Community Partnership

KMK is committed to promoting the ideals of inclusion and the value of nurturing a diverse workforce through various firm initiatives, participation in community events, and related recruiting activities.  Our Diversity Committee is chaired by Gail King Gibson, a partner in KMK's Business Representation & Transactions Group.  In her role, Ms. Gibson actively works to identify opportunities for minority and women attorneys. 

KMK is a signatory for the Black Lawyers Association of Cincinnati Round Table Clerkship Plan designed to improve the hiring and retention of minority students at majority law firms. Our Diversity Committee is actively involved in recruiting and community initiatives.

In addition, KMK attorneys have participated in diversity initiatives in support of the Cincinnati Bar Association / Black Lawyers of Cincinnati Round Table including the Mock Interview Program and the First Year hiring program.  KMK supports both the local Black Law Students Association (BLSA) and the regional BLSA chapters.

Academic Connections Experience (ACE):  Since the fall of 2006, KMK has sponsored the ACE Program.  The purpose of the program is to enhance the academic understanding and the practical application of the law for First Year students who are members of the BLSA at the University of Cincinnati College of Law and Salmon P. Chase College of Law.

The Bridges Series:  KMK has sponsored a program focused on the ideals of inclusion and gaining a better understanding of and appreciation for one another. 

Session I (December 2008) featured Judge William A. McClain.  Judge McClain has held a number of judicial and legal positions, serving as Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Judge, Municipal Court Judge, and as Cincinnati's city solicitor from 1963 to 1972, the first African American in the nation to hold such a high municipal legal office.  In 1972, he joined KMK as the first African American to serve in a major law firm in Cincinnati.  We were honored to have Judge McClain return to KMK to speak on the topics of inclusion and diversity.

Session II (February 2009) featured a KMK staff member, a partner, and guest speaker, John Conlon, an employment placement specialist with Great Oaks.  The panelists addressed the topic of physical and mental disabilities, from the personal perspectives of those who have overcome hurdles to become well-respected employees and colleagues.

Session III (April 2009) featured Cincinnati Police Chief Thomas H. Streicher Jr. and Greg Baker, the Executive Director of Community Relations of the Cincinnati Police Department, who spoke on the topic of City Views:  From the Cincinnati Racial Riots of 2001 to the National Baptist Convention in 2008 — how Cincinnati has implemented successful initiatives to reduce violence.

Session IV (June 2009) focused on understanding and valuing various religions; three firm attorneys served on a panel to discuss the Jewish, Mormon, and Seventh-day Adventist religions.

Session V (September 2009) featured the topic of Children of Poverty, and panelists included Craig Hockenberry, the principal of Oyler School, a K-12 public school in the Lower Price Hill neighborhood of Cincinnati; Elisa Hoffman, Director, Business Partner with Teach For America; and a recent graduate of Oyler School who is now attending college.

Firmwide Diversity Training:  KMK's attorneys and staff participated in a firmwide diversity training with a professional facilitator at the National Underground Freedom Center.