Seyferth Blumenthal & Harris LLC (SBH) congratulates member Charlie Harris on being included in Missouri Lawyers Weekly’s 2019 class of Diversity & Inclusion Award winners. He was recognized during an awards luncheon earlier this month, and the publication put out a special section with profiles for each of the 19 honorees, which included firms, firm leaders, attorneys, judges, and nonprofit organizations.

Established in 2018, the Diversity & Inclusion Awards highlight those “who are significantly advancing diversity, inclusion, and the dignity of all people in Missouri’s legal profession and in communities in which exceptional legal work impacts justice for all.”

A member at SBH since 2008, Harris served as the first African American president of the Missouri Bar when elected to the post in 2007. One of his top priorities was to create a more diverse board of governors, and while the results of his work have been obvious and impactful, Harris deferred the credit in his Missouri Lawyers Weekly profile, which can be read here. He also acknowledged that awareness on the need for diversity in the legal industry has certainly increased in Missouri.

“I think the emphasis needs to be on how do we make sure that people of color, women and those people who have been historically disenfranchised are put in the position where they can have an equity stake,” Harris said. “I believe equality equals equity stake in law firms — the true power for change comes through ownership.”

Harris is a nationally recognized labor and employment attorney with practice focused on the representation of corporations, nonprofit entities, corporate officers and directors, and municipalities against claims of disability, race, gender, sex and age discrimination, sexual harassment, and wage and hour and collective actions.