Attracting, Retaining, and Reflecting a Diverse Community

Recognition / Associations & Memberships

Overview

At Helsell Fetterman, we know that attracting, retaining, and reflecting a diverse community in our workforce not only creates a rewarding and welcoming place to work, but also brings a broader range of perspectives and insights to our firm allowing us to better serve our clients’ needs.

Prioritizing diversity and inclusion is simply part of who we are and what we value. Diversity and inclusion are Core Values that drive our Vision and Mission. Our Vision declares that our firm “will attract, retain, and reflect a diverse community in its workforce”; and our Mission guides us to “offer a diverse, rewarding, and welcoming place to work where attorneys and staff can achieve long-term growth, personally, and professionally.” We take great pride in having a collegial, informal, and entrepreneurial environment where people are encouraged to be themselves, learn from one another, voice their ideas, and chart their own paths.

Our Diversity Goals

Promotion of diversity awareness within our firm and in the community
Community involvement and outreach
Diversity hiring and promotion practices in every position in the firm

As a Firm

Our DEI Commitment

Helsell Fetterman condemns and denounces hate and abhorrent language and behaviors intended to harm any member of our community on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, expression, age, national origin (ancestry), immigration status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or military status. We are firmly committed to peace, justice, civil discourse, social-emotional support and respect for all.

But actions speak louder than words...

Antiracism Commitment

Helsell Fetterman commits to do the hard and necessary work to eradicate racism, confront bias, and achieve justice. See our Antiracism Commitment here.

Our hearts and thoughts are with George Floyd’s family. They have suffered an immeasurable loss that cannot be undone. We hope the verdict, in some small way, helps to alleviate some of their pain.

The verdict is a step toward accountability and fairness in our country. However, justice does not begin and end at the courthouse door and there is still much work to do.

The Helsell Fetterman Fellowship

Helsell Fetterman has created a fellowship for fostering diversity, and for over 10 years, we have provided young attorneys an entry into the practice of law. We strive to uplift diverse voices, communities of color, and those who have been disadvantaged by allowing employees the opportunity to participate in peaceful protests, and by providing them with resources to find and donate to organizations that support disadvantaged communities, buy from Black and minority-owned businesses, and frequent minority-owned restaurants. Our firm strives to do business with minority owned businesses and business who support our values and commitment.

Despite being recognized multiple times as one of the top three diverse law firms in Washington State, we will continue to be intentional about making Helsell Fetterman a diverse, inclusive and welcoming law firm. Today, our attorneys and staff members are more diverse than we have ever been.

Helsell Fetterman Spotlight

Helsell Fetterman spotlights local and minority-owned business. We bring in food or products from those businesses to showcase the amazing people in our community that may be under the radar. Our program began during the pandemic as a way to provide much-needed support to struggling businesses, and it was such a success that we’ve made it permanent. It is our opportunity to not only support these businesses, but to introduce a wider group of individuals to the diversity of food and culture in our community.

Community Participation

Annual Sponsor of the Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW) Annual Gala
Annual Sponsor of the Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW) Annual Gala
Annual Sponsor of the King County Bar Association (KCBA) Annual Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. Luncheon
Annual Sponsor of the King County Bar Association Annual Breakfast With Champions
Annual Sponsor of the Korean Asian Bar Association of Washington (KABA) Annual Banquet
Annual Sponsor of the LGBT Bar Association of Washington (QLaw) Annual Banquet
Annual Sponsor of the Loren Miller Bar Association (LMBA) Annual Scholarship Dinner
Annual Sponsor of the Seattle University School of Law Public Interest Law Foundation’s Annual Auction
Annual Sponsor of the Vietnamese-American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW) Annual Banquet
Annual Sponsor of the Greater Seattle Business Alliance (GSBA) Annual Equalux: Taste of GSBA
Annual Sponsor of Capitol Hill Housing “Top of the Town” Event

Sponsor of the Washington Initiative for Diversity (WID)
Sponsor of the Washington Judicial Institute
Sponsor of the Summer Search Seattle Leadership Luncheon
Currently Partner with Rainier Scholars to offer a high school or college student a summer internship
Partner with the Vietnamese Friendship Association to raise money and collect donated items for an annual fund drive for the Seattle World School
Previous Sponsor of the QLAW FallTacular
Annual participant in the former KCBA Future of the Law Institute (FLI) Program
Previously participated in and raised money for the Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ARCS) Walk for Rice
Previously partnered with community organizations such as Mary’s Place and Refugee Women’s Alliance (ReWA) to raise money and collect donated items to support their ongoing efforts

Recognition

In 2008 and 2010 the Minority Bar Associations of Washington Joint Committee on Law Firm Diversity conducted surveys of Washington State law firms and issued The Law Firm Diversity Report ranking law firms on their diversity. In the report issued on the 2008 survey, Helsell Fetterman was ranked third overall in Washington State, behind only the largest law firm in the state (a multi-national law firm) and the large Seattle office of a San Francisco-based law firm that is now defunct. In the 2009-2010 Law Firm Diversity Report, Helsell Fetterman was again ranked third overall in Washington State for demographics and efforts related to diverse attorneys. The 2009-2010 report also published rankings in sub-groups, and Helsell Fetterman’s sub-group rankings included third in the state for demographics and efforts related to female attorneys, first for demographics and efforts related to GLBT attorneys, and sixth for demographics and efforts related to disabled attorneys. The Law Firm Diversity Report survey and ranking processes were discontinued after 2010. In 2008, the Puget Sound Association of Legal Administrators awarded its annual “Achievements in Diversity Award” for firms with fewer than fifty attorneys to Helsell Fetterman.

While we were proud of our accomplishments and awards in diversity and inclusion in 2008 and 2010, we knew then that our efforts on diversity and inclusion were far from over. Since 2010 our efforts at continuing to make Helsell Fetterman a diverse, inclusive and welcoming law firm have progressed with steady persistence and commitment. Today, our attorneys and staff members are more diverse than we have ever been.

Associations & Memberships

We encourage our attorneys to volunteer their time and efforts through leadership activities. Below is a list of organizations for which our attorneys currently volunteer their time through board and committee service.

American Bar Association
Asian Bar Association of Washington (ABAW)
Latina/o Bar Association of Washington (LBAW)
Hilltop Housing
The Judicial Institute
Joint Asian Judicial Evaluations Committee
King County Bar Association
King County Bar Foundation
Korean American Bar Association of Washington (KABA)
Loren Miller Bar Association (LMBA)
Middle Eastern Legal Association of Washington (MELAW)
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
Page Ahead
Seattle Girls’ School
Seattle University School of Law, Law Alumni Board
Seattle University School of Law Public Interest Law Foundation Alumni Steering Committee
Seattle Summer Search
Vietnamese-American Bar Association of Washington (VABAW)
Vietnamese Friendship Association
Washington Initiative for Diversity (WID)
Washington State Bar Association
Washington Women Lawyers (WWL)
Wayfind
We are a founding sponsor of QLaw, the LGBT Bar Association of Washington

Volunteering

On an individual basis, volunteering is a common thread in the Helsell community. About 30% of volunteers do so by providing professional services through various bar groups or legal clinics, or as board members of non-profit groups. Working in various capacities with non-profit groups such as United Way, Habitat for Humanity, El Centro de la Raza, Fare Start, Little League, 4-H, and PAWS accounts for about 2/3 of the total individual volunteer activity, while the rest is split between faith-based and school-related groups such as Catholic Community Services, Episcopal Diocese, Seattle Girls' School, local school boards, University of Washington, and Seattle University.

Landmark Diversity Case

In 2004, Helsell Fetterman collaborated with Lambda Legal and Northwest Women’s Law Center on Andersen v. King County, an important case regarding the legality of same sex marriage. It was a contribution of time, energy and resources that we were proud to make in the furtherance of the recognition of equal rights.