A Partial Timeline
World War II was over but elite U.S. firms still largely barred Jewish lawyers. Frank Constangy opened our firm in Atlanta, Georgia.
Mildred McClelland, who’d joined in the 1940s, became our first woman partner, working on cases before the NLRB and U.S. Supreme Court.
Jim Smith joined the firm and would go on to chair the first Equal Employment Opportunity Committee of the American Bar Association.
The firm was among the first to work with clients in Affirmative Action matters.
Katy James became the firm’s first woman administrative partner.
Morehouse College honored the firm for its efforts to hire diverse interns.
Dana Thrasher became Constangy’s first woman practice group leader.
Constangy became the first firm to serve as Executive Sponsor of the Georgia Diversity Program of the State Bar of Georgia.
Constangy initiated the Diversity Scholar Awards program.
Under the leadership of partner Teresa Bult, the firm formed the Women’s Network.
Ellen Kearns of Boston became the first woman office head.
Beginning a decade-long trend, 62% of lawyers joining the firm and 60% of our internal partner and equity partner promotions have been women and/or minorities.
The firm received certification in the Women in Law Empowerment Forum.
Under Chair Neil Wasser, the firm changed its name, and Don Prophete became the first Black named partner among the National Law Journal’s 350 largest firms.
The firm expanded to New York, Denver, and Minneapolis with diverse leaders Anjanette Cabrera, Jim Goh, and Piyumi Samaratunga.
The San Francisco office opened led by Julius Turman, a Black partner who championed workplace diversity and LGBTQ rights.
For the first time, the National Law Journal named Constangy as one of the Top 5 firms for women lawyers. The ranking continues to this day.
The American Lawyer Diversity Scorecard named our firm as one of the Top 100 firms for minorities for the first time, and a Top 3 firm for African-American lawyers. The ranking continues to this day.
Working Mother Magazine first named Constangy to its “60 Best Law Firms for Women.” The ranking continues to this day.
Constangy was ranked #1 on Vault.com’s diversity rankings as the Best Firm for Minorities (nationwide) and the #2 Best Firm for Women. The ranking continues to this day.
Beginning in this year, our Executive Committee was comprised of more than 60% women and diverse partners.
In the wake of the killings of George Floyd and others and the COVID-19 pandemic, the firm made financial contributions to charitable organizations across the country that work to advance equality in our communities.
The firm celebrated its 75th anniversary. Lawyers continued to work for the advancement of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging throughout our halls—and for the future of the legal industry.