Andrews Kurth LLP has named Elizabeth A. Campbell as its Chief Diversity Officer. Ms. Campbell is a partner at the firm and will devote her efforts full time to overseeing the firm’s diversity strategy. Leaders of the 400-attorney firm say that Ms. Campbell’s hiring is a key component in building an inclusive culture that embraces and leverages a diverse workforce and raises diversity awareness for the firm and its clients.
“Andrews Kurth is committed to being a leader in diversity, both because it’s the right thing to do and it makes business sense,” says Managing Partner Howard Ayers. “It’s important that our firm mirror the composition of the communities we serve, and we want to set an example of how to bring diversity home and make it operate. We undertook a nationwide search and found the right person for the job, someone with broad and high-level experience in the diversity arena, as well as solid legal credentials.”
Ms. Campbell has more than 25 years of experience in administrative and employment litigation both in law firm and in-house counsel settings and has led human resources, employment relations and diversity strategies at large corporations. Most recently Ms. Campbell served as Vice President of Employment Relations and Corporate Diversity Officer for the ARAMARK Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
She received her J.D. in 1978 from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and her B.A. in 1975 from The American University in Washington, DC.
“It is an honor to join a firm that clearly values diversity and inclusion as a way to enhance the delivery of high quality client services,” says Ms. Campbell. “I am excited to make the move to Houston and to continue and expand the work already begun by Andrews Kurth.”
Ms. Campbell will report directly to Mr. Ayers and will work closely with Gene Locke, who chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee. She will also serve as a member of a steering committee overseeing all of the firm’s work in the areas of diversity, recruiting, professional development and marketing.
Mr. Locke says it is critical that Ms. Campbell be a full partner in the firm with her focus solely on the firm’s diversity strategy.
“The firm views these measures with such importance that we want Ms. Campbell to devote her full attention to diversity without the pressures of practicing law, even on a part-time basis,” he says. “To distract her from that mission would diminish our imperative.”
The hiring of Ms. Campbell is a continuation of Andrews Kurth’s leadership in the area of diversity. The firm has a Women’s Initiatives Committee to develop and retain the talents of its female attorneys and was one of the first law firms in the nation to host a retreat exclusively for its female attorneys and clients.
Most recently, International Law Partner Doris Rodriguez was named to the 17-member board of the Texas Diversity Council, an organization that is committed to promoting diversity in the workplace and the community.
For more than a century, Andrews Kurth LLP has built its practice on the belief that “straight talk is good business.” Real answers, clear vision and mutual respect define the firm’s relationships with clients, colleagues, communities and employees. With more than 400 lawyers and offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, The Woodlands and Washington, DC, Andrews Kurth represents a wide array of clients in all areas of business law.
