Forum and Affinity Groups
Firmwide Commitment, Individual Responsibility
In 2014, Kutak Rock created The Forum, a formalized umbrella for groups that support inclusiveness and engagement at the firm. Since then, The Forum has grown to include affinity groups, pipeline groups, and groups focused on communication, professional development, training and education. Open to everyone, attorneys and staff work together to support inclusiveness, engagement, and career support systems and initiatives across the firm and in our communities.
African Descent, Black Affinity Group
Kutak Rock’s African Descent, Black Affinity Group provides support and advocacy for the firm’s African descent/Black members, creating an opportunity to engage with each other, allies and the greater Kutak Rock family about our shared experiences and to facilitate understanding of historical and current events and their unique impact on the Black/African descent community. By organizing informational activities and educational forums within the firm, members help encourage appreciation of our heritage.
Affinity Group of Asian Pacific Americans
The Affinity Group of Asian Pacific Americans is an inclusive and supportive resource and community at Kutak Rock. Our members include those of Asian Pacific heritage and those who share our interests. We empower our members with education, advocacy, and resources to support personal and professional growth, leadership advancement, business development, and active engagement within the firm and members’ local APA communities to promote further equality, justice and collaboration.
Hispanic Affinity Group
Kutak Rock and the Hispanic Affinity Group frequently sponsor and attend the Hispanic National Bar Association’s annual conference and Corporate Counsel Conference and Career Fair as well as sponsoring and addressing attendees of the Corporate Counsel Division Reception. The group also meets at regular intervals to discuss pipeline issues as well as other issues impacting the Hispanic and legal communities at large.
Individuals with Disabilities Affinity Group
Thanks in large part to the Individuals with Disabilities Affinity Group, this website, redesigned in 2018, is WCAG 2.0 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) accessible. The group has also created accommodation guidelines and procedures for all internal and external events and meetings of the firm, in addition to providing information to firm members about the definition of and prevalence of disability and ableism. In addition to meeting quarterly, the group's co-chairs and members recently hosted a “Pop-Up Dialogue” on the new Disability Pride Flag, its symbolism, and workplace issues that affect individuals with disabilities, plus ways colleagues can support them.
KutakCares
After decades of firmwide and office-specific philanthropic activity, KutakCares was organized by firm members to coordinate relief for the people of Puerto Rico in 2017 after they were hit by several hurricanes. Since then, it’s fulfilled its purpose through a variety of giving opportunities including an annual event at the firm’s partnership meeting for a local children’s nonprofit in the community in which the meeting is being held. Most recently, KutakCares donated supplies to organizations in Las Vegas, Omaha, New Orleans, Scottsdale, San Diego, and Chicago. The group has also raised money for fire, flood and storm victims, people affected by food insecurity due to the pandemic, and those facing housing insecurity—particularly children. The firm often matches KutakCares’ efforts.
Kutak Pride
The LGBTQIA + Allies Affinity Group meets frequently throughout the year to discuss legal issues and current developments affecting our clients, our members, and the firm as a whole, and to provide a safe and welcoming space for our LGBTQIA+ members and their allies.
The group organizes and hosts:
- Bi-monthly group meetings
- Pride Month mixers and activities
- Educational programs for the firm and clients on current legal topics, such as the Masterpiece Cakeshop case in Colorado, and most recently, the Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 ruling that “sex” is a protected characteristic from discrimination.
The LGBTQIA + Allies Affinity Group also advises firm management regarding matters affecting our members and those of other diverse groups, such as developing language for contracts with firm vendors which respect the rights and dignity of the firm and its members.
Mindfulness Group
The firm’s Mindfulness Group, launched in April 2020, provides attorneys and staff with a way to manage stress, improve well-being, boost performance, and connect with others. Already in the works when the firm began working remotely due to the pandemic, the group serendipitously provided a lifeline at a critical moment in our professional lives and continues to offer weekly mindfulness resources, including live guided meditations, to its members in addition to programming at the firm’s annual partnership meeting. Guided meditations and weekly themed emails are then archived for on-demand use by attorneys and staff.
Attorney Professional Development Committee
Kutak Rock’s Attorney Professional Development Committee (APDC) was created to address the unique needs of associates navigating their path to partnership and those who work closely with them. Currently, the APDC coordinates professional development trainings, professional development and networking opportunities for new partners, and encourages special trainings for each of the associate levels. Trainings often focus on maximizing the firm’s information technology, associate evaluations, and learning about firm governance, among other pertinent and timely topics.
Staff Professional Development Committee
The Staff Professional Development Committee (SPDC) coordinates staff development sessions covering various topics of firm operations, legal practice areas and technical knowledge. The SPDC supports existing and local training opportunities and provides firmwide training sessions tailored to the professional development needs of the firm’s staff members.
Veterans, Servicemembers, and Their Families
Our firm’s veterans, active-duty servicemembers, and their families meet to discuss ways to honor our military. Most notably, they support local and national causes, such as At Ease USA, an Omaha-based nonprofit dedicated to providing mental health services and resources to those suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and their loved ones. The group also educates and encourages our attorneys and staff to learn more about military issues and to consider volunteering with organizations that help our servicemembers and veterans.
Women's Initiative
The firm’s Women’s Initiative hosts quarterly meetings including topical programming and/or speakers for attorneys and staff. In the months between the quarterly meetings, attorneys meet in small groups led by women attorneys who generally serve on the firm’s various committees. The Women’s Initiative also hosts a networking meeting during the firm’s general partnership meeting. As a result, attorneys and staff mentor and learn, network and provide referrals, and share ideas about upcoming conferences, CLEs, learning opportunities and more.
Download the Inclusiveness and Diversity Annual Report
