Mark Hinderks Selected as Stinson's 2022 D&I Champion

06.08.2022

Stinson LLP Partner and former Managing Partner Mark Hinderks has been selected as the firm's 2022 Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) Champion Award recipient. The annual award, selected by the firm's Diversity Committee Co-Chairs, recognizes an individual who has exemplified a strong commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion through a prolonged dedication of sustained action that has benefited the firm.

Hinderks has long been an advocate for diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, working to successfully increase diversity among the firm's attorneys, staff and leadership teams, board of directors and practice division leaders. He also played an integral role in the inclusion of critical D&I initiatives as a top level goal of the firm's strategic plan, including the hiring of the firm's first Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer.

In his tenure as managing partner, Hinderks was an active member of Stinson’s allies network, which works to advance understanding and communication around unconscious bias. He was frequently vocal after national events impacted marginalized communities, such as, the uptick in violence against the Asian American community since the COVID-19 pandemic, the killings of unarmed Black Americans across the nation and the anti-Semitic attacks and hate crimes in the form of a mass shooting.

In his support of several key strategic diversity initiatives, Hinderks worked with the board of directors to approve Stinson's Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan as well as authorized and supported various diversity related programs, including the Accelerate Sponsorship pilot program and the Work Allocation Monitoring System pilot program. He strived to ensure that diverse attorneys and staff have access to firm leadership positions, resulting in an increase in diversity among the leadership ranks, which underscored the firm's commitment to these initiatives.

In addition to the inclusion of D&I in strategic planning efforts, Hinderks signed on to some important national initiatives, including the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion™, a national consortium of CEOs committed to addressing bias and increasing understanding in the workplace, the Mansfield Rule, designed to promote diversity in law firm leadership across a variety of activities, and the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, a national effort to crowdsource pro bono resources to address systemic racism.

"I am very grateful for this recognition," Hinderks said. "But even more grateful for the progress we've made in awareness and understanding, and the normalization of a diverse and inclusive culture. The opportunities to be successful and authentic should never be at odds, and we're closer than ever to that goal, thanks to the efforts of all of our constituents."