Celebrating the Differences That Make Us Stronger

Katten CEO Noah Heller and Chairman Roger Furey introduced this year's DEI Annual Report with a letter about Katten's Commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion: 

At Katten, we are committed to nurturing and reinforcing a culture of belonging where all of our colleagues can thrive personally and professionally. Diversity, equity and inclusion are essential pillars of our culture and strategy, with investment in our people a top priority. We recognize that our differences make us stronger, especially when we bring our diverse perspectives and backgrounds to the table to create tailored solutions for clients and the firm.

We also recognize that embedding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the fabric of everything we do is everyone's responsibility and that responsibility starts at the top. We are proud to say that our firm leaders, including our office managing partners, department chairs, and members of our Executive Committee and Board of Directors, are actively involved in and devoted to our efforts to foster a climate of inclusion and increase representation at all levels at Katten.

In this report, we spotlight these firm-wide, group and individual activities throughout 2022, and we feature the accomplishments of our talented diverse attorneys. You'll see how we've kept engaged through our Perspectives Speaker Series, being educated and inspired to action by high-profile guests, including Barack Obama Foundation CEO Valerie Jarret, LGBTQ+ rights historian and author Eric Cervini and disability rights advocate Haben Girma.

As we emerged from the pandemic, we were able to host more in-person gatherings, including taking our annual Diversity Summit on the road to connect with our underrepresented attorneys in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago and Washington, DC. And we continued to curate tailored opportunities for professional advancement, business development, and networking — both internally and in collaboration with external partners — for our underrepresented attorneys.

We invite you to read through this report and share in our celebration of diversity at Katten. We look forward to working with our clients, colleagues and community partners to deepen our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion within Katten and beyond.