Brownstein Announces Appointment of Ali Metzl as Chair of Diversity, Inclusion and Equity

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck is pleased to announce the appointment of Ali Metzl, a shareholder in the firm’s Denver office, as its chair of diversity, inclusion and equity. 

In addition to her full-time corporate practice, Metzl will lead the firm’s efforts on cultivating a more diverse workforce as measured by attorney and policy advisory recruitment and retention policies and practices; equity shareholder promotions and statistics; and leadership roles within the firm.

“Since co-founding the Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) with Nicole Ament in 2014 and founding the Committee on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity (CODIE) in 2019, Ali has worked tirelessly to advance the recruiting, retention and promotion of women and diverse attorneys and policy professionals in the firm,” said Rich Benenson, Brownstein’s managing partner. “We look forward to all the energy and passion she will bring to this broader role.”

“Brownstein continues to make great strides with our diversity, inclusion and equity initiatives,” said Metzl. “I’m honored to take on this important role to help ensure the firm’s diversity goals are prioritized in the decisions we make and policies we set.”

The firm’s recent diversity, inclusion and equity efforts include:

• Ranking sixth on The American Lawyer’s list of AmLaw 200 firms with the highest percentage of female equity partners. 
• Being named as one of Working Mother’s “Best Law Firms for Women” for the second consecutive year.
• Achieving Mansfield Certification from the Diversity Lab for the third consecutive year, which recognizes the firm’s commitment toward greater diversity and inclusion in the legal industry. Brownstein was further recognized with the “Plus” designation for the first time, indicating that it has successfully reached at least 30% diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of its current leadership roles, equity partner promotions and inclusion in formal pitch presentations to clients. 
• Participating in and receiving a perfect score in the Corporate Equity Index– the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer employees. 
• Joining the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, the Denver Law Firm Coalition for Racial Equity and the Colorado Companies Uniting Against Racism—partnerships with local and national law firms and community partners intended to confront and tackle inherent, historic racial inequities and injustice in the legal industry and communities.