The Bridge
PLDIC News
April 1, 2020

Moving Pittsburgh's Legal Community Forward, Together 
What You Can Expect from the Coalition
While Social Distancing
Law firms, law departments, and individual lawyers, like the nation as a whole, are confronting an unprecedented period of challenge. Part of the challenge is not knowing what is going to happen. While we wait for the picture to come into focus, it is important to hew to our values and our commitment to each other and to the people who make our community and our organizations strong. For the time being, to keep the lines of communication open and robust, the Coalition will publish this newsletter every second week. In between, we will distribute to our members a compilation of current resources related to our mission which we hope will prove invaluable over the long-term. In the meantime, we hope all our members’ employees and their loved ones remain healthy and safe. 

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Status of Upcoming Events

As 4/1/20, the following upcoming events and programs have been postponed or cancelled:

Coalition Events:
 
Community/Bar-Related Events:

Please continue to check our website for the latest updates.
Why Towards a Culture of Inclusion ?
Although it is impossible to launch Towards a Culture of Inclusion now, as we had hoped to do at our April Members Meeting, we will include a brief item in each newsletter related to this year-long series of programs and events so that we are poised to jump start the program as soon as we are able. This time: Why Towards a Culture of Inclusion?
 
Why? Because at the same time that legal employers are bringing in more people of color, racial minorities still represent a disproportionate—and growing—segment of the lawyers who leave their firms. Here’s what we learned from the 2019 MCCA Vault Survey ( See particularly pp. 5 and 12).
 
Towards a Culture of Inclusion is aimed directly at helping our members increase their chances of retaining more diverse lawyers for longer periods of time. We plan to provide new ideas, new skills and new ways of looking at the problem of minority retention that will enable our members to do better. It’s as simple as that. 
 
Ritu Bhasin was to be our speaker at our Members Meeting. While we wait for the day when we can bring her back, check out her short video below, entitled " Create Organizational Change Through Inclusive Leadership" to see what you can expect when we are able to be together again.
Coalition Members Step Up 
MSA Donates Masks to Local Hospitals and First Responders

Coalition member MSA Safety is working with Allegheny Health Network and member Highmark Health to donate its full stock of 65,000 N95 masks to replenish the stock of Pittsburgh's hospitals and first responders.

Read more
pghlegaldiversity.org
Chevron Provides Funds to Local First Responders, Food Banks

Coalition member Chevron Appalachia, in the process of divesting local shale resources, announced that it will provide $260,000 to local first responders and food banks to meet the challenges of COVID-19.

Read more
pghlegaldiversity.org
Duquesne Light Donates to Pittsburgh's Emergency Action Fund

Coaltion member Duquesne Light Co. has committed $500,000 to the Emergency Action Fund, created by Pittsburgh's philanthropic and foundation community to provide rapid response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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pghlegaldiversity.org
PPG Industries Donating and Distributing Masks to Hospitals

To support the COVID-19 response, Coalition member PPG Industries Inc. has donated 80,000 masks to hospitals, including 20,000 N95 masks to UPMC and Allegheny Health Network hospitals in Pittsburgh.

Read more
pghlegaldiversity.org
Jones Day Pittsburgh Appoints New Partner-in-Charge

Rebekah Kcehowski has been appointed Partner-in-Charge of the Jones Day Pittsburgh Office, effective January 1, 2020.

Read more
pghlegaldiversity.org
Earn CLE Credits from Home
Due to public health concerns, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has extended the April 30 compliance period deadline to Aug. 31, 2020. If you're in need of CLE credit, the ACBA has more than 50 CLE courses in dozens of practice areas available online.
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