Date: June 4, 2009
Contact: Kelly Griffith, Marketing Manager
Phone:
(612) 492-7514
Email: kgriffith@fredlaw.com
For Immediate Release
Fredrikson & Byron Receives Hennepin County Bar Association’s Diversity Award
Minneapolis, MN June 4, 2009 – – Fredrikson & Byron has been awarded the Hennepin County Bar Association’s Diversity Award. The firm was honored for its diversity program and efforts to promote and improve diversity at the Hennepin County Bar Association’s annual lunch. The lunch was held on Thursday, May 21 from 12:00 - 1:30 p.m. at the Graves 601 Hotel.
Fredrikson & Byron’s diversity initiative is led by a committee composed of board members, attorneys, and recruiting professionals, and is responsible for identifying and recommending steps for the firm to take to more effectively recruit and retain attorneys of diverse backgrounds at the associate, senior attorney, and partner levels. Fredrikson & Byron has developed and implemented numerous diversity programs including a Minority Scholarship Program that provides educational opportunities for law students of diverse backgrounds with both financial assistance and work experience; the Fredrikson & Byron Scholarship Fund at the University of Minnesota Law School, which is designed to promote diversity at the law school consistent with the University’s diversity initiatives; and the firm is an approved Affirmative Action Plan Employer. Fredrikson & Byron also supports a women attorney-led initiative, Counsel for Women, focusing on women business owners and executives.
At the community level, Fredrikson & Byron has a long history of involvement and support with minority-focused organizations. Fredrikson & Byron attorney John Stout is a co-founder of the Metropolitan Economic Development Association (MEDA), a non-profit organization that provides assistance to businesses that are owned and managed by racial and ethnic minority residents of Minnesota. He is also a co-founder of the Milestone Growth Fund. Milestone Growth Fund is the only Minnesota venture capital fund focused on providing equity-type financing to minority-owned companies. For additional information on Fredrikson & Byron’s diversity efforts, please visit http://www.fredlaw.com/firm/diversity.htm.
“Diversity among attorneys and staff enriches our firm culturally and professionally. Diversity of thought, experience, and background makes us more creative and innovative, which is the core strength of our client service. Moreover, we and our clients are engaged in business around the world, and our continued success depends upon reflecting the diversity of the communities that we serve,” says John A. Satorius, Fredrikson & Byron Chairman of the Board and Diversity Committee Chair.
Fredrikson & Byron is a 240 attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Monterrey, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. We’ve built a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet” by bringing business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to our work with clients, and by operating as business advisors and strategic partners as well as legal counselors. The firm’s primary areas of practice include banking, corporate, employment, energy, renewable energy, franchise, government relations, healthcare, intellectual property, international, litigation, real estate, securities, and tax. We serve a broad range of clients, including multinational corporations, public companies, privately-held businesses, entrepreneurs, government agencies, and family businesses. Fredrikson & Byron’s attorneys also work with individuals on estate planning, family law, and immigration matters. We are the exclusive Minnesota law firm member of the World Services Group, a worldwide network of professional service providers. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com.