In an effort to lead Genova Burns in furthering the foundational values of tolerance, mutual respect and integrity, the law firm announced Monday that partners Jennifer Borek and Harris S. Freier have been elected to serve as co-chairs of the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee.

Matthew I.W. Baker, Young-Ji Park, Gerard D. Pizzillo, Katherine Stuart, Daniel Pierre, Saher Tariq, Latiqua M. Liles and Mohamed Barry also will serve on the committee.

Chairman and Managing Partner Angelo J. Genova said he and the firm believe that diversity and inclusion are essential to delivering unparalleled service on every level, and the firm reflects that with a composition of attorneys and staff from multifaceted backgrounds.

“Diversity has been a founding principal of this firm for over 30 years,” he said. “While the firm’s commitment is not new, we are excited about the new heights to which Jennifer and Harris will lead us.”

Diversity encompasses a wide range of exceptional characteristics and experiences, including people of different socioeconomic backgrounds, races, genders, national origins, ages, religions, sexual orientations and disabilities. This Initiative is dedicated to ensuring that Genova Burns maintains a diverse workforce, and helps the legal industry improve its promotion of the best lawyers from a wide range of backgrounds.

The DE&I Committee will spearhead a number of firm initiatives, including:

• Programming with the Rutgers Association of Black Law Students;
• Firm-wide mentoring of diverse associates;
• In-house counsel mentoring of diverse associates;
• Speaker series;
• Sponsorship of diverse organizations;
• Social events that emphasize shared diversity.

“We hope that our clients and legal community will embrace and join us in participate in the exciting initiatives that our DE&I Committee has planned,” Genova said.