Michael W. Blair, Presiding Partner of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, participated in the Bloomberg BNA Big Law Business “Diversity & Inclusion Summit.” The summit, which took place in New York on October 29, connected some of the most respected in-house and law firm leaders to explore strategies for overcoming diversity and inclusion challenges at firms and corporate legal departments. During a panel entitled “Inclusion Strategies: Retain and Promote,” Mr. Blair spoke about the strides that have been made toward hiring, retaining and promoting diverse lawyers and the challenges and opportunities that remain in continuing to retain and promote top diverse talent at large law firms. The session provided best practices from companies and firms that actively promote diverse and inclusive workforces.

As Presiding Partner, Mr. Blair has furthered Debevoise’s long-standing commitment to diversity and inclusion. Debevoise placed No. 1 overall in The American Lawyer’s “10-Year A-List,” a ranking of the law firms who have earned the highest cumulative score on the A-List since its inception in 2003. In addition to the firm’s overall top score, Debevoise placed fourth in diversity among all firms that qualified for the A-List during the 10-year period. The firm is ranked in the top five by Vault in overall diversity and in diversity for minorities, women, LGBT lawyers and lawyers with disabilities. Debevoise is also the only New York-based firm to have made the Working Mother Media/Flex-Time Lawyers “50 Best Law Firms for Women” list every year since its inception.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a premier law firm with market-leading practices, a global perspective and strong New York roots. We deliver effective solutions to our clients’ most important legal challenges, applying clear commercial judgment and a distinctively collaborative approach.