Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP values the many benefits of an inclusive law firm - one that includes attorneys and staff from diverse backgrounds and cultures. Consistent with its vision, mission, values and promises, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP is committed to equal opportunity and diversity. In addition to fostering a firm culture that embraces diversity, the firm's efforts to attract, retain and promote talented people from a broad variety of backgrounds include:
Established in December 2002, the scholarship provides $15,000 per academic year to a minority student selected by the School of Law. The recipient of the scholarship will participate in the firm's summer associate program.
The Commitment to Diversity represents Kansas City's major law firms' recognition that diversity of people and ideas is vital to our profession, and contains the firms' commitment to work separately and together to achieve a more diverse profession in Kansas City. The firm actively participates in the KCMBA's ongoing city-wide diversity efforts, including taking a leadership role in the creation of the Heartland Diversity Legal Job Fair in Kansas City.
The firm was one of the original sponsors of the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis' Gallery of Legal Pioneers, an effort of which honors significant contributions by women and minorities in the St. Louis, Missouri legal community.
The firm is a member of the ABA's Minority Counsel Program.
The firm's attorneys are participating in the Wichita Bar Association Professional Diversity Committee, the Nebraska Legal Diversity Summit, the St. Louis Minority Clerkship program, and are active in the George Washington University Black Law Alumni Program.
Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP actively recruits law students in settings that are rich in minority candidates, which has enabled the firm to hire lawyers that it might not otherwise encounter. They include the following:
The Central Exchange is Kansas City's premier organization providing personal and professional development opportunities for women. Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, along with individual women attorneys of the firm, are members of the Central Exchange. The mission of the Central Exchange is to enrich the lives of its diverse members and their communities by providing a forum for connecting, engaging and strengthening women. The Central Exchange provides high caliber programming on an ongoing basis, designed to develop leadership skills, foster professional and personal development, and encourage community involvement. Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP is a sponsor of the Women’s Lyceum annual conference hosted by the Central Exchange.
We regularly sponsor events and publications that are designed to recognize and encourage the continued increase in diversity of our profession. Examples of the firm's sponsorship activities include the Lloyd L. Gaines Scholarship Banquet, sponsored by the Black Law Student Association at the University of Missouri School of Law; the Diversity in Law banquet at the University of Kansas School of Law; the Jackson County Bar Association's Scholarship Banquet; the Black Law Students Association's casino night at Washington University School of Law; and the Kansas City Summer Law Internship Program