(January 22, 2020) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, is honored to present the inaugural Wesley J. Fastiff Ingenuity Award, named after one of the firm’s pioneering founders and designed to continue to inspire innovation and ingenuity throughout the firm. The winning team developed a concept for an internal technology application called Littler RISE that utilizes a mobile phone app and dashboard to tackle issues related to the retention and advancement of diverse lawyers.

“Littler has long been known as a leader in innovation. The Wesley J. Fastiff Ingenuity Award honors this history of innovation while helping further foster new and creative ideas that benefit our clients and the firm,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, in a joint statement. “We were impressed by the number and strength of submissions from across the firm and believe that this award – just as its namesake did – will continue to encourage ingenuity among our team for years to come.”

Fastiff, who passed away in 2017, was widely recognized for his countless achievements representing employers and played a pivotal role in elevating Littler's prominence as an innovative, diverse and global labor and employment powerhouse over his five decades with the firm.

All employees were eligible to enter and submissions were reviewed by a panel of judges that included members of Littler’s Innovation Advisory Council (IAC). The IAC is comprised of those leading Littler’s innovation strategy and focuses on providing holistic solutions to clients drawing on the firm’s extensive data capabilities, unique staffing solutions and more than a dozen technology offerings.

Nearly 40 submissions were entered with topics varying from technology applications to streamlining processes. Submissions were judged on five criteria: creativity, collaboration, potential value to the client or firm, scalability and overall impact.

Littler RISE arose during the biennial meeting of Littler’s ‘Ohana Affinity Group, which is one of the firm’s four affinity groups and is designed to provide support, development and networking opportunities for the firm’s Asian Pacific American attorneys and staff. The winning team included: Niloy Ray (Shareholder and eDiscovery Counsel, Minneapolis), Derrick Lam (Shareholder, Los Angeles), Yusra Siddiquee (Partner, Toronto), Kelly Chu (Associate, Los Angeles), Stella Chu (Associate, Miami), Surbhi Garg (Associate, San Jose), Hovik Nalbandyan (Associate, Los Angeles) and Andrea Ortega (Associate, San Francisco).

The firm also selected four projects as finalists:

• Adding Core Competencies to Time Capture: Jeanine Conley Daves (Shareholder, Greenville), Yvette Gatling (Shareholder, Tysons Corner, Va.), Kimberly Duplechain (eDiscovery Counsel, Washington, D.C.), Karimah Lamar (Special Counsel, San Diego), Detrachia André (Associate, Atlanta), Bianca Black (Associate, Indianapolis), Michelle Holmes (Associate, Los Angeles) and Kimberli Williams (Associate, Los Angeles)
• ADA Toolkit: Jessica Marinelli (Associate, Denver)
• Application/Questionnaire to Determine Need for Formal Investigations: Stacie Cronberg, (Senior Marketing Manager, Kansas City)
• Harnessing the Power of Document Automation: Dónall Breen (Associate, London), Hannah Mahon (Partner, London) and Ben Smith (Trainee, London)

The Wesley J. Fastiff Ingenuity Award is indicative of the firm’s broader commitment to providing practical, innovative services to companies of all sizes across various industries. Littler is known as a leading innovative law firm and its suite of award-winning Service Solutions includes Littler CaseSmart (the firm’s approach to efficiently managing employment litigation), the Littler Pay Equity Assessment (a technology tool for conducting audits and guiding legal strategy) and Littler onDemand (a data-driven solution for employment law advice and counsel), among other solutions that provide greater efficiency, help shape legal strategies and inform critical employment decisions.

About Littler

With more than 1,500 labor and employment attorneys in offices around the world, Littler provides workplace solutions that are local, everywhere. Our diverse team and proprietary technology foster a culture that celebrates original thinking, delivering groundbreaking innovation that prepares employers for what’s happening today, and what’s likely to happen tomorrow.