also understand that it is a crucial factor in our business success. To compete in a global marketplace and to serve corporate clients who express their diversity expectation in their representation, we must also demand diversity and equality within the firm. Our future depends on the recruitment and retention of talented, young, and experienced lawyers. We would be remiss to exclude such a large talent base by not embracing diversity among our attorneys.
As Chair of the Diversity & Inclusion Committee and a mother of two young children, I am proud to lead the ten-member Committee which is committed to increasing and strengthening diversity and inclusion at Kaufman & Canoles. Should you have any questions about our diversity initiatives, I welcome you to contact me.
Sincerely,
Mary Elizabeth Sherwin
Equal Employment Opportunity Policy
Kaufman & Canoles is committed to equal employment opportunity (EEO) in all aspects of our employment and retention practices and decisions. From recruiting to hiring, from training to promotion, from compensation to employee benefits, and everywhere in our workplace environment we are dedicated to achieving this requirement.
EEO is not just the law; it is our philosophy and our expectation. We will evaluate and treat all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, genetic information, and non-disqualifying disability. We will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with a disability to enable them to perform the essential elements of their position.
We want to stress our seriousness regarding this policy and practice. We will take prompt and appropriate actions to ensure that qualified applicants and employees are not subjected to unlawful discrimination and/or harassment in any term or condition of employment on the basis of any currently or subsequently protected class or status including the above, and we also prohibit discrimination and/or harassment on the basis of veteran or marital status, sexual preference, and gender identity.
We will invite employees to voluntarily self-identify any protected class or status so that we can ensure our workforce diversity. Persons choosing not to self-disclose will not be placed at any disadvantage. Overall data submitted will be evaluated by management.
All of our employees will share in our commitment to EEO. Management personnel in particular undertake responsibility for implementation and achievement of the goals and requirements of our policy. When appropriate, compliance with our policy will be evaluated and unsatisfactory performance or conduct will be addressed. No employee will be subjected to discipline or retaliation for making a complaint regarding a failure of our required EEO practices or for assisting or acting as a witness for an applicant or another employee.
