Our Inclusion Committee Mission Statement To promote an inclusive and supportive environment for all by: Accepting, respecting, and valuing differences; Engaging, educating, and empowering the Baird Holm community; Supporting the recruitment, development, and retention of talented employees and firm leaders with diverse backgrounds and experiences; and Fostering an inclusive legal community for all, in order to create a greater community of belonging for all at Baird Holm and in the broader legal community where each person has the opportunity and resources to develop and succeed, both personally and professionally.

 

A Different Kind of Law Firm
We believe the things that make us different should be celebrated. We believe our distinctive views, opinions, and experiences foster innovation, groundbreaking thinking, and true collaboration.

• • Our collegial, professional environment creates solid mentoring and work relationships throughout the Firm that help all attorneys and staff members advance their careers.
  • We provide a variety of benefits to help each individual balance work and life.
  • We engage in summer associate recruiting efforts at both regional and national recruiting fairs to ensure a depth of qualified candidates for our summer associate program.
  • One-third of the firm’s partners are female.
  • Female partners serve as section leaders of more than one-third of the firm’s practice sections. 
  • Our Inclusion Committee, an internal organization that focuses on creating an inclusive and welcoming environment for all, has been in place since 2006.

Our Inclusion Initiatives
The firm’s commitment to equal employment opportunity and inclusion includes providing ongoing educational activities for attorneys and support staff. Our Inclusion Committee, comprised of both attorneys and staff, involves the firm in legal and non-legal initiatives related to equal opportunity, implements and updates internal policies to advance the firm’s commitment to inclusion, and integrates all of our attorneys and staff members through Firm-wide communications.

Our current and historic Inclusion Initiatives include:

• A founding member of a working non-profit organization, the Nebraska Legal Diversity Council, which has the goal of increasing diversity and inclusion in Nebraska’s law schools and in the Nebraska Bar. The program was developed as a joint effort with the University of Nebraska College of Law, the Creighton University School of Law, the Nebraska State Bar Association, and other leading law firms and key area businesses. Baird Holm’s pledge includes both a financial and Board commitment. Our former Inclusion Committee chair has been a key member of the committee responsible for developing the initial plans for the organization and is a member of the organization’s Executive Committee.
• Longtime supporter of the Greater Omaha Chamber’s Commitment to Opportunity, Diversity and Equity (CODE) initiative, a collective effort of Omaha CEOs committed to identifying collective, lawful action for inclusive communities.
• A Gold Level Sponsor of the Nebraska State Bar Association’s LSAT Prep Scholarship, which assists historically underrepresented students with preparing for the LSAT exam by covering the costs of an LSAT prep course and registration. Baird Holm also sponsors a similar LSAT program with the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Creighton University.
• A participant in and sponsor of the Nebraska State Bar Association Legal Diversity Summit.
• A participant in and sponsor of the Omaha Bar Association and Nebraska Paralegal Association’s Annual Diversity and Inclusion Seminar.
• Provider of the Baird Holm Initiative Award to promising undergraduate students who participate in the University of Nebraska at Omaha’s Goodrich Scholarship Program.
• Founding member of the Diversity Call to Action, created in 2007 and renewed in 2013, which now has more than 70 firm and corporate members. The Diversity Call to Action operates in conjunction with the Nebraska State Bar Association.
• Provider of two annual scholarships for historically underrepresented individuals that are awarded to students at the University of Nebraska College of Law and Creighton University School of Law.
• Coordinator of networking and similar events for members of the Goodrich Scholarship Program and Project Achieve at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and TRIO program students at Creighton University with career interests in law.
• Sponsor of the University of Kansas School of Law’s Diversity in Law Banquet since 2008, which celebrates the ways in which diversity enriches KU Law and affords students an opportunity to share ethnic and cultural differences with the KU Law community, including alumni and local firms.
• In addition to firm-wide support, individual attorneys currently serve or have served on the Board of the Directors or in similar leadership positions for the following nonprofit and civic organizations:
  • AllPlay Foundation
  • Ataxia Connection
  • Center for Immigrant and Refugee Advancement (f/k/a Immigrant Legal Center)
  • Centro Latino of Iowa
  • Friends of Planned Parenthood
  • Girls Inc. of Omaha
  • Girl Scout Spirit of Nebraska
  • ICAN Women’s Leadership Conference
  • Inclusive Communities
  • Intercultural Senior Center
  • Komen Great Plains and Komen Nebraska
  • Latino Center of the Midlands
  • MENTOR Nebraska
  • Nebraska AIDS Project
  • Ollie Webb Center
  • Omaha Community Foundation Futuro Latino Fund
  • Santa Monica, Inc.
  • Women’s Center for Advancement
  • Women’s Fund of Greater Omaha