Ronald A. Norwood, a 29-year litigation partner at Lewis Rice in St. Louis, has devoted his career to practicing law in a way that connects with all types of people and businesses.
Norwood also serves as chair of Lewis Rice’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In that role, he proactively promotes legal diversity and inclusion not only within the firm, but also within the community by mentoring law students and young attorneys.
“Lewis Rice is proud of the efforts of its Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and is constantly seeking ways to enhance its diversity initiatives and expand diversity at all levels of the firm,” Norwood said.
A native of Chicago, Norwood joined Lewis Rice after serving as a law clerk for U.S. District Court Judge Scott O. Wright in Kansas City from 1986 to 1988. Lewis Rice’s firm-wide efforts, and those programs implemented through its Diversity and Inclusion Committee, are designed to proactively promote legal diversity by using a multifaceted approach, both within the firm and outside of it in the greater St. Louis community.
Norwood said the committee’s efforts center around four key initiatives:
- proactive, diverse recruiting to ensure the firm hires the best and brightest legal talent that will provide the firm, and ultimately its clients, with a rich diversity of perspectives.
- proactive mentorship to ensure that young associates from all backgrounds have a path to success in the firm.
- proactive community involvement with organizations that promote diversity in the legal profession and programs that attempt to address the needs of those less fortunate in the community.
- proactive retention efforts, including flexible work arrangements to accommodate the family needs of attorneys as they arise during their professional careers.
“The data indicates that the legal profession as a whole is not reflective of the diversity of society at large, either on the national level or the local level,” Norwood said. “Disparities exist when one looks at the percentages of women and people of color in the legal profession. Some of the reasons for those disparities include historical discrimination, lack of equal educational and employment opportunities, socio-economic hurdles, implicit biases, lack of legal role models, and insufficient legal pipeline programs.”
Norwood said that Lewis Rice and its Diversity and Inclusion Committee are committed to creating programs that will help eliminate such disparities.
Some of Lewis Rice’s most successful internal diversity efforts, Norwood said, include proactively hiring a number of new African-American attorneys within the last three years, most of whom transitioned laterally from other legal positions.
Lewis Rice also significantly increased the number of women partners during this three-year timeframe. It recently created a Women to Women (W2W) Forum Initiative designed to support, nurture and facilitate the professional development of women through various internal and external programming activities.
Norwood said one of Lewis Rice’s most successful community outreach efforts has been its sponsorship of the newly formed Heartland St. Louis Black Chamber of Commerce, for which Norwood serves as board vice president. Norwood’s law partner, Apollo Carey, also serves as a board member. Lewis Rice provides pro bono legal corporate formation and tax work, hosts monthly board meetings, and offers conference space for chamber networking events.
Lewis Rice recognizes the historical challenges confronted by women and people of color in gaining entry into and achieving success in the legal profession.
“That is why we have committed to redoubling efforts in identifying, recruiting, training and promoting promisingly diverse attorneys, and in expanding its community outreach efforts, in recognition of the fact that hiring and promoting diverse legal talent, and working with organizations that enhance and promote diversity, benefit our firm, our clients and the society at large,” Norwood said.
The market for top-quality legal talent is highly competitive, with all major firms looking to hire the “best of the best.” Norwood said Lewis Rice selectively hires law students – only the top 2 percent of all applicants – as part of its Summer Associate program. The firm’s summer hiring includes active participation in the St. Louis Area Minority Clerkship program.
“Both during the summer program, and after law student graduates have joined the firm as associates, we provide mentorship programs, associate development programming and client development training,” Norwood said. “These students are bright, and due to our proactive diversity recruiting efforts, we are proud to bring in students from a wide variety backgrounds. The firm benefits from their fresh perspectives, and we hope that after completing the program, our summer associates are encouraged and motivated to pursue a successful career in law at our firm.”
Norwood, who also serves as chair of the Harris-Stowe State University Board of Regents, personally has mentored dozens of high school, college and law students. A graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Law, Norwood has worked with the students on moot court presentations, and has tutored on law school exam writing, job search skills training and law school survival skills.
Lewis Rice also actively supports various law school and professional affinity groups, including the Black Law Students Association, the Hispanic Bar Association, the Mound City Bar Association, the Diversity Awareness Partnership, various LGBTQ organizations and the Women’s Lawyers Association.
