Moving Pittsburgh's Legal Community Forward, Together

UPCOMING EVENTS

The PLDIC will host author, academic, speaker, and consultant Siri Chilazi virtually on Monday, June 2 from 12-1 p.m. Chilazi is a senior researcher at the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard Kennedy School and an internationally recognized expert in advancing women and promoting gender equity in organizations. Her new book of the same name, “Make Work Fair: Data-Driven Design,” co-written with Iris Bohnet, reveals a “new paradigm for fairness at work and offers professionals at every level, in any kind of organization, immediate, proven, and evidence-based ways to do their everyday work better and smarter—and more fairly.” Registrants will automatically be entered into a lottery to receive a free copy of Make Work Fair. You will be notified after registering if you are selected.

This New America article emphasizes that "creating fair systems for hiring, evaluating, and promoting workers benefits both people and businesses."

The PLDIC’s Committee Chairs invite our community to drop in for conversation and camaraderie in a casual, pay-as-you-go setting. This month's "Community Conversation" on June 5 is the last one for now. Stop by for any amount of time if you need a space to just be and where we can provide each other support, take some deep breaths, and share our worries and fears in a safe place. Reach out to Ena with any questions.

PLDIC members are invited to join members of the LGBTQ+ Rights Committee for the annual Pittsburgh Pride Parade. The event is hosted by the Pittsburgh Pride Group, which is a consortium of local LGBTQIA+ organizations that works together to create community-focused pride event. A Pre-Parade gathering will start downtown at 9:30 am. To attend please contact Melissa Evans.

Pride Month is right around the corner, and PLDIC members are invited to join the ACBA LGBTQ+ Rights Committee at Pride Night at the Ball Park – Enjoy camaraderie with colleagues, law students, friends and family while cheering on the Pirates as they take on the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday, June 6 at 6:30 p.m. These tickets are for the all-you-can-eat section, so come hungry.

Lawyers, law students, and legal professionals are invited to attend our virtual symposium and learn more about working in the Pittsburgh legal market. Attendees will:



• Meet lawyers and legal professionals from law firms, corporate legal departments, and nonprofits of all sizes in the Greater Pittsburgh area
• Hear a special keynote address from Carrie Xu, K&L Gates associate, about why Pittsburgh is the best market to launch your career and find your community
• Get their resume directly into the hands of Pittsburgh area legal employers

We would love for your organization to have a seat at the virtual table! PLDIC member participants will have the opportunity to showcase their organization, meet virtually with interested prospects, and receive resumes from all attendees. Space is limited, so please confirm your participation today by emailing Ena. Registered member organizations will receive login information for the event, the meeting agenda, and attendee resumes. PLDIC member employers must register by June 27.

PLDIC Family Picnic

August 24 from 12-3 p.m. at Mellon Park Shelter

Please join us for the Community Building Committee's annual PLDIC Family Picnic on Sunday, August 24 from 12-3 p.m. We will be providing the main dishes, water, and soft drinks. Please bring an appetizer or dessert to share. You are also welcome to BYOB!

This year's picnic will be at a new location: Mellon Park Shelter, which includes a playground and spray park. The Shelter includes a parking lot or guests can park at Bakery Square and walk through Mellon Park to the shelter. Feel free to bring family and friends!

Susan Yohe Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition Scholarship 2025-2026 recipients named

The University of Pittsburgh School of Law and the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University have selected the 2025-2026 Susan Yohe PLDIC scholars. This year’s recipients are Nada Abdalla (University of Maryland ’25), Pitt Law; and Keanna Yoder (University of Dayton ’25), Duquesne Kline.

"I’m deeply honored to be selected for something so meaningful and excited to contribute to Pittsburgh’s legal community," said Nada.

"With how amazing the Pittsburgh legal community has been to me, I am ecstatic to give back to the community that raised me,” Keanna stated.

Several important new resources have recently been added to the PLDIC Member Dashboard:

• Under membership materials, a PLDIC Informational Q&A: A Question and Answer Guide for PLDIC Member Organizations for reference in case you need to explain who the PLDIC is, and what our programs, committees, and initiatives are

• Spring Member Meeting keynote speaker Prasanna Ranganathan’s guide made specifically for the PLDIC, “All About Accessibility and Disability Inclusion”



• Presentations from our recent webinar, “Know Your Rights as a Disabled Lawyer

• Materials from the new “So Now What?” program

So Now What? Kickoff Event

May 1 at Babst Calland

The leaderboard is LIVE for the PLDIC Retention Commitee's pilot program, "So Now What?" The program brings together similarly focused peers from a wide variety of organizations with the goal of moving the needle forward on specific topics and supporting one another as ideas move into action. The three teams consist of 15 participants, all from different PLDIC member organizations! Keep track of the scores live and learn more about the program.

Know Your Rights as a Disabled Lawyer

May 9, Virtual

More than 15 people representing six PLDIC member organizations attended the second session in the Disabled Attorney Brave Space/Self-Care series. We welcomed Amy Mathieu, an experienced employment law attorney and partner at HKM Employment Attorneys, and Sarina Miller, HR Director at Babst Calland, for an expert-led discussion of your rights under the ADA and FMLA. Conversation focused on eligibility, job protections, documentation requirements, and how to collaborate with your employer to establish reasonable accommodations. Resources from the event can be found on the Member Dashboard.

Volunteer with the PLDIC at the Boys and Girls Club! This summer, the BGC teens will be working with the Urban Land Institute on an urban planning project. PLDIC volunteers will have time to discuss their legal career journeys and then will help the students with their urban planning lesson for that day. The legal industry is a critical component of urban planning, and the youth will benefit from your perspectives whether you have an urban planning background or not. BGC will provide volunteers with everything needed to make the lesson successful. You just need to show up! Sign up below for a timeslot to meet with the teens during the weeks of June 23-26 or July 7-July 10. You can sign up with a friend or colleague or attend on your own. Slots are available at three BGC clubhouses (Downtown, Shadyside, and McKeesport). Volunteer clearances are necessary if you have visited the BGC in the past year. Contact Ena if the time that you'd like to sign up for is full or with any questions.

PLDIC Member Littler conducted its annual employer survey and found that of the 350 in-house lawyers, executives and HR professionals that responded to the survey, 45% are worried about litigation related to DEI practices (up from 24% last year). However, despite these challenges, 45% of respondents say their organizations are not considering new or further rollbacks of their DEI programs in response to executive orders issued by the Trump administration. Just over half (55%) are considering changes to some extent, with only 7% doing so to a large extent—generally in keeping with the findings of Littler’s 2025 Inclusion, Equity, and Diversity C-Suite Survey Report, which was released in February.

US Federal Court Affirms Mansfield Aligns with Anti-Discrimination Laws 

The Bridge will not appear in June or July. But, stay tuned: other programming information and special communications will continue to be sent out as needed. You can catch up on all past issues here. Know someone who would be interested in receiving this newsletter, and other news from the PLDIC? Send them this link to sign up!

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