Creating and maintaining a diverse workplace is of paramount importance to the success of our Firm. That’s why our Diversity Committee has been created to focus on initiatives which will enhance the culture of our Firm and the quality of service to our clients. Among the members of our committee are Scott Murray, Member of the Firm and Co-Chair of the committee, Anjana Patel, Member of the Firm and Co-Chair of the committee, Robert Max Crane, Deputy Managing Partner, Beth S. Rose, Co-Chair of the Litigation Practice Group, Mark S. Levenson, Member of the Firm, Peter G. Verniero, former Associate Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court, Co-Chair of the Corporate Internal Investigations and Business Crimes Practice Group and Chair of the Appellate Practice Group, Cherie Lee Adams, Of Counsel to the Firm, Philip Prothro, Associate, Jason L. Jurkevich, Associate, and Karen Heiss Eisen, Director of Professional Personnel. In furtherance of this commitment, we actively provide minority mentoring and participate in minority student job fairs and minority student scholarship programs. The Firm also created The Women’s Group which is dedicated to promoting the professional and personal growth of our female attorneys. We also encourage our attorneys to actively participate in minority bar associations and national women’s groups. Our goal is to maintain a law firm which continuously fosters diversity in the workplace. DIVERSITY PROGRAMS AND RECRUITING INITIATIVES Special Breakfasts Hosted by the Firm's Diversity Committee – On June 6, 2007, the Firm's Diversity Committee hosted a breakfast seminar which provided insightful discussion on the importance of diversity in the outside counsel/in-house counsel partnership. Our distinguished panel of speakers was comprised of Jennifer DaSilva, Senior Legal Director, Chief Counsel, Animal Health for Schering-Plough Corporation; Vaughn L. McKoy, Associate General Counsel, Public Service Electric & Gas Co.; and John D. Rosero, Vice President, Corporate Counsel, Prudential. Moderated by the Firm’s Diversity Committee Co-Chair, Scott Murray, the panelists emphasized the need for law firms to commit to recruiting and retaining diverse legal talent, and offered strategies and resources to accomplish these goals. On May 18, 2006, the Firm’s Diversity Committee hosted “A Special Breakfast” at the Firm featuring The Hon. Julio M. Fuentes of the United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit and The Hon. Joseph A. Greenaway, Jr. of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. Judges Fuentes and Greenaway spoke to an overflowing audience of diverse law students, attorneys from Sills Cummis and other New Jersey law firms, Firm clients and representatives from the State's numerous diverse bar associations and organizations about their personal experiences as minority attorneys and their perspectives on the opportunities for and obstacles faced by minority attorneys. The judges fielded numerous questions from the audience and offered invaluable insights and candid advice to attorneys at all stages of their careers. The Firm received extensive positive feedback from both events and looks forward to planning and hosting another event in the near future. New Jersey Law Firm Group – This group is comprised of New Jersey law firms, the New Jersey judiciary, the Office of the Attorney General and various prosecutors' offices which together identify and encourage minority law students and lawyers to enter major firms and government practice in New Jersey. The group also works with other professional organizations, the three New Jersey law schools (Rutgers-Newark, Rutgers-Camden and Seton Hall) and various government agencies. The group is committed to the recruitment, hiring and retention of minority law students and lawyers in member firms and agencies. As a part of our participation in this group, the Firm provides a mentor each year to a minority law student from one of the New Jersey law schools. We also participate in roundtable discussions for students on topics such as how to build a resume, interviewing skills, etc. In addition, we participate annually in a minority student job fair (during the on-campus recruiting season) sponsored by this group. Rutgers Law School Minority Student Program – Every summer we employ a first year minority law student from Rutgers-Newark with the goal of having that student come back to work in our summer program and eventually as a first year associate. Philip Prothro, one of our full-time associates, came to us through this program. Hispanic Bar Association – Sill Cummis & Gross is a participant in and sponsor of Hispanic Bar Association programs and events. Black Law Student Association (BLSA) – We participate in the BLSA job fair each fall to recruit minority students from around the region. The Women’s Group at Sills Cummis & Gross P.C. – The Women’s Group is dedicated to promoting the professional and personal growth of women lawyers. Recognizing that women in our profession face unique challenges, The Women’s Group provides a unique forum for meaningful discussion and learning. The Group also seeks to provide mentoring for our women lawyers, positioning them to lead us into the future at our Firm as well as in our communities. In addition to internal programs, the Group sponsors programs which include women lawyers from outside the Firm. The National Association for Women Lawyers (NAWL) – The Firm is a supporter of the NAWL, which has been a leader in supporting and promoting advancement for women lawyers. A Member of the Firm was on the Program Committee for NAWL's Annual Awards Luncheon (July 2006) in New York City. We also sponsor membership for our women attorneys in the NAWL. NAWL publishes an annual directory, a guide we have used as a tool for locating women lawyers and women-owned firms throughout the United States. New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA) – The Firm is a supporter of the NJWLA, an organization that is engaged in efforts in New Jersey to support and promote its members to the highest levels of law firm, government, academic, community, corporate positions and the judiciary, and to foster leadership among its membership. A Member of the Firm serves on NJWLA’s Board of Directors, is Co-Director of Public Policy for NJWLA and was named to NJWLA’s Appointments and Endorsements Committee. New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project (NJ-LEEP) - We mentor ninth and 10th graders as interns for this program that recruits potential minority lawyers while they are young and still in high school. SPONSORSHIPS The Firm is proud to co-sponsor the following events aimed at enhancing the diversity of the New Jersey Bar: • American Conference on Diversity Humanitarian Awards Dinner, 2007 • Asian Pacific American Lawyers of New Jersey What It Takes To Succeed Event, 2007 Annual Dinner, 2006 • Corporate Counsel Women of Color Annual Conference, 2008, 2007 • Hispanic Bar Association Annual Dinner Dance, 2006, 2005 • Mid-Atlantic Black Law Students Association Annual Dinner, 2006 • New Jersey Law and Education Empowerment Project Field Trip, 2007 • Northeast Black Law Students Association Regional Conference, 2008 • Rutgers-Newark School of Law Minority Student Program Annual Gala, 2007, 2006 Association of Black Law Students Annual Fund-raising Event, 2007 • Westfield Area Y 8th Annual Black Achievers Fundraising Banquet • Women of Color in Law Firms Group Dinner, 2007 • Women’s Fund of New Jersey Dinner, 2006 AWARDS • Anjana Patel, a Member of the Firm, received the Asian Pacific American Lawyers Association of New Jersey, Inc. Award in Recognition of Professional Achievement (April 2007)