PHILADELPHIA, April 11, 2013—Duane Morris is pleased to announce that partner Nolan N. Atkinson, Jr., the firm's first Chief Diversity Officer, has been honored by The Legal Intelligencer with a Lifetime Achievement Award for his "distinct impact" on the legal profession. The lifetime achievement awards, the first of their kind at the Legal, will be given as part of a ceremony to commemorate that newspaper's 170th anniversary and to honor lawyers in the community who have "stood as examples of some of the best virtues of Pennsylvania attorneys."
Under Atkinson's leadership as Chief Diversity Officer, overseeing its Diversity & Inclusion committee, Duane Morris has developed a diversity and inclusion program that has been recognized nationally. The firm was recently named the 2012 recipient of the George B. Vashon Innovator Award presented by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA) for innovative best practices by a law firm in recruitment and retention.
"We feel these attorneys represent the best the Pennsylvania legal community has to offer," the Legal stated in an article. "They have collectively moved forward the legal profession in the state [and] helped foster the legal education of younger attorneys."
Atkinson is the former chair of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group, Inc., a consortium of law firms and corporations committed to increasing ethnic and racial diversity in Philadelphia's larger law firms. In addition, he is a member of the Section of Litigation of the American Bar Association and the Philadelphia Bar Association, and he was formerly appointed co-chair of the Conference of Minority Partners in Majority Corporate Law Firms, a constituent entity of the Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession of the ABA. Previously, Atkinson was named to The Legal Intelligencer's 2011 Diverse Attorneys of the Year, along with partner Bob Archie, for their outstanding professional achievements. He was also honored as a 2010 Minority Business Advocate by the Philadelphia Business Journal. In 2009, Atkinson received the inaugural Diversity Leadership Award from the American Bar Association, Section of Litigation. In 2008, he was appointed to the Mayor's Advisory Task Force on Ethics and Campaign Finance Reform by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and was the recipient of the inaugural Chancellor's Diversity Award from the Philadelphia Bar Association.
About the Diversity and Inclusion Program
Duane Morris manages its diversity and inclusion program with the objective of utilizing the best talent worldwide in solving legal problems. The firm recruits a diverse pool of lawyers who collectively possess an awareness of cutting-edge 21st century issues—legal, social and economic—for which clients require solutions. Because diversity management is integral to the core business of our management and each of our practice groups, our programs for the recruitment, retention and promotion of historically minority groups will continue and grow. The firm's attorneys and its leadership believe in accentuating the added value that diverse attorneys possess and generating profitable new business opportunities from this added value.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a global law firm with more than 700 attorneys in offices across the United States and around the world, is asked by a broad array of clients to provide innovative solutions to today's legal and business challenges.