Dhir & Dhir Associates

Dhir & Dhir Associates is the first law firm in India to set up a dedicated ESG (Environmental, Social & Governance) practice desk. ESG has gained significant recognition, acceptance and momentum across the globe, especially in the financial markets. Under the S component of ESG falls Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DE&I), forming an integral part of the Social aspect of the ESG framework.

We, at Dhir & Dhir Associates, are firm believers of imbibing a culture that is aligned with ethical and conscious business conduct. Our purpose is not to simply promote the propaganda but instead implement within the firm’s DNA, a diverse, equal and inclusive culture. ‘Practicing what we preach’ is our motto and we intend to reflect that through our work culture. We are desirous of encouraging the corporate world on integration of a strong DE&I setup, while being able to project our beliefs through our internal standing on the subject matter.

Embracing elements of DE&I in our day-to-day working is expected to yield substantial long term opportunities and a best in practice kind of a work culture for the firm. Some of our efforts towards promoting the agenda include –

1. Recognizing the importance of the tone at the top, the firm is led by Mr. Alok Dhir and Ms. Maneesha Dhir, Founders and Managing Partners, and Ms. Poonam Bisht, CEO. The leadership echoes the support at every level of the firm to have diversity, equality & inclusion element. Zero tolerance policy to grievances on DEI in the firm is practised.
2. The firm has well demonstrated its thought leadership on DE&I by signing synergy partnership MOU with globally recognized DEI organization ‘everywoman.com’;
3. The ratio of male to female talent at the firm is well distributed, thus, demonstrating our commitment to the cause.

The firm is equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on grounds of gender, race ,religious beliefs , physical disabilities or  sexual orientation.

The firm has clear short term, medium & long term goals to be the preferred choice as an employer and as a service provider on high quotients of Diversity, Equality & Inclusion .

Some of the notable initiatives include -

• Organising the first of its kind “The Virtual Legal Marathon on ESG – 24 hour Live Research Lab” where more than 450 aspiring law students registered from around 94 law colleges & universities and generated insightful research papers. This initiative was also registered as a UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) Event for World Environment Day Celebrations 2021. The Inaugural Ceremony was flagged off on 3rd June 2021 and witnessed encouraging participation under the patronage of notable industry experts which included Keynote Address by Cherie Blair CBE, QC, Co-Founder, and Chair, Omnia Strategy LLP.
• As a way to promote and contribute towards corporate ESG alignment, Dhir & Dhir Associates released the Indian and Global versions of the ESG Almanac on 15^th July, 2021. It is a first of its kind proprietary tool developed by the firm and constitutes a set of sample framework for businesses to interpret and ascertain a definite annual agenda in line with the ESG journey.

As the famous saying goes, ‘Diversity is being invited to a party; whereas inclusion is being asked to dance at that party’. We believe it is our moral duty as professionals to ensure that in no way do our actions, whether professional or personal, result in any form of human rights risks or violations.