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The Bridge
PLDIC News
April 15, 2020

Moving Pittsburgh's Legal Community Forward, Together 
Look for The Bridge More Frequently
To keep communication between the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition (PLDIC) and all its constituencies open and robust during this unprecedented period of challenge and uncertainty, the Coalition is publishing “ The Bridge - PLDIC News ” every other week and in between, " The Bridge - Resources ," a compilation of resources relevant to the times and our mission.

If you missed the initial issues of The Bridge , you can catch up here . Know someone who may be interested in receiving The Bridge and other PLDIC resources? Direct them to our website and scroll to the bottom of the homepage to subscribe!
Why Towards a Culture of Inclusion ? (Part II)
The day you receive this newsletter should be the day before our annual Spring Members Meeting, but like so much else, this event has had to be postponed while we tend to protecting ourselves and our communities, nation, and world. But we will return to normal one day soon and events like our Members Meeting will be rescheduled. When that happens, we will be able to finally launch Towards a Culture of Inclusion , a year long series of programs months in the planning.
 
In each edition of The Bridge - News, we will include a brief item on this upcoming series of programs. Last issue, we featured Why Towards a Culture of Inclusion (Part I) . As we said then, people of color represent a disproportionate — and growing — segment of the lawyers who leave their firms.  Towards a Culture of Inclusion is targeted at that problem. 

While law firm leaders may think that their employees feel included at work, we know that in private industry, there is about a 20 percent perception gap between what leaders and employees think about inclusion.  Leaders think a far higher percentage of their employees feel included at work than the actual percentage of workers reporting feeling included . Given that minority lawyers leave their employers at a higher rate than majority lawyers, it seems safe to hypothesize that the perception gap is even higher between law firm and legal department leaders and lawyers of color.  Towards a Culture of Inclusion will provide a safe space to explore that possibility and for leaders and lawyers of color to share their views and experiences and to seek a common understanding of the challenges facing minority lawyers in today’s legal workplaces. 
Inaugural PLDIC Chair Resigns from Board
Coalition Thanks Yealy for his Leadership

Dana Yealy, who served as the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion’s first Board chair for two years, has resigned from the PLDIC Board as he assumes a new role at Federal Home Loan Bank – Pittsburgh.

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pghlegaldiversity.org
Coalition Members Step Up 
Jones Day Launches Free Webinar Series

Member Jones Day has partnered with the Pittsburgh Foundation to launch a free webinar series on pressing issues facing nonprofits. Member Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's Randy Vulakovich recently led a session on PA’s response and recovery efforts.

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pghlegaldiversity.org
Highmark Donates $2 Million to Support Community Organizations
Highmark Inc. announced it is donating $2 million to organizations in need of funding to sustain their work in helping to fight the pandemic in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Delaware. 
PNC Pledges $30M in Charitable Support of COVID-19 Relief Efforts
PNC Financial Services Group Inc. said its pledged donation will be primarily directed toward basic need and hardship relief programs in the markets that PNC operates in.
Mark Your Calendar for a Rescheduled
Diversity-Related Event
PBT Reschedules Event for August 11, 2020

The Pittsburgh Business Times is one of the first organizations to announce a rescheduled date for a diversity-related event. “Prioritizing Inclusion: A Discussion on Diversity in the Workplace" includes speakers whose law departments are members.

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pghlegaldiversity.org