American Civil Liberties Union of California Sacramento, California

Verifi, Inc. Los Angeles, California

Marshall Dennehey Warner Coleman and Goggin Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Lindquist & Vennum LLP Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Federal Public Defender Office, Districts of MA/NH/RI Boston, Massachusetts

Chiesa Shahinian & Giantomasi PC West Orange, New Jersey

Confidential Davenport, Iowa

Nossaman LLP San Francisco, California

Nossaman LLP San Francisco, California

White and Williams LLP Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Confidential London, United Kingdom

Ford Foundation New York, New York

Join the NationalBar.org conversations here:

Five years ago, three black female lawyers were getting tired of feeling isolated at company after company. So they created their own.

The marketplace for legal services is rapidly changing. At a time when demand for legal services is flat and competition is fierce, firms are looking for competitive advantages wherever they can find them. For firms whose commitment to diversity mirrors those they serve and seek to serve, that commitment to diversity can offer a competitive advantage.

As an African-American female attorney, one of the most important lessons I have learned is that the relationships formed throughout my career have helped sustain me the most. A March 2016 ABA Journal article highlighted the importance of engaging minority female attorneys in the workplace as 88 percent will quit large firms within seven years of starting their practice.