Sidley Austin LLP Names Sarah L. Olson Chief Diversity Officer

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sidley Austin LLP announced today that Sarah L. (“Sally”) Olson has joined the firm as Chief Diversity Officer. Ms. Olson, a distinguished litigator, has more than 10 years of experience in developing and implementing policies and programs that cultivate a diverse and inclusive environment.

“We are delighted to welcome Sally to our firm”

Ms. Olson will work in partnership with Sidley’s Diversity Committee and Committee on Retention and Promotion of Women to advance the firm’s global diversity and inclusion initiatives. At their core, those initiatives are designed to achieve greater diversity not only within the firm but within the legal profession as a whole. Catherine Valerio Barrad, Walter Carlson, Carlos Rodriguez and Stanley Stallworth serve as firmwide co-chairs of the Diversity Committee. Laurin Blumenthal Kleiman and Kathleen Roach serve as firmwide co-chairs of the Committee on Retention and Promotion of Women.

“We are delighted to welcome Sally to our firm,” said Thomas Cole, Chair of the firm’s Executive Committee. “We are committed to creating and fostering a diverse work environment at Sidley, and we are so fortunate to have Sally bring her broad and distinctive skills to the position.”

“I am thrilled to join Sidley,” Ms. Olson said. “The firm is a leader with a long history of advancing diversity in the legal profession. It is exciting to join a firm with Sidley’s remarkable dedication to the recruitment, retention and promotion of talented lawyers from an extensive range of backgrounds and experience.”

Ms. Olson joins Sidley from Wildman, Harrold, Allen & Dixon LLP, where she launched the firm’s diversity and inclusion initiative. She served as Chair of the firm’s Diversity Committee, which she co-founded, and as the Professional Development & Diversity Director, a position Ms. Olson held while continuing to practice law. Prior to this, Ms. Olson was the practice group leader of the firm’s Litigation Department.

Ms. Olson received a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law and a B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley. Among other honors, she was named to National Diversity Council’s 2011 list of the Most Powerful and Influential Women in Illinois. She is on the Advisory Board of the Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession, and is a member of the Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals, the Black Women Lawyers’ Association and the Lesbian and Gay Bar Association of Chicago.

“As Chief Diversity Officer, Sally will be instrumental in advancing our mission to attract and retain outstanding lawyers who reflect the global marketplace that we serve,” said Charles Douglas, chair of the firm’s Management Committee.

Sidley’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has included the creation of the Sidley Prelaw Scholars Initiative, launched in 2006 and the first program of its kind among U.S. law firms. The Initiative seeks to encourage greater diversity in law schools by providing financial support during the law school application process to racially and ethnically diverse undergraduate students.

Sidley has received several honors for its diversity and inclusion efforts, including being named a Best Law Firm for Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and Flex-Time Lawyers, a national consulting firm advising lawyers and legal employers on work-life balance and the retention and advancement of women, every year of the survey since the list’s inception in 2007. Sidley has received a ‘perfect’ 100 score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index (CEI), a report card on LGBT equality in corporate America, each year since 2008. Additionally, Sidley is one of only three law firms to receive the Catalyst Award, presented by Catalyst, the leading research and advisory organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for women and business. For more information on Sidley’s commitment to diversity, visit http://www.sidley.com/ourfirm/highlights/diversity/.

Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world’s premier full-service law firms, with more than 1600 lawyers practicing in 17 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Sidley is recognized for service and responsiveness. Sidley received the most first-tier national rankings of any U.S. law firm in the inaugural U.S.News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” rankings for 2010. BTI, a Boston-based research and consulting firm, has named Sidley as one of only three firms to have been in the top ten of the BTI Client Service rankings every year since the inception of those rankings in 2001, and as number one in three of those years.

For purposes of the New York State Bar rules, this press release may be considered Attorney Advertising and the headquarters of the firm are Sidley Austin LLP 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300 and Sidley Austin LLP One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000. Prior results described herein do not guarantee a similar outcome.