We believe that diversity strengthens our firm as a whole. A diverse workforce and an inclusive work environment enhance the firm’s ability to develop creative and exceptional approaches to serving our clients’ needs. We seek to attract, retain and promote lawyers with diverse backgrounds and provide all of our attorneys with meaningful opportunities to thrive in their practices at each stage of their careers. At Wiggin and Dana, diversity and inclusion mean developing and maintaining a work environment that values excellence and embraces everyone regardless of race, color, national origin, ancestry, ethnicity, gender, religion, age, disability or sexual orientation, with the goal of building the strongest firm possible.

The Diversity Committee seeks to increase awareness at the firm of the importance of diversity and inclusion in recruiting, retention and professional development, articulates our clients’ business need for diverse legal support and seeks to ensure that Wiggin and Dana staffs client matters with well-trained attorneys of all backgrounds. The Diversity Committee and the firm as a whole support minority bar associations and other organizations that foster diversity. The Diversity Committee works with the firm’s Executive Committee and department chairs to ensure that our leadership and lawyers, at every level, support the firm’s diversity and inclusion efforts and share its goals.

Diversity Recruiting

Wiggin and Dana participates in the following diversity recruiting events:

• University of Connecticut School of Law Cultural Diversity Initiative
• Vault/MCCA Legal Diversity Job Fair in New York
• Northeast BLSA Job Fair
• Howard University School of Law On Campus Interview Program
• Lavender Law Career Fair

Wiggin and Dana participates in numerous diversity initiatives, and the firm is especially proud of the following:

• Wiggin and Dana was one of the first large Connecticut law firms to name a woman as Chair of its Executive Committee (see "One More Barrier Broken," The Connecticut Law Tribune, September 2006).
  
  
• Wiggin and Dana was one of the first law firms in Connecticut to sign the Connecticut Bar Association's Pledge of Commitment to Best Practices for Gender Equity. The CBA's Best Practices Program for Gender Equity enlists public and private employers to commit to the best practices goals necessary to achieve gender equity in the workplace.
  
  
• Wiggin and Dana consults with a Diversity Advisory Board, a group of the firm’s clients, alums and business and community leaders that meets with the firm’s Diversity Committee to discuss ongoing firm diversity initiatives. The Board serves as a valuable resource and sounding board for all the firm’s diversity efforts and helps it fulfill its commitment to attracting, retaining and promoting a diverse group of lawyers to build the strongest possible firm.
  
  
• Wiggin and Dana is a member of the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity (“LCD”), a consortium of the State’s leading law firms, corporations, public sector entities, law schools and state bar associations in the joint mission of making Connecticut a more attractive place for attorneys of color and women to practice law.
  
  
• A member of our Diversity Committee also co-chairs the Diversity Committee for the New Haven County Bar Association.
  
  
• Two of our lawyers are involved in the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, an organization of African-American lawyers in Connecticut. One lawyer is Vice President and former Treasurer while another is on the Board of Directors and chairs the organization’s Technology Committee.
  
  
• One of our lawyers is a member of the LCD Associates Advisory Committee and is a Board Member of the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association.
  
  
• One of our lawyers is the associate editor of Business in South Asia: Legal Views and News, a quarterly newsletter of the North American South Asian Bar Association Business Law Section.
  
  
• The firm sponsors attendance at various diversity conferences and seminars, including the American Bar Association’s National Conference for the Minority Lawyer.
  
  
• Wiggin and Dana sponsors the LCD's annual Justices of Color and Edwin Archer Randolph Diversity Award events.
  
  
• The firm is a leadership sponsor for many other diversity events and organizations promoting diversity in the legal profession. We regularly sponsor events hosted by the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut, the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, and the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association.
  
  

Wiggin And Dana's Diversity Committee

Wiggin and Dana's Diversity Committee includes partners, associates and staff. The Diversity Committee focuses on recruitment, retention and promotion to promote diversity at all levels within the firm. The Committee is involved in the firm's recruiting efforts, oversees diversity initiatives, and actively seeks new ways to encourage the hiring and retention of minority lawyers.

Bethany L. Appleby is chair of the firm's Diversity Committee, and a partner in the firm's Litigation Department. Bethany graduated magna cum laude from Yale University and received her J.D. with highest honors from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Erick I. Díaz is a member of the firm's Labor and Employment Department and its Hiring Committee. He is a member of the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association's Board of Directors. Erick graduated with a B.A. in Political Science from Yale University and received his J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where he was President of the Latin American Law Student Association.

David B. Fein is the partner in charge of Wiggin and Dana's White-Collar Defense, Investigations and Corporate Compliance Practice Group, and he serves as a member of the firm's Executive Committee. David is a Visiting Lecturer in Law at the Yale Law School. David graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College and attended N.Y.U. School of Law, where he graduated Order of the Coif and was a member of the Senior Board of the N.Y.U. Law Review

Suzette E. Gordon is an associate in Wiggin and Dana's White Collar Defense, Investigations and Corporate Compliance Practice Group. Suzette graduated with a B.A. in Political Science with highest honors from N.Y.U. and received her J.D. from N.Y.U. School of Law. While in Law school, Suzette was a staff editor for the N.Y.U. Environmental Law Journal and an Executive Board Member of the Black Allied Law Students' Association. Suzette is a board member of NYU School of Law's Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American Law Alumni Association, the National Bar Association and the New York Metropolitan Black Bar Association.

Christine Owens Morgan is counsel of the Real Estate, Environmental & Land Use Department and a diversity mentor at the firm. She is also co-chair of the Diversity Committee for the New Haven County Bar Association. Christine graduated with a B.A. from Connecticut College and received her J.D. from the University of Connecticut School of Law.

Richard J. Ramsay is an associate in Wiggin and Dana's Litigation Department. He received his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 2007 where he was Notes and Comments Editor, Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law and Policy and received the Dean's Certificate for outstanding service to the Georgetown University Law Center community. Richard graduated with a B.A., magna cum laude among African American 2004 graduates, in American Studies, with Distinction, from the Yale University.

Ana Lofton is the firm's Recruiting Coordinator and a member of the firm's Diversity Committee. Ana received her B.A. in Spanish from Southern Connecticut State University.