AALRR Hosts Inaugural Civil Rights Conference

On Thursday, September 20, Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo (AALRR) hosted its inaugural Civil Rights Conference in Long Beach. The conference brought together over 200 participants from all over the state for a day of knowledge-sharing and connecting on civil rights, diversity, and inclusion topics. Presentations and panel discussions provided important insights on matters related to addressing implicit bias and sexual harassment in the workplace, preventing sexual misconduct on campus and in educational institutions, understanding disparities in school discipline, protecting the rights of undocumented/DACA students, and much more.

As an education-and-employment focused law firm, AALRR is in a unique position to understand the diverse and complex concerns raised by our clients pertaining to matters involving civil rights—and the firm is proud of its deep bench of attorneys who are well versed in these matters and who shared their expertise at the conference. Joining AALRR attorneys on the stage were a number of distinguished thought leaders and civil rights experts. This includes keynote speaker Christopher Edley Jr, distinguished professor and former Dean of UC Berkeley School and co-founder and president of the Opportunity Institute; Kevin Kish, director of the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, Maria Blanco, executive director of the UC Immigrant Legal Services Center, and Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel for MALDEF and Los Angeles County Office of Education board member.

“AALRR has supported and prioritized diversity and inclusion initiatives since its founding, and is proud to be regarded as a national leader when it comes to equity in the legal field,” commented Managing Partner Mark Palin. “We see this conference as a natural extension of our firm’s goals to promote diversity and inclusion within our own offices and in the communities we serve—and we’re thrilled to have seen such a great turnout for this event.”

About Atkinson, Andelson, Loya, Ruud & Romo

With over 35 years of unwavering commitment to client service, AALRR is one of California’s leading law firms. Our diverse team brings a seasoned perspective to California’s complex legal landscape for public and private entities, with particular strength in the areas of education, labor and employment, construction, complex litigation, corporate, taxation, and white collar law. Our public sector clients include more than 400 K-12 school districts, community college districts and universities, as well as cities, counties and special districts. We also represent diverse business entities, from small, family-run businesses to publicly traded corporations. At 185 lawyers and growing, AALRR has nine offices in Cerritos, Fresno, Irvine, Marin, Pasadena, Pleasanton, Riverside, Sacramento and San Diego to serve our clients throughout California. For more information about AALRR, visit our website at www.aalrr.com and sign up for our blogs, EdLawConnect, CA Public Pensions Law, Business Law Journal, Labor & Employment Law, and Labor Relations Law.

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