Affinity Groups

Affinity Groups

At Cravath, our most important long-term goal is the professional development of our lawyers, and we take a holistic approach to this objective—one that recognizes the importance of training, relationship-building, mentoring and balancing career and personal obligations and interests.

Our lawyers come from a wide variety of lived experiences, but they all share important qualities—intelligence, creativity, a strong work ethic and a desire to excel. In order to reach their full potential, our lawyers must feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work, so we devote substantial time, energy and resources to enhance the experiences of our attorneys.

Through our internal affinity groups, our associates have the opportunity to build and strengthen professional relationships, enhance their sense of community, receive informal mentoring and advice and discuss matters of importance to the group. Our affinity groups have attorneys of varying seniority, enabling junior and mid-level lawyers to gain valuable work-related insight from their more senior colleagues. The groups also provide a forum through which associates can make suggestions and raise concerns to the partners. To facilitate this dialogue, each group has at least two partner liaisons, who actively seek input from members on topics for future programming, Firm sponsorships of professional organizations and events, and general feedback about their experiences at Cravath. The partner liaisons also identify resources within and outside of the Firm that might benefit affinity group members. Our affinity groups include:

African American/Black Affinity Group

Partner Liaisons: Heather Benjamin (Trusts and Estates), Helam Gebremariam (Litigation) and Andy Pitts (Corporate)

Asian/Pacific Islander Affinity Group

Partner Liaisons: Tim Cameron (Litigation), Alyssa Caples (Corporate), Ting Chen (Corporate), Sharon Goswami (Litigation) and Minh Van Ngo (Corporate) 

Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group

Partner Liaisons: Richard Hall (Corporate), Damaris Hernández (Litigation), Sasha Rosenthal‑Larrea (Corporate) and Adam Sanchez (Corporate)

Jewish Affinity Group

Partner Liaisons: Ben Gruenstein (Litigation) and Michael Zaken (Litigation)

LGBTQ+ Affinity Group

Partner Liaisons: Peter Barbur (Litigation), Gary Bornstein (Litigation), Michael Reynolds (Litigation) and Sasha Rosenthal‑Larrea (Corporate)

South Asian Affinity Group/Middle Eastern Affinity Group

Partner Liaisons: Sharon Goswami (Litigation), Evan Norris (Litigation), Arvind Ravichandran (Tax) and Claudia Ricciardi (Corporate)

Women’s Initiative

Partner Co-Chairs: Bethany Pfalzgraf (Corporate), Claudia Ricciardi (Corporate) and Brittany L. Sukiennik (Litigation)

Working Parents Group

Partner Liaison: Karin DeMasi (Litigation)

Starting Conversations, Building Relationships

Affinity group programming includes monthly lunches where attorneys informally share their experiences to Heritage Month Celebrations. They also present an opportunity for associates to connect with the wider legal community. For example, Cravath sponsors and attends the Annual Awards Dinners of Lambda Legal and the LGBT Bar Association of Greater New York, and members of the Hispanic/Latinx group are active in the Cafecito Network, an informal network of Latina attorneys in New York City.

We also arrange some of our programming by seniority level, providing ample opportunities for our associates to develop both peer and mentor relationships in a relaxed setting. For instance, the partners in the Women’s Initiative host informal gatherings for incoming and summer associates at restaurants and partners’ homes.

The intent of each event is to encourage informal conversations, enabling our lawyers to develop professional relationships organically. We want our associates to have a deep network of colleagues to turn to for support and advice on issues including taking ownership of one’s career, fostering relationships with colleagues and clients, enhancing one’s professional development skills and producing exceptional work for our clients while managing life’s personal demands. Our group events foster an environment where free-flowing conversations on these topics are encouraged.

Joint Affinity Group and Firmwide Programs

We also identify opportunities for members of our affinity groups to come together as a larger community. Members of our Diversity Committee host Joint Affinity Group events that provide a forum for attorneys and paralegals to share their experiences and insights. Every winter, the Firm hosts a Joint Affinity Group Soirée, where partners and members of the affinity groups come together as a community. The events provide a forum for attorneys to find commonalities and access a deep, firmwide network. Similarly, we host annual Joint Affinity Group Receptions for Summer Associates and Incoming Associates in the summer and fall, respectively. 

In addition to our affinity groups, we identify opportunities for all attorneys to participate in programming that affirms the importance of diversity and inclusion. We engage with external leaders who enrich our understanding of diversity in the legal field through firmwide discussions. Notable contributors have included Raymond McGuire (Lazard), Efrén C. Olivares (Southern Poverty Law Center), Tiq Milan (Transgender Activist), Sandra Leung (Bristol Myers Squibb), Bruce Jackson (Microsoft), and others. Recently, we organized a comprehensive firmwide series on LGBTQ+ inclusion, led by Dru Levasseur, Esq., Director of DEI at the National LGBTQ+ Bar. The positive feedback we have received regarding these programs has been substantial, highlighting a strong desire among our staff for more such educational interactions. Consequently, we are committed to continuing these enriching sessions with industry experts.

Associate-Driven Dialogues and Programming

We value the wisdom and experience of our associates, and they have spearheaded many Firm initiatives. For example, the inspiration behind the Joint Affinity Group Receptions came from associates. Our Working Parents Group began with informal lunch meetings among associates who have children. Our affinity groups also provide the Firm with valuable insight into diversity-related programming and other matters.

Additionally, each affinity group has at least two associate co-leads who organize internal affinity group meetings and work alongside the partner liaisons and the Diversity & Inclusion Department to implement new programming. They also meet with our Diversity Committee co-chairs and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer to help further engage and support our affinity group members.  

All senior associates in our affinity groups are given budgets for the purposes of organizing small group gatherings with underrepresented junior associates, across affinity groups.  The Firm is grateful for the dedicated support that senior affinity group members spend mentoring and serving as a resource to junior affinity group members. The support that each senior affinity group member provides to juniors creates an environment of inclusion and belonging.