While most plaintiffs firms have moved diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives high up on their priority list, as previously reported, securities litigation boutique Saxena White is now going one step further. The woman- and minority-owned firm with offices in New York, Delaware, Florida and California just named New York-based Marisa DeMato chief diversity officer—one of the few plaintiffs-side C-suite-level roles explicitly committed to DEI.

DeMato describes the firm’s focus on DEI as not simply “aspirational”—47% of the firm’s employees are female with 40% women and 40% minority attorneys at the director level. “We haven’t really seen the plaintiffs side getting involved in having a C-suite position focused on diversity, equity and inclusion,” DeMato said. She believes that the firm’s success is directly related to its culture of inclusivity. “It’s at the core of what we do.”