Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Our goal at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd is to provide our clients with efficient solutions to complex legal problems. We achieve that mission by leveraging our most important asset – our people. We genuinely believe that having lawyers with varied backgrounds, skills and life experiences broadens our perspective and encourages us to think creatively while working collaboratively. We are committed to diversity because we believe that a diverse workforce enriches our workplace, makes us better lawyers and, most importantly, enables us to provide our clients with efficient solutions to their complex legal problems.  

Achieving and sustaining diversity is an ongoing challenge. We have accepted that challenge and made diversity a priority in our overall Strategic Plan as well as a focus of our firm’s management, recruiting and day-to-day practices. We know that a true commitment to diversity requires sustained attention and effort, particularly in the areas of pipeline cultivation and lawyer recruitment, training and retention. We have undertaken initiatives in each of these areas in an effort to increase the diversity of our law firm.  

Recruiting and Retention

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd recruits, and works to retain, new and lateral attorneys with diverse backgrounds and exceptional legal skills. We work hard to ensure that our diversity commitment is reflected in our hiring practices. We support local minority law student organizations and participate in outreach activities to meet local minority candidates in various cities in which we maintain offices.

We recognize that recruiting alone is insufficient to maintain a dynamic and diverse workforce. Our diverse attorneys, like all of our lawyers, want to be successful and want to experience both personal and professional satisfaction in their careers. Accordingly, our retention efforts focus on providing our younger lawyers with on the job training and helping them establish meaningful professional mentoring relationships that fully integrate them into our firm. In that regard, the firm has developed various mentoring programs including: Peer-to-Peer integration (new associates are assigned an associate mentor to aid in meeting others and getting oriented during an associate's first year with the Firm); and Shareholder Mentoring (new associates are assigned a shareholder advocate to whom she or he can speak about work, firm life, assistance with assignments, or other topics as needed).

We also work hard to ensure that our younger attorneys are fully integrated and involved in the community. Whether it is participating in state and local bar association activities, serving on community non-profit boards, or assuming leadership roles in local religious or civic organizations, our attorneys are encouraged to be active leaders in the community and we work hard to provide them those opportunities.     

DEI Committee

Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd has a standing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee charged with implementing the diversity goals outlined in our Strategic Plan. The committee assists in the recruitment and retention of a diverse workforce and helps establish programs, policies and procedures that support our diversity efforts. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee is comprised of shareholders, associates and professional staff with a wide variety of backgrounds, levels of legal experience and geographic locations. 

Organizations We Support

• ABA Minority Counsel Association  
• Black Law Students Association  
• Black Law Students Association Job Fair  
• CREW Network  
• DRI Diversity For Success Seminars
• Diversity Leaders Initiative at the Riley Institute  
• Ellevate  
• Greenville Chamber of Commerce Diversity and Inclusion Summit  
• Minority Corporate Counsel Association  
• National Bar Association Wiley A. Branton Awards Luncheon and Issues Symposium
• South Carolina Bar Young Lawyers Division Color of Justice Committee, Diversity Committee
• South Carolina Women Lawyers Association