ArentFox Schiff

ArentFox Schiff LLP is internationally recognized in core industries where business and the law intersect. With more than 650 lawyers and policy professionals the firm serves as a destination for an international roster of corporations, governments, private individuals, and trade associations. As lawyers and legal professionals, we have a special role to play in helping end systemic racism and other injustices and achieving justice for those who are harmed. At ArentFox Schiff, diversity, equity, inclusion, and empowerment are part of our DNA. We are committed to creating a diverse workplace where every individual knows they are valued, seen, heard, and a vital part of our firm. 

ArentFox Schiff Diversity Initiatives: 

  • AFS WIN National Agenda: In 2023, our AFS Women’s Initiative Network (AFS WIN) launched a new national agenda focused on “women supporting women.” The agenda seeks to foster career development and advancement for all women attorneys at the firm.
  • AFS New Moms Group: We support several Inclusion Networks (our name for affinity groups) that foster a culture of belonging through programming and advocating for inclusion initiatives, including our New Moms Group. AFS’s New Moms Group is a community of attorneys that meets regularly to address topics relevant to parenting young children and maintain a network of support for new, soon-to be, and aspiring moms at ArentFox Schiff. The New Moms Group works closely with ParentFox and AFS WIN to maintain FAQs for AFS's new and prospective parents, create resource guides highlighting firm and external resources, and advocate for policies and initiatives that benefit women and parents at the firm.  
  • ArentFox Schiff Fellows Program: We are committed to creating a new generation of inclusive leaders at the firm and in the legal profession. Our AFS Fellows program focuses on leadership development, management skills, diversity, inclusion, and empowerment. Since its inception in 2017, the program has welcomed 70 fellows from diverse backgrounds, including 50% women. 
  • AFS Diversity Scholarship Program: The AFS Diversity Scholarship Program is part of our efforts to increase diversity at the firm and in the legal profession. Since 2006, we have annually awarded scholarships to law students from diverse backgrounds, resulting in over 60 scholarships and growing. We award up to five scholarships annually, and each recipient receives a $25,000 scholarship. 
  • Diversity Bar Associations & Conferences: We support our attorneys’ participation in diversity bar association conferences and programs, including Corporate Counsel Women of Color, Charting Your Own Course, Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Creating Pathways to Diversity Conference & Pitch Session Network, Lavender Law, Hispanic National Bar Association, South Asian Bar Association, National Bar Association, and more.
  • Family Benefits: We have a gender-neutral parental leave policy for all employees: all eligible new parents receive 12 weeks of paid parental leave. Birthing parents are eligible for an additional 8 weeks through short-term disability leave, and 8 weeks of additional leave is also available to those parents forming their families through adoption or surrogacy. We also offer the following: Adoption Reimbursement and Surrogacy Reimbursement programs to assist with family formation; Milk Stork services for breastfeeding individuals; Mindful Return programming to help new parents transition back to work; and a Leave FLEX program that allows eligible individuals to reduce their work schedules when returning from a leave. 

In March 2023, AFS sponsored the NWHM in support of their efforts to bring stories of Black women feminists in DC out of the shadows through the online companion site for their exhibition, “We Who Believe in Freedom: Black Feminist DC.” The exhibition spotlights the stories and voices of more than 20 Black feminist organizers and theorists — including Anna Julia Cooper, Mary Church Terrell, Eleanor Holmes Norton, and Loretta Ross — whose work changed the lives of millions of Black women in the DC community and across the country.