Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Individually and collectively, our lawyers are recognized leaders in DEI initiatives.

All attorneys and staff, including our entire partnership, are involved in the firm’s current effort to join the small number of midsize law firms in the U.S. certified as adherents of the Mansfield Rule, a set of guidelines designed to ensure a fair and equal opportunity for all qualified attorneys to be considered for advancement into leadership roles.

One of our partners, the first woman presidentially appointed to be U.S. Attorney in the history of Connecticut, chaired a Connecticut Bar Association police reform task force formed in response to the murder of George Floyd. The task force’s report led to legislative action by the Connecticut state legislature.

We undertake our DEI work with an awareness that we are limited by our own perspectives.

For that reason, we regularly seek insights from informed voices outside of our firm. Our close collaboration with the Connecticut Bar Association, various affinity bars and Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity is particularly meaningful in informing our efforts. Our goal is to create an inclusive and transparent environment in which all qualified individuals are supported and promoted.

These efforts inform every area of the firm’s operations. We maintain a large and inclusive DEI Committee which meets regularly to advance initiatives and events across all firm functions to ensure a culture of fairness and belonging.

FDH’s commitment and heightened attention to these goals have made us a stronger firm. As a participant in the legal, private equity, and hedge fund industries—all of which have struggled to incorporate and support historically underrepresented populations—we are buoyed, in particular, by the ongoing inclusivity of our partnership and firm overall.

We take pride in our progress without being satisfied with it. Instead, we approach these initiatives as an effort that requires us continuously to educate ourselves and take bold actions to keep moving us forward.

DEI Speaker Series

To foster an awareness of these topics, FDH hosts a regular series of speakers from inside and outside the firm, on subjects ranging from the gender pay gap to the Supreme Court’s decision in Korematsu v. United States, on the internment of Japanese citizens during World War II.

As with all our initiatives, we welcome ideas for this series from everyone at the firm. We are honored to have learned from an impressive range of experts including former Connecticut Treasurer Shawn Wooden, former DEA Administrator Chuck Rosenberg, CT Attorney General William Tong, CT Governor's General Counsel Natalie Braswell, Civic Entrepreneur Oren Jacobson, Yale Law School Professor Harold Koh, Terrorism Expert Barbara McQuade, Congressional Investigator Tim Heaphy, Constitutional Law Professor Kenji Yoshino, Veteran Margaret Donovan, former U.S. Attorney Vanessa Avery and former Ambassador to Russia John Sullivan.

FDH is pursuing certification for compliance with the Mansfield Rule guidelines for diverse law firm leadership.

FDH has committed to the Connecticut Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Pledge and Plan.

FDH proudly sponsors a scholarship through the Connecticut Asian Pacific Bar Association, in honor of our late partner Justin Shigemii.

FDH partners with the Lawyers Collaborative for Diversity in sponsoring an annual CT General Counsel Roundtable on Maintaining a Diverse Legal Environment.