Swift Currie's commitment to diversity
Swift Currie continues to grow as one of the nation’s leading litigation firms, and the firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion also continues to evolve. Swift Currie is committed to hiring, retaining and developing diverse and qualified attorneys and staff regardless of race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, LGBTQ identification, ability status, background or veteran status. We understand the goal is not only to increase diversity in numbers, but also focus on retention and foster a culture of belonging by valuing all perspectives, experiences, backgrounds and viewpoints. Swift Currie understands the more we hold fast to that vision, the more it will result in a truly inclusive firm culture, which also allows us to offer more innovative services to our clients. We believe the diversity in skills, viewpoints and backgrounds make us a stronger and more productive firm. We understand achieving the pinnacle of diversity and inclusivity is a marathon, not a sprint, and we are committed to the task.
Women's History Month 2022: Providing Healing, Promoting Hope
March is Women’s History Month. It is a celebration of women’s contributions to history, culture, and society. Initially, it was a week long celebration. In 1987, the Congress expanded the event to the entire month of March.
Each year, the National Women’s History Alliance designates a theme for Women’s History Month. This year, the theme is “Women Providing Healing, Promoting Hope.” This theme is a tribute to the ceaseless work of caregivers and frontline workers during the pandemic. It is also a recognition of all the ways that women of all cultures have provided both healing and hope.
March also marks the international recognition of women with International Women’s Day on March 8. This started on March 8, 1911 when many countries started to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women. The United Nations started sponsoring this day in 1975.
We invite you to celebrate this month and reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women to U.S. history. You can find more information about these contributions here.
Black History Month 2022: Black Health and Wellness
Swift Currie is celebrating Black History Month through a series of shared stories centering on “Black Health and Wellness," where we will examine the legacy of not only Black scholars and medical practitioners in Western medicine, but also other ways of knowing (e.g., birth workers, doulas, midwives, naturopaths, herbalists, etc.) throughout the African Diaspora. The 2022 theme considers activities, rituals and initiatives that Black communities have done to be well and also highlights Black pioneers' trailblazing contributions to Western medicine, addressing health disparities facing Black communities, and encouraging healing through education.
Along with the stories we share of Black health and wellness, Swift Currie was able to honor Black History Month by welcoming Justice Verda M. Colvin of the Georgia Supreme Court to our Atlanta office on February 23. Though her story is not one relating to medical achievement, her journey to the highest court is a story of Black achievement, which we are fortunate to hear and share as we celebrate Black History Month.
- Celebrating Dr. James McCune Smith
- Celebrating Dr. Vivien Theodore Thomas
- The Clarks, “The Doll Test”, and Brown v. Board
- Swift Currie Hosts Justice Verda M. Colvin for Luncheon
Women's History Month 2021: Honoring Influential Women
Swift Currie proudly celebrates Women’s History Month 2021 by honoring all the women who have contributed to our culture, history, society and the law. On International Women’s Day, we especially honor the women who, throughout all history, have fought for gender equity in all areas and paved the way for others. From the first observance of Women’s Day in New York in 1909 to Congress passing legislation in 1987 to formalize Women’s History Month, women have been instrumental in pushing for gender equality and diversity in the workplace and its intersectionality with race and ethnicity. Like many law firms, our original founders were all male. However, today, Swift Currie is well above the national average for the percentage of women attorneys and the percentage women partners within the firm. The firm's success and innovation of services provided to our clients are largely due to the contributions of the women at our firm over its 55-year history.
In 2021, the Women’s History Month theme is “Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to Be Silenced.” Please join us throughout the month as some of our own women attorneys honor a notable woman in history or personally known to them who have influenced their life or career. Click here to view the collection of stories.
Black History Month 2021: Celebrating Black Heroes
Swift Currie is celebrating Black History Month through a “Celebrating Black Heroes” weekly series. Each week, employees share — in their own words — Black heroes who have inspired them and had a positive impact on their lives.
The stories are heartfelt, inspiring and provide the opportunity to highlight not only well-known heroes, but also unknown or even forgotten African Americans who have made an indelible impact on our society, history, culture or their individual life. Through the power of story telling, our employees are not only honoring these heroes in their own way, but also learning that we all share more in common than we have in differences. Check back each week throughout February 2021 to read more of these stories.
- Week of Feb. 8: Celebrating Hank Aaron and Chester Higgins
- Week of Feb. 15: Celebrating Jeffrey Brace
- Week of Feb. 22: Celebrating Henrietta Lacks
- Friday, Feb 26: Celebrating Ruby Bridges, Wynton Marsalis and Harriet Tubman
Diversity Initiatives
Swift Currie’s Diversity Committee is dedicated to leading the efforts of diversity, inclusion and awareness in the firm and the community. With the support of the firm’s Executive Committee and leadership, the Diversity Committee develops a strategic plan every year to focus on the firm’s diversity initiatives in the areas of recruitment and retention efforts, awareness, education, pipeline initiatives, affinity group sponsorships, professional development, mentorship and diversity news and workshops.
- Engage in recruitment of lateral diverse attorneys and partners to increase diversity in our legal teams across all levels of experience
- Participate in on-campus interviews and the Southeastern Minority Job Fair to identify and recruit qualified students from underrepresented backgrounds and groups
- Encourage mentorship and succession of our diverse attorneys
- Increase awareness of diversity and inclusion issues through training and workshops
- Support local and national affinity groups through sponsorship and encouraging participation and membership
- Support and participate in the State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program as an active Steering Committee member
- Support professional and business development networking opportunities of diverse attorneys
- Annual participation as a firm sponsor of the State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program’s High School Pipeline Program
- Promote awareness and education on diversity and inclusion news, articles and events through firm D&I newsletter
- Retain D&I consultant to lead training and interactive workshops for all attorneys addressing importance of diversity and consequences of implicit biases and increase awareness of the importance of individual responsibility to facilitate inclusiveness
- Appointment of women and diverse attorneys as practice group leaders and committee chairs
- Annual sponsorship and participation in Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys conference
- Annual women’s event focused on exploring and celebrating the unique viewpoints and challenges faced by women attorneys, professionals and clients
- Annual celebrations of World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development, Women’s History Month and Black History Month
Diversity Highlights
- Participation in the American Bar Association 21-Day Racial Equity Habit-Building Challenge
- Member of the Steering Committee of the State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program
- Sponsor of the State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program’s High School Pipeline Program
- Participate in State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program’s Business Development Symposium
- Sponsor of the Alliance of Women in Workers’ Compensation Annual Educational Spring Luncheon
- Sponsor of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys’ Glitter Gala & Auction
- Participant in and sponsor of the Women, Diversity & Change Summit
- Participant in and sponsor of the Fall State Bar of Georgia Diversity CLE Program
- Participant in and sponsor of the Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys’ Annual Leadership Conference
- Sponsor of the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual Gala
- Participant in the Gate City Bar Association Justice Benham Law Camp
- Participation and recruitment at the Southeastern Minority Job Fair
- Participation in Vault/MCCA Law Firm Diversity Survey
- Participation in Mansfield Rule for Midsize Law Firms
Diversity News
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Martine Cumbermack Appointed Chief of Diversity at Swift Currie
- On May 23, 2023, Swift Currie proudly achieved Mansfield Certification Plus
- Partner Pamela Lee appointed as the 2023-2024 President for Georgia Defense Lawyers’ Association
- Partner Lisa Wade appointed 2020-2021 Diversity Vice-Chair to the ABA Workers' Compensation and Employers' Liability Law General Committee
- Partner Lisa Wade has been named in Who’s Who in Black Atlanta since 2005
- Partner Lisa Wade is a member of the Azalea City (GA) Chapter of The Links, Junior League of Atlanta, and Leadership Atlanta
- Partner Anandhi Rajan appointed as the president of The Leadership Institute for Women of Color Attorneys for 2019-2020 and as chair of the LIWOCA 2020 conference
- Partner Pamela Lee appointed as the 2019-2020 programs chair for Georgia Defense Lawyers’ Association’s Women Litigators Section
- Partner Pamela Lee is a speaker at Women, Diversity & Change Summit (2018 and 2019)
- Partner Pamela Lee is on the board of directors for Girl Talk, Inc.
- Partner Martine Cumbermack named co-chair of State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program for 2021-2022 term
- Partner Martine Cumbermack was a featured panelist at the Legal Marketing Association’s “Discussions of Diversity in Marketing” program
- Partner Martine Cumbermack was a featured speaker at 2018 National Workers’ Compensation and Disability Conference on “Diversity’s Impact on Claims Handling, Results and the Bottom Line”
- Partner Martine Cumbermack has been small group leader, moderator and panelist at State Bar of Georgia Diversity Program Fall CLE programs
- Partner Joanna Jang appointed to South Korea’s National Unification Advocacy Council (by President Moon Jae-In) for 2017-2019 term
- Partner Joanna Jang serves on the board of directors for the Korean American Chamber of Commerce of Georgia and Korean American Association of Greater Atlanta
- Partner Crystal McElrath appointed as vice-chair of Georgia Defense Lawyers’ Association’s Workers’ Compensation Substantive Law Section
- Senior attorney Thea Nanton-Persaud named 2018 Rising Star by the American Bar Association Tort Trial & Insurance Practice Workers’ Compensation and Employer's Liability Law Committee
- Attorney Sara Alexandre named to National Black Lawyers Top 40 Under 40
- Attorneys Gillian Crowl, Marcus Dean and Marvis Jenkins named to National Black Lawyers Top 100
- Attorney Marc Hood serves on the 2020 Steering Committee of the DRI Diversity for Success Seminar and Corporate Expo
Diversity Committee Chairs
- Chief of Diversity
- Co-Chair
- Co-Chair