BP America Inc. annually recognizes one outside counsel firm that has shown exceptional focus on promoting diversity, equity and inclusion in the legal profession and society as a whole.  Maron Marvel was awarded the honor for 2020 and was formally recognized for this achievement at an award reception held by BP in January 2021.

“We’re honored and privileged to receive BP’s D&I award for 2020. In a year of unprecedented changes and challenges, we are so grateful for the trust and support BP has provided to our firm.  We will never stop advancing diversity, equity, and inclusion, values that empower BP, our firm, our profession, and our world.”

                                              Cathie Pyune McEldowney (DE&I Shareholder Liaison) &

                                              Antoinette D. Hubbard (DE&I Director)

Maron Marvel leaders are committed to investing in exceptional people and empowering their diversity in a culture of respect, continual development and full participation for our professionals and other employees. 

2020 Highlights – The firm’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) Director works with DE&I Liaisons and subcommittees from each of the firm’s offices to institute programs to ensure that each of its employees is afforded unfettered opportunities for professional growth and contribution. This year, we are proud to share some of our accomplishments:

            Seminars

• Maron Marvel partnered with our clients to host a CLE seminar on the current state of diversity in the U.S. legal profession and the strengths of diverse working teams, including intergenerational teams. 

Pipeline Efforts

• Maron Marvel continued its tradition of being a sponsor of the Delaware Minority Job Fair that provides a forum for law students to explore and interview for positions with private and public employers in Delaware.

Bar Leadership

• Antoinette D. Hubbard, Maron Marvel Director of Diversity Equity & Inclusion, worked tirelessly on the planning committee for the Diversity Summit of the Minority Bar Committee of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. The theme of the 2020 Diversity Summit was Practical Tips & Tools for Attorneys, Law Firms and Bar Leaders. The day-long summit included a session regarding Developing Skills to Become an Ally, a presentation on Pipeline Efforts in the Legal Profession, and a segment entitled ‘Increasing Juror Participation, Diversity, and Court Access’. A highlight of the summit was an interactive session during which attendees in small breakout groups defined and devised strategies to implement concrete steps to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in their workplaces and wider communities.

• Beau Cole, a Director of the Jackson office, received the Mississippi Bar’s 2020 Distinguished Service Award.  He has served on and chaired the Committee for Professional Responsibility, chaired the Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program Committee, and by Mississippi Supreme Court appointment, served several terms on the Access to Justice Committee. 
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• Colleen Welch, a Director of the Jackson office, serves on the Women in the Profession Committee of the Mississippi Bar Association which is publishing a book entitled, “First 100 Women Lawyers in Mississippi”. The book will highlight the women pioneers of the Mississippi Bar and chronicle their achievements in fostering gender equality. The firm contributed to a fund to cover the book’s publication costs.

Pro Bono and Community Engagement

• Jaime Careathers, a Director of the Jersey City office, created an educational support program for children in low-income communities in New York City. One of the COVID-19 Learning Support Initiative’s goals is to pair virtual teachers and paraprofessionals with underprivileged students to provide them increased individual instruction and attention.  To achieve this objective, the Initiative has garnered the support of the NYC Department of Education and a number of the city’s premier universities.  The program also seeks to bridge the gap in physical resources, such as school supplies, and IT talent and support in the communities that it serves.

• Shari Milewski, a Director of the Wilmington office, was awarded a 2020 Service to Children Award by the State of Delaware’s Office of the Child Advocate for 10 years of exceptional service.

• Melissa Fallah, a Director of the Chicago office, partnered with our client to launch a joint project in Chicago and Houston to represent unaccompanied minors from Honduras and El Salvador in their asylum cases.  Individual asylum cases are assigned by the National Immigrant Justice Center.

Social Justice Initiatives

• The firm’s DE&I Committee led a firm-wide discussion regarding racial justice, an area of even greater significance this year because of the preventable deaths of African Americans such as George Floyd. Committee members invited all employees to assist in the firm’s selection of a social justice organization to which to contribute. 

• Maron Marvel formally recognized Juneteenth as a firm holiday and established it as a future day of service.