At Evans & Petree our stated goal is to increase and maintain diversity at all levels of the firm and to foster a work environment that is inclusive for all employees. Our diversity committee spearheads the effort to recruit, retain and promote diverse professionals. Currently, twenty-five percent of our attorneys are African-American or female, four are principals and a woman is chair of our Litigation Practice Group. We believe diversity is good not only for us but also for our clients. "Our attorneys bring different strengths and backgrounds to the problem-solving table so that our clients benefit from both perspectives that are similar to their own and those that are quite different", stated Prince Chambliss, chairman of the diversity committee. We express our commitment to diversity through diversity training for all employees, an active minority recruitment program at the summer associate, associate and partner levels and by our minority scholarship at The University of Memphis School of Law. The annual scholarship was established in 2002 in the amount of $30,000 and was funded by the firm as well as our individual attorneys. It has proven to be a powerful resource for African-American law students here in our hometown. The recruitment and retention of highly qualified minority attorneys at Evans & Petree is always a priority and we feel we have much to offer. As recently hired African-American associate Van Turner stated, "When the opportunity arose to join Evans & Petree, I immediately took advantage. The firm's reputation for excellence is well known. But the fact that Prince Chambliss and the late Percy Harvey were partners at the firm and African-American did not go unnoticed either. Sometimes it helps if you can actually see the possibilities as opposed to just hearing about them. I saw the possibilities at Evans & Petree and I know that I made the right decision." When Caren Nichol joined the firm thirteen years ago, she was just the second female attorney hired in the history of Evans & Petree. Today she is a partner and chairs the Litigation Practice Group. "Much has changed since I joined the firm. We have significantly increased the number of female and African-American attorneys and staff. I am proud of how far we have come," Ms. Nichol stated. Diversity is an on-going effort. We have not fully achieved the level of diversity we want but it is a goal we will continually pursue.