Mission Statement of the Diversity Committee
We take pride in Louis Brandeis’s observation that “in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress.” We believe that “differentiation” -- what we call “diversity” -- fosters the highest quality legal service, the strongest client relationships, and the broadest community involvement. We strive, then, to ensure that traditionally underrepresented groups work at every level of the Firm and to advance our position as a leader in the Boston-wide effort to build a legal community that reflects the wider communities we serve. Recognizing that diversity enriches us as individuals and as a firm, we are committed to:

• Setting firm-wide expectations for an inclusive culture;
• Supporting recruitment and retention efforts that focus on traditionally underrepresented groups;
• Learning from and applying best practices of other institutions and industries;
• Measuring our successes and our shortcomings, consistently assessing our own impact;
• Challenging the status quo when necessary; and
• Communicating our mission, the action it requires, and the success it promises.

Commitment to Diversity
The firm’s commitment to diversity reaches from its top management to its roots. Michael Mooney, the firm’s managing partner, and Julia Satti Cosentino, a Trusts & Estates partner and member of the firm’s Diversity Committee, have long served on the Steering Committee of the Boston Bar Association's Diversity and Inclusion Section. Ms. Cosentino is one of a handful of mentors in the Section's pilot Group Mentoring Program, and Mr. Mooney co-chaired the BBA's Diversity and Leadership Task Force in 2008. Nutter has twice in the last few years hosted the Annual Joint Bar Diversity Event, co-sponsored by the city’s leading diversity focused bar associations (Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys, Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association, Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association and South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston).

These activities continue Nutter’s 131-year history of commitment to recruiting talented and qualified people, regardless of race, gender, color, age, disability, religion, ancestry, sexual orientation, national origin, or marital or parental status. Multicultural Law magazine has ranked Nutter in separate studies among the nation’s Top 100 Law Firms for women and diversity.

History
Nutter's commitment to diversity is rooted in the ideals of its founders. One of the firm's founders, Louis D. Brandeis, said in his Fourth of July oration, entitled "True Americanism," which was delivered a year before he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court:

There is one feature in our ideals and practices which is particularly American, -- it is inclusive brotherhood. Other countries, while developing the individual man, have assumed that their common good would be attained only if the privileges of their citizenship could be limited practically to natives or to persons of a particular nationality. America, on the other hand, has always declared herself for equality of nationalities as well as full equality for individuals. It recognizes racial equality as an essential of full human liberty and true brotherhood, and that racial equality is the complement of democracy…. America has believed that in differentiation, not in uniformity, lies the path of progress.

Diversity Committee
Nutter's efforts are led by its Diversity Committee -- composed of both current or former members of our Executive Committee, Legal Personnel Committee and Hiring Committee. The Diversity Committee recommends policies for enhancing the firm's diverse workforce, and oversees implementation of programs for hiring and retention of qualified candidates from underrepresented groups.

Mentoring Program
Nutter has traditionally been a firm that has thrived on close working relationships among its partners, associates and staff. As our firm has grown, we have remained mindful of the importance of preserving opportunities for our associates to form mentoring relationships with senior lawyers. In 2002, the firm instituted the Associate Mentoring Program, a formal program designed with the assistance of an outside consultant. This program ensures that associates have time with senior lawyers that is outside the context of day-to-day work on client matters, so that they may gain from their experience and judgment on matters of professional development.

Minority Bar Associations
The firm encourages the participation of our partners and associates in local and national minority bar associations. Currently our attorneys play active roles in the Asian American Lawyers Association of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Black Lawyers Association and the South Asian Bar Association of Greater Boston.

The Partnership
Nutter participates in The Partnership and its Boston Fellows Program, a nine-month management program designed to fortify and mobilize leadership roles for professionals of color employed in corporations, law firms, hospitals, and academic and other institutions throughout Greater Boston. Fellows are nominated and sponsored by their employers. Those selected to participate can attend monthly forums and participate in a variety of activities to acquaint them with major city institutions and its sectors. The program provides an opportunity for fellows to meet with Boston's most influential people of color and key non-minority decision makers

Recruitment Efforts
Nutter recruits both talented law students, through our Hiring Committee and Summer Associate Program, and practicing attorneys with particular expertise from other firms, as needed to enhance our ability to serve our clients. Our recruitment efforts are ongoing throughout the year, and include participation in minority job fairs. In all of these endeavors, we look to increase the diversity of our attorneys’ backgrounds, skills, and experiences.