Diversity
Gibson, McAskill & Crosby, LLP is committed to encouraging an inclusive environment comprised of diverse professionals whose differences are valued as a source of strength. For us, it is not enough to say that diversity is important; we actively recruit and support minority attorneys and personnel.
Support
Gibson, McAskill & Crosby recognizes that one of the most significant barriers to diversity within the legal profession is the disparity that exists in the educational route to the legal profession for students of color. To help alleviate this pipeline issue, our Firm has established a partnership with “Say Yes Buffalo,” an organization committed to increasing the number of students from Buffalo Public Schools that graduate from high school and college.
Gibson, McAskill & Crosby also has a long-standing reputation of supporting underrepresented minority students at SUNY Buffalo Law School. The Firm is a proud sponsor of the Law School’s annual Students of Color Dinner, which celebrates the achievements of the School’s graduating third year law students who are a part of the Black, Latin American and Asian-Pacific American law students associations.
In addition to striving to improve education outcomes for students of color, our Firm also provides support to attorneys and law clerks of color within our Firm. This effort focuses on providing mentorship to facilitate professional growth within our Firm.
Gibson, McAskill & Crosby also provides support to attorneys of color and women within the Western New York community through sponsorship and participation in diversity and inclusion programs provided by the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and the Western New York Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.
Participation
Gibson, McAskill & Crosby strongly encourages our attorneys to participate in bar associations and organizations committed to achieving diversity and inclusion within the legal profession.
Our attorneys are regular attendees of the Defense Research Institute’s annual Diversity for Success Seminar.
In addition, many of our attorneys have held board positions and leadership roles in organizations including the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and the Western New York Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York.
Recruitment
Gibson, McAskill & Crosby is committed to our goal of increasing the number of diverse attorneys at all levels and across all practice areas of our Firm. To this end, our Firm has developed a number of strategies to identify and recruit highly qualified and diverse candidates for law clerk and attorney positions.
These strategies have included establishing relationships and communicating with law schools, minority bar associations and diverse law student associations to invite high-performing attorneys and law students to interview for positions at our Firm.
In 2016, Gibson, McAskill & Crosby launched its Diversity Law Clerk Summer Associate Program. The Program is a salaried law clerk program that primarily focuses on second year law students. The program seeks well rounded and high-performing law students who have a demonstrated commitment to diversity and inclusion.
All qualified applicants are afforded equal employment opportunities without discrimination because of race, religion, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and/or expression), sexual orientation, age, disability, predisposing genetic characteristics, marital status, military status, and/or domestic violence victim status.