Committed to

Diversity

Striving for

Equity

Tolerating only

Inclusion

D.E.I. at CMBG3

What divides us pales in comparison to what unites us. ~Edward Kennedy

A majority women owned law firm

The Four Pillars Of Our D.E.I. Mission

To us, “diversity”, “inclusion”, and “equity” should never be catch phrases that law firms market on their website, but fail to live up in practice. At CMBG3, we recognize that diverse and inclusive teams create a stronger organization and result in the best results for our clients. One of the core philosophies of our firm is “strength in diversity”, and our vision is to cultivate a culture where all team members – regardless of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, religion, or national origin – can have and can see a path to long term success.

We fulfill our commitment in four primary ways:

Education & Training

  • MISSION: Educate all of our team to bring awareness, self-reflection, and a greater capacity for acceptance, change, and inclusion
  • ACTIONS: Guest lecturers on critical D.E.I. topics, an internal library and resource center for further education, unconscious bias training, incorporating D.E.I. practices into fabric of the firm to ensure that policies, procedures, systems, and opportunities are done with equity in mind

Career & Industry

  • MISSION: Ensure that our team and the legal field achieves the diversity that is reflected in society and that career opportunities are afforded to all
  • ACTIONS: We ensure D.E.I. initiatives are built into recruiting, training, hiring, developing employees, engaging with employees, mentoring, and creating promotional pathways. Externally, we support programs that look to provide people of diverse background with opportunities otherwise not afforded to them

Community Impact

  • MISSION: Continuously bring awareness to issues impacting our community and nation, and work to effectuate real change
  • ACTIONS: Working in conjunction with the CMBG3 Cares program to ensure that the firm supports organizations to support the mission, and ensure that our team is given opportunities to volunteer with organizations that support diverse causes

Wellness

  • MISSION: Ensure that the benefits we offer employees are inclusive and account for diverse backgrounds and situations of all of our team
  • ACTIONS: Ensure that the firm’s benefits provide equitable support, including medical, dental, and parental leave; offer varied wellness programs to our team to provide outlets for our team members’ mental and physical health; offer flex time off options for employees’ diverse cultural and religious beliefs, and to enable team members to support D.E.I. related causes that speak to them personally

Our Commitment Goes Beyond Words…

It’s In Our Numbers and Actions

CMBG3 is proud to be a majority women-owned law firm.

%

of our total team are women

%

of our paralegals are women

%

of our attorneys are women

%

of our administrative team are women

Most of our firm’s leadership positions are filled by team members of diverse backgrounds:

  • Managing Partner
  • Director of California offices
  • Supervising Partner of our Irvine, CA office
  • Director of Government Relations and Public Affairs
  • Director of Human Resources
  • Head Paralegal
  • Director of Finance & Accounting
  • Supervisor of Firm’s Administrative Team
  • Chair of D.E.I. Program
  • Head of Employee Development

Recent D.E.I. Initiatives

CMBG3 Helps High School Student Attend College With Scholarship

In 2021, David Goldman was selected to participate in the year-long leadership program “Leadership Rhode Island.” As part of the program, David was required to create a social contract consisting of a promise to in...

CMBG3 Law Initiative For Black History Month

February is Black History Month, and in years past, we have highlighted significant figures from Black history that were influential to advancing society in some way. This year, to help our team learn more about less...

CMBG3 Partners With Expert To Discuss Stress, Burnout, and Effects On Health

On December 3, 2021, the CMBG3 team was able to participate in an interactive session titled "Managing Stress & Beating Burnout" with Jermaine Moore, founder of the Mars Hill Group. Mr. Moore has spent two decades...

CMBG3 Hosts DEI Expert To Discuss Privilege

On November 12, 2021, the CMBG3 team was able to participate in an interactive session titled "Examining Privilege" with Jermaine Moore, founder of the Mars Hill Group. Mr. Moore has spent two decades working with...

CMBG3 Announces Scholarship For RI High School

On November 5th,  CMBG3 attorneys David Goldman and Seta Accaoui presented to the Central Falls High School (Rhode Island) Youth and Law students about pursuing legal careers, what a legal track looks like and the...

David Goldman and Seta Accaoui Graduate From Leadership RI Program

On October 20, 2021, CMBG3 attorneys David Goldman and Seta Accaoui graduated from Leadership Rhode Island’s 2021 Class after a 10-month journey with 73 other diverse leaders from all sectors of Rhode Island’s...

Jeniffer Carson To Speak On Women In Law Panel

Jeniffer Carson was invited to speak at a Women In Law panel discussion organized by UMass Law that will be held on November 5th, 2021 from 5:30-7:00pm. The event will be a discussion of prominent women in the...

CMBG3 Supports Breast Cancer Awareness Month

In honor and support of October, which is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, CMBG3 made a contribution to the National Breast Cancer Foundation that specifically goes towards providing screenings to women for...

Seta Accaoui Spotlighted In RI Women’s Bar Association Newsletter

We are proud to announce that Seta Accaoui was the spotlighted member in the October 2021 issue of the Rhode Island Women's Bar Association Newsletter. Seta provided tips to women attorneys for working from home during...

D.E.I. Committee

John Gardella

John Gardella

Shareholder

Christine Calareso

Christine Calareso

Partner & Director of California Offices

Bryna Misiura

Bryna Misiura

Shareholder

Amaran Toppa

Amaran Toppa

Director of Client Relations & Development

Questions?