Carrington Coleman is committed to fostering a welcoming environment where its entire workforce can thrive. This matters to us—not only to create a working environment where all members of our team feel they have a place they can succeed, but also to ensure we are providing our clients with the best work product possible by incorporating input from those with varied experiences, backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives. The term “diversity” has been under attack, but used lawfully it means being thoughtful to avoid discrimination, overcome biases, and ensure many qualified voices are heard to enhance legal services. We use the word “inclusion” to mean being aware of who is not speaking up and learning why, breaking down barriers to full participation, and ensuring that all stakeholders’ input is gathered. When we use the word “equity,” we mean the quality of being fair and impartial, which we understand is critical to justice and in accordance with the key principles upon which our country was founded.

Our History

The firm has a history of intention when it comes to making the legal profession accessible to all qualified candidates. In the 1970s, it was one of the first firms in Dallas to hire women attorneys, beginning with the Honorable Barbara M.G. Lynn, former Chief District Judge and current Senior District Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division. One of our founders, Jim Coleman, was honored by the Dallas Women Lawyers Association with the “James E. Coleman, Jr. Her Champion Award,” which is awarded to a male attorney in recognition of his support and dedication to advancing women in the legal profession. In May 2020, Monica Latin was voted by the partnership as the firm’s first woman Managing Partner, a position only held by only 12% of women according to the American Bar Association.

Firm Policy

Carrington Coleman has a policy in place promulgated by its Executive Committee with approval and support of the partnership. Pursuant to that policy, we have an active Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee with membership at the partner, associate, and staff levels. The Committee is open to anyone at the firm who chooses to participate and meets monthly to address strategic initiatives within the firm and in the legal community to welcome everyone and make each person feel valued and empowered to make meaningful contributions to the work. The Committee creates agendas and shares meeting summaries to monitor its progress, ensuring transparency and accountability in its efforts.

Talent Acquisition and Recruiting 

In terms of hiring, we strive to find innovative and creative ways to expand our recruiting efforts and curate a candidate pool that includes applicants from any and all backgrounds and experiences. In addition to the traditional recruiting methods through career services offices at law schools, we also send information about our firm to affinity groups at several law schools and encourage members of various communities to apply for summer clerkship opportunities. We recruit from regional minority job fairs, including the Sunbelt Minority Job Fair and the Southeastern Minority Job Fair (SEMJF) to explore which candidates in these groups have the qualities we seek in our team – critical thinking, grit, resilience, high intellect, and more.

Business Development

We are intentional and strategic in providing all our attorneys with numerous opportunities and resources for developing and maintaining clients. The firm supports various networking events, focusing on including those who are not well-represented despite the qualifications to be successful. Our attorneys are encouraged to join – with the firm’s monetary support groups seeking to elevate those not well-represented (such as the Dallas Women Lawyers Association) and charitable organizations (such as Attorneys Serving the Community); many Carrington Coleman lawyers have served in the leadership of such organizations over the years. Prior presidents of the Dallas Women Lawyers Association, Marisa O’Sullivan, and the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, Whitney Keltch Green and Jennifer Ryback, are partners at the firm. Prior and current Co-Chairs of Attorneys Serving the Community, Kelli Hinson and Debrán O’Neil, are partners as well. Partner Katie Anderson currently sits on the Board of the Dallas Bar Association and previously co-chaired the Equality Committee. Senior Associate LaCrecia Perkins currently serves on the Steering Committee for the Texas Minority Counsel Program and sits on the Board of Directors for the NEW Roundtable.

The firm additionally encourages and pays the membership dues for any lawyers wishing to join affinity bar associations such as the Dallas Asian American Bar Association, Dallas Hispanic Bar Association, J. L. Turner Legal Association, National Bar Association, Dallas LGBT Bar Association, Lambda Legal, and Dallas Women Lawyers Association (all of which are open to all people of any race and sex), and offers its wholehearted support for its attorneys who become involved in such bar activities. Carrington Coleman’s attorneys also hold various leadership roles in affinity bar associations, both at the local and state levels. The firm is also a proud sponsor of various events organized by affinity bar organizations, including the Dallas LGBT Bar Association’s annual “Visibility Ball” and J.L. Turner’s Annual Scholarship Gala.

In The Community

Carrington Coleman is also dedicated to impacting the larger Dallas community. The firm promotes internship opportunities for local high schools and university students, which provides access to valuable professional experience.

We also partner with organizations like Community Partners of Dallas, North Texas Food Bank, Reading Partners, the Family Place, and Children’s Health for an annual, firm-wide service project aimed at creating opportunities for underrepresented and economically disadvantaged people in our community. Carrington Coleman recognizes that preventing discrimination and fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion for all is an ongoing and evolving journey. We continually evaluate and evolve our practices to create an environment where our team feels valued and empowered.

DEI Committee