Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Wiggin and Dana, we believe diversity, equity and inclusion enhance our ability to develop creative approaches to serving the legal profession, clients, and the community. We actively seek to attract, retain, and promote individuals with diverse backgrounds, and to provide all employees and partners with meaningful opportunities to thrive at each stage of their career. We are committed to fostering a culture of inclusion in all Firm endeavors, educating our colleagues on the value of diversity, and championing the goal of attaining equity amongst our ranks at all levels. We aspire to maintain a forward-thinking, high-performance, rewarding environment full of diverse and enthusiastic professionals who share collective pride in what we do.

As a firm founded in Connecticut, Wiggin and Dana was one of the first law firms to sign the Connecticut Bar Association’s Pledge of Commitment to Best Practices for Gender Equity, and is one of the initial signatories to The Connecticut Legal Community’s Diversity & Inclusion Pledge & Plan. The Pledge and Plan call on legal organizations to reaffirm their ongoing commitment to advancing diversity and inclusion within their own organizations and within the Connecticut legal community as a whole. The Plan provides for a collaborative effort that is intended to identify and implement best practices for the promotion of diversity and inclusion, with a different focus for each of the next several years, including education and training, hiring and pipeline initiatives, retention, and leadership and career advancement.

Wiggin and Dana is also a founding member of the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity (LCD), an organization that aims to “unite the resources, energy, and commitment of the State's leading law firms, corporations, public sector entities, law schools, and state bar associations in the joint mission of making Connecticut and Western Massachusetts a more attractive place for attorneys of color and other diverse individuals to practice law and find satisfying professional opportunities.”

We have a dedicated Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee to advance our mission of working towards a more inclusive, diverse, and equitable world. Committee members work with the Executive Committee, Partnership, and Senior Administrators across all offices to develop and implement diversity initiatives in accordance with the Firm’s strategic plan. Our primary areas of focus are:

Community Building and Professional Development

• We provide educational awareness and networking opportunities for all employees and partners to facilitate exposure to diversity themes and varying perspectives. This includes presentations by prominent speakers, book talks, listening tours, and training, as well as resources and discussion forums. We have addressed topics such as women’s equality and male ally-ship, various ethnic and religious identities, LGBTQ+ issues, and racial justice.

Pipeline Recruiting

• Wiggin and Dana is devoted to maintaining a diverse pipeline of attorneys in the community. We co-sponsor several fellowships with clients. We also partner with clients and organizations to expose high school and college students to the legal field through various mock trial, internship, and career guidance initiatives.

Community Engagement and Business Development

• We encourage participation in community building and service activities and award related credit toward attorney billing hours.  Among our talented and committed professionals, we have many leaders of affinity bars and other organizations that promote diversity and inclusion, and we regularly sponsor events hosted by such organizations and through client collaboration. These organizations include: the George W. Crawford Black Bar Association, the South Asian Bar Association of Connecticut (SABAC), the Connecticut Hispanic Bar Association (CHBA), the Connecticut Asian Pacific American Bar Association (CAPABA), LAMBDA Legal, and the Asian American Bar Association of New York (AABANY). Also, in 2020 the Firm launched the Wiggin Opportunity Initiative and pledged to provide $10 million in free legal services to under-resourced small businesses over the next decade.

Follow us on LinkedIn to learn more about Wiggin and Dana’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion activities.