The culture of a firm is its personality. A positive workplace culture attracts talent, drives engagement, impacts happiness and satisfaction, and affects performance. At Stoel Rives, we have committed to the following values and strategic goals in support of our firm culture.
- Serving leading established and emerging business clients by providing value-added solutions to their legal needs
- Providing distinctive client service based on specialized expertise, a commitment to excellence, and deep business and industry knowledge
- Developing and retaining lawyers and staff of the highest caliber
- Preserving commitments to integrity, diversity in all its forms, our communities, and each other
- Maintaining our strength and growing strategically
- Differentiating our brand
- Modernizing our practice
- Establishing a high-performance work environment
Our Commitment to Firm Culture
At Stoel Rives, we recognize that a strong, engaged culture is essential to our success. To ensure our workplace remains dynamic and inclusive, we have established a firmwide Culture Committee that plays a key role in fostering collaboration, engagement, and alignment with our firm’s values. This committee works alongside our Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee and other leadership groups to support initiatives that enhance the employee experience and reinforce our shared sense of purpose.
Our Commitment to Inclusion & Belonging
We understand that cultivating and maintaining an inclusive workforce is key to providing superior client service and community engagement. These efforts are executed throughout the firm by various committees, with firmwide support from our Executive Committee, Firm Managing Partner, Practice Group Leaders, and Office Managing Partners.
Through our ongoing certification with the Mansfield Rule Program—the goal of which is to diversify law firm leadership positions—and our successful completion of a five-year commitment as a founding law firm in Diversity Lab's Move the Needle Fund, we remain dedicated to the advancement and retention of talented lawyers and business professionals across the firm.
Recruiting
At Stoel Rives, our goal is to amplify the quality of our firm by nurturing a team that encompasses the variety of talents and backgrounds available in the communities we serve. We enhance the richness of our team's experiences and skills through our recruitment process. Our commitment to an inclusive workforce is showcased through numerous recruiting and outreach activities:
Summer Associate Program
Every year, Stoel Rives actively seeks out 1L and 2L law students from law schools across the country through On-Campus Interviews, Interview Programs, Job Fairs, our online application process, and inclusivity programs in our markets. We recognize 1L students for their unique talents and perspectives, academic achievements, and experiences by providing opportunities to access the profession early.
Please visit our summer associate hub to learn more about our program and job opportunities.
Lateral Recruiting
We have implemented new, research-informed tools to promote attracting a wide range of talent in our lateral attorney recruitment process. These include refining applicant screening and evaluation tools, such as structured panel interviews that focus on objective and merit-based indicators for success.
Stoel Rives regularly advertises job vacancies across a broad range of organizations, local bar associations, community-based inclusivity job boards, and student organizations, to attract a spectrum of attorney talents.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee
The Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee (DE&IC) at Stoel Rives plays a pivotal role in formulating and implementing strategies aligned with objectives set forth by our Executive Committee. This includes continuous assessment of our progress in broadening the pools from which we select our outstanding cohort of attorneys and business professionals, along with our initiatives for attracting, nurturing, and retaining talented lawyers.
The DE&IC supports the design and implementation of initiatives across subcommittees and departments. Members of the DE&IC serve as key liaisons, facilitating discourse between attorneys, business professionals, firm leadership, and external organizations within the legal sector.
Under the leadership of the Chair and Vice Chair of the DE&IC, the firm's long-term initiatives are executed, and close collaborations with other committees and departments are established. Additionally, the Chair and Vice Chair take the lead in DE&IC meetings, setting action items and spearheading efforts to achieve the firm's strategic efforts. The DE&IC's dedication to fostering an inclusive environment strengthens the firm’s commitment to providing exceptional client service and advancing our vision of expanding overall opportunity in the legal profession.
The Culture Committee and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee work together to reinforce our firm's values and ensure that our workplace culture continues to thrive.
