Butzel Long :: Diversity & Inclusion
Service to the Community
The firm's commitment to diversity also includes our longstanding
commitment to community service. Several of our community
service activities directly benefit minorities and people from
underrepresented communities.
Our attorneys are quite involved in the Detroit Metropolitan Bar
Association Barristers Board of Directors' School Partnership
Program. The goal of this program is to provide mentorship to
high school students, improve high school students' understanding
of the law and encourage high school students to pursue careers in
the law. Students participating in the program are from two
i n n e r -city Detroit high schools.
One of our attorneys was a co-recipient of the Oakland County Bar
Association's Frances R. Avadenka Memorial Award. The award is
presented annually to an Oakland County Bar Association
member who has made significant contributions to the
community outside the legal profession. This attorney was
responsible for developing the Gettysburg Mentoring Program,
which has trained hundreds of lawyers and law students to serve
as adult mentors to more than 400 middle and high school
students in the Pontiac, Michigan school system.
Our commitment to community service was recognized when we
were awarded "The Commitment to Mission Award" by HAVEN,
Oakland County's leading non-profit committed to eliminating
domestic violence and sexual abuse. We also received the "MerryGo-Round Award" for exemplary corporate citizenship and a
longstanding commitment to the welfare of children from the
Child Abuse and Neglect Council of Oakland County.
Our attorneys serve on the Board of several inner city schools
including Loyola High School, and Detroit Merit Academy. One of
our attorneys is on the Board of the Pontiac Alumni Foundation's
Mentoring Program and several firm attorneys mentor youth in
Pontiac. One of our attorneys serves on the Board of Directors of
the Junior Achievement of Southeastern Michigan, Inc. Junior
Achievement sends professionals from all occupations to inner city
schools, like Detroit, Pontiac and Flint, to teach courses in
economic education to provide students with a vision of economic
opportunity for the future. One of our attorneys is a member of
the Board of Directors of the International Institute of Detroit
which assists with immigration and adjustment issues for persons
moving to the U.S. Our attorneys also serve on the Board of
Directors of the Boys Hope Girls Hope of Detroit, The Children’s
Center, and the YMCA of Ann Arbor.
One of our attorneys is a former President and Trustee of the Rosa
Parks Scholarship Foundation Board, and another served as
Assistant Treasurer. The Rosa Parks Scholarship Foundation was
established to provide equal opportunity scholarships to Michigan
high school seniors. The Foundation is committed to helping
students achieve their goals and overcome adversity through the
support of higher education. The firm attended the Foundation’s
annual 25th Anniversary Celebration and Tribute to Rosa Parks.
We also contribute to the Cornerstone Schools Scholarship Fund
that supports Cornerstone's seven schools in Detroit.
We attended the Wolverine Bar Foundation's Damon J. Keith
C o m m u n i t y S p i r i t A w a r d L u n c h e o n . The proceeds from the
luncheon benefit the Damon J. Keith Scholarship Fund, which
awards a scholarship to a law school student who demonstrates
exemplary commitment to community service and uses the law to
combat injustice, social inequity and improve society.
In 2006, the women of the Labor Department launched a new
initiative known as "W5" (Women Working With Women for
Women). The goal of W5 is to make a difference in our
communities by partnering with other business women to raise
awareness of non-profit organizations that support women.
In 2009, another group formed by the women of Butzel Long
gathered together with many of our female clients to renovate a
home with the Habitat for Humanity organization.
In 2010, Butzel Long hosted a day of training for the White House
Project. The White House Project, a national, nonpartisan, not-forp r o f i t o r g a n i z a t i o n , 5 0 1 ( c ) ( 3 ) , a i m s t o a d v a n c e w o m e n ’s
leadership in all communities and sectors, up to the U.S.
presidency. It helps to fill the political leadership pipeline with a
critical mass of women in an effort to make American institutions,
businesses and government truly representative of our
population.
S e v e r a l o f o u r a t t o r n e y s a r e m e m b e r s o f t h e A n t i -Defamation
League. One of our attorneys is the Young Adult Liaison to AntiDefamation League and is currently attending the AntiDefamation League’s Glass Leadership Program. Another attorney
r e c e i v e d t h e A n t i -Defamation League's Woman of Achievement
Award.
One of our attorneys serves as Co-Chair of Martin Luther King Jr.
All People's Breakfast, which is co-sponsored by the Detroit Urban
League and the American Jewish Committee. Our attorneys are
also members of the Detroit Urban League and the American
Jewish Committee.
Our attorneys serve on the Advisory Boards of the Salvation Army
– Eastern Division, the Salvation Army Edwin Denby Center for
Children and Family Services and the Salvation Army Booth Legal
Aid Clinic. Our attorneys volunteer at Habitat for Humanity,
Capuchins Soup Kitchen and the Fort Street Presbyterian Church's
Open Door Mission.