August 2024
At Hanson Bridgett, we celebrate our people, the inclusive workplace culture, and the communities where we work and live: they are the heartbeat of our firm. These are the stories of our values in action. The current happenings and the vibrant individuals behind the scenes and legal matters. Don’t miss a beat.
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Meet Shannon Nessier: “Everything I know about being a good lawyer I learned from good lawyers who mentored me.”
When Partner and Sacramento Market Leader Shannon Nessier talks about DEI, she makes it clear she’s not talking about diversity from 30 years ago or in terms of strict numbers, corporate buzzwords, or trends. We’re beyond that. She’s talking about staying power, and she’s part of a generation of lawyers working to ensure the work we’ve achieved and built upon in this space is sustained and strengthened.
Shannon’s litigation practice is varied. She’s a personal injury defense lawyer for corporations and also represents public agencies and utilities as a condemnation lawyer. She’s been an educator and a coach and largely credits her legal prowess today to connections she’s forged along the way within our firm.
“I have had phenomenal mentoring and sponsorship here,” she explains, noting the invaluable lessons that can’t be taught at law school. Something she stresses to up-and-coming attorneys at the firm is that relationships must be built on trust and transparency. She invests a great deal in client relationships and doesn’t take that trust lightly.
Shannon is also heavily involved in advancing our investment in DEI programs. Equally important, she understands that sustained action is the part that’s key to embedding our cultural values into the firm’s DNA. “We have a number of programs aimed at bringing people into the profession who are historically underrepresented,” said Shannon, noting that many of the firm’s leadership and those holding influential positions of power include women and people of color.
Mansfield Certification is one such program that serves as a key driver for continual improvement in this space. Named for Arabella Mansfield, the first woman admitted to the practice of law in the United States, the Mansfield Certification framework is a science-backed and data-driven solution to help participating law firms maintain and improve their effectiveness in boosting inclusivity, access, and diversity. The evolving process to achieve the certification involves tracking and expanding internal talent pools to include historically underrepresented lawyers for leadership opportunities and having transparent internal advancement processes.
Having data to back up our work in this space is great, but as Shannon notes, that can’t overshadow the ongoing work to ensure that people from underrepresented groups have lasting power. It’s the continuous journey that paves the way for equal, fair, and equitable opportunity for advancement into leadership and strengthens our accountability.
As for Shannon’s thoughts on the staying power of our DEI efforts? “With this many people this invested—including all of the senior leadership roles at this place—I’m confident that it’s going to continue to be something that’s sustained here.”
