The success of our firm is deeply rooted in our clients, colleagues and communities.

Community is the heart of Eckert Seamans; our people are exceptional, and each individual contributes in ways that strengthen our collective success. Sharing is central to our way of enacting community, and we recognize that sharing broadens our resources instead of limiting them. We welcome you to join us at our table and share in the community we have and continue to build – we will always make sure there is room.

Our Mission

Eckert Seamans is a community that seeks to further collective, deliberate, and intersectional engagement that serves as a touchstone for action. Through recruiting, retention, policies, and accountability, we work to be agents for positive, concrete, and systemic change for our firm and our surrounding communities.

Building a Community with You

Eckert Seamans continuously strives to create and provide a culture of inclusion and belonging. Our mission is central to all our efforts and remains a representation of who we are, while providing the platform to elevate us to where we want to be. Recruiting, retention, career mapping and mentorship are core functions of our plan for success and combined with our innovative programming, creates an environment that encourages transformative dialogue, growth, and opportunity. Eckert Seamans is committed to providing the best service to our clients while creating and fostering an inclusive and innovative working environment. We consistently work to learn and develop best practices and policies to attract and retain legal talent that is representative of diverse lawyers who reflect the communities we work and live in every day.

Our initial successes include our pipeline recruiting programs with New England School of Law and Howard Law School, which assist and encourage law school candidates from historically marginalized communities. Our initiatives include direct, one-on-one opportunities that cover topics such as summer internships, interviewing skills, habits to help ensure success beyond law school, and navigating the legal space as a young lawyer. Other firm activities are internships, networking and establishing relationships with law and recruitment programs that the support the development and nurturing of summer associates from diverse backgrounds, and job assistance.

A Culture of Inclusion and Belonging

We also understand that inclusion is a multifaceted and nuanced effort, so in addition to our efforts in recruitment, we have taken steps to ensure that we are building a culture of inclusion and belonging. This includes initiatives such as our C.A.R.E. quarterly training program, which is in part comprised of inclusion training, our annual inclusion CLE curriculum and learning path, multiple open forums, and community discussion opportunities throughout the year. It also includes our newest addition: inclusion office hours with our Director of Inclusion, where people within the Eckert Seamans community have the opportunity to engage with each other and our Director of Inclusion on topics where they have comments, either as individuals or on behalf of clients. Our Director of Inclusion is also working closely with each of our Inclusion Ambassadors (one attorney in each office who serves a maximum 4-year term, whose responsibility is furthering the firm’s overarching inclusion mission on a local basis) to develop learning opportunities and promote cultural development that is relevant and implementable on a local basis. 

Measuring our Success

Inclusion is hollow without accountability, and we know that what matters gets measured. Eckert Seamans has created a billing number specifically for inclusion and all efforts towards this space are considered as a part of the compensation process. Every effort that is implemented is accompanied by a mechanism for measurement and accountability because it is as equally important to measure our impact, as it is to define our intent.

Similarly, Eckert Seamans has long championed our Women’s Initiative at Eckert Seamans (WIE). WIE established a way for the firm to ensure a supportive atmosphere for women in the law that embraces their uniqueness in practice as well as their perspectives. The group has been instructive in increasing the numbers of women in the partnership ranks, equity partner opportunities, and senior leadership roles.

Externally, the firm is serious in its commitment to the communities it serves, and lawyers are encouraged to participate in local community efforts at every level.  Our attorneys partner with, sponsor, and participate in charity and nonprofit activities unique to each geographic area, where it operates, serving over 175 organizations throughout the years.

Meet the Inclusion Team

We developed and implemented an internal Inclusion Council to create and advance initiatives, policies, and best practices, and to identify projects, partnerships, and the framework for the firm’s efforts to be bold, innovative, diverse, and inclusive. The council is chaired by our Chief Executive Officer and Director of Inclusion and includes attorneys and staff that represent a variety of work experiences, geographic locations, practice groups, and administrative areas.

“Now more than ever, a diverse workforce that holds space for different experiences and perspectives makes us stronger and more equipped to learn about and resolve issues our communities face.”

Danielle Mundekis, Director of Inclusion

Voting

  • Chief Executive Officer, Scott D. Cessar (Chair)
  • Director of Inclusion, Danielle Mundekis (Vice-Chair)
  • Executive Committee Chair, Mark L. Reardon
  • Chief Human Resources Officer, Myra Kilgore
  • Labor & Employment Practice Group Chair, Ryan Cassidy
  • Lead Inclusion Ambassador, Derek Illar

Nonvoting

  • Summer Associate Committee Chair, Michael O’Brien
  • Circle Mentoring Chair, LaToya Winfield Bellamy
  • Women’s Initiative Chair, Amy Snyder
  • Director of Business Development, Matthew Goffe
  • Member-in-Charge Representative, Ed Longosz
  • Inclusion Ambassador at-Large, Keith Ferguson
  • Associate at-Large, Krista Stefkovic
  • Administrator at-Large, Katy Mahoney
  • Staff at-Large, Francine Calderon 

Inclusion Ambassadors

  • Pittsburgh, Derek Illar (Lead Inclusion Ambassador)
  • White Plains, Keith Ferguson (Inclusion Ambassador at-Large)
  • Wilmington, Joel Doner
  • Newark/Princeton, Michelle Grady
  • Boston, Larry Kulig
  • Washington, D.C., Jeffrey Larroca
  • Harrisburg, LaToya Winfield Bellamy

Our firm understands that a diverse team of lawyers and professionals enables us to serve our clients with the benefit of a broad range of experiences and perspectives.  If you are interested in learning more, please contact Danielle Mundekis, Director of Inclusion at dmundekis@eckertseamans.com.