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Culture

Mission Statement

"At the heart of what we do is serving people & the businesses they have built, through trusted advice and fearless advocacy."

Who We Are

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig is a veteran-owned law firm with outcome-focused attorneys advising and representing clients in national and international legal matters. Our team prides itself on prioritizing practical and efficient outcomes for our clients by offering a full array of legal services and investing in long-term relationships with our clients.

We are not just your lawyers – our depth of experience includes lawyers who are also business owners, patent-holders, military veterans, commercial pilots, prosecutors, aerospace engineers, MBAs, and scholars. We understand our clients on a much deeper level, using our unique backgrounds to act as straight-talking advisers and zealous advocates on your behalf.

Veteran Owned

As a veteran-owned law firm, our identity is deeply intertwined with the principles instilled by our military service. Veterans, Active Duty Military and their families understand the importance of resilience, adaptability, and the pursuit of justice, values that form the bedrock of our practice. We bring a unique perspective to the legal profession, fostering a culture of teamwork, leadership, and a strong sense of duty in our pursuit of justice for our clients. Being a veteran-owned law firm is not just about a label; it's a reflection of the enduring qualities acquired through military service, shaping our approach to legal challenges with honor, integrity, and a profound sense of service to our clients and community. We are honored to be recognized at the national and state level as a veteran owned law firm.

  • National Veteran-owned Business Association
  • Virginia Values Veterans (V3)

DBL Initiatives

Doing Better While Doing Good

Operating in a responsible and sustainable manner is critical to Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig. We see social commitment as a discipline that helps us manage risks and maximize the opportunities available to us in a changing world. We are committed to understanding, monitoring, and managing our social and environmental impact. This commitment is deeply ingrained in our core values, and we aim to demonstrate these responsibilities through our actions and within our corporate policies. Read more about DBL’s Social Commitment.

Women’s Network

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig’s Women’s Network (DBLWN) is an innovative steering committee led by the CEO and CMO. The DBLWN was created to help women achieve their individual professional goals through programming, training, and advocating for women to achieve leadership positions within the firm. The main objective of the DBLWN is recruiting and retaining women attorneys and staff, mentoring opportunities, work-life management, and increased leadership opportunities both internally and externally. This program allows us to create an inclusive culture that offers a genuinely collaborative work environment.

Pro Bono Program

All of our lawyers at Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig are encouraged to participate in pro bono legal services with an emphasis on providing services to people with limited means or nonprofit organizations that serve the poor. Through our pro bono work, our team uses their special skills and knowledge needed to secure justice for low-income people, where there are enormous unmet legal needs. Those lawyers who participate in the program understand this need, and volunteer their time and skills to do this important work.

Mentoring Program

DBL’s leadership believes our greatest resources is our employees. Our mentor program goal is to contribute to the development of an engaged and better-trained workforce.DBL leadership has created an initial Mentor/Mentee matching. These assignments were made to pairs that do not regularly work together. This will help build relationships and knowledge outside your core practice area and/or location.

Mentor Program Goals

  • Professional Identity: provide guidance on the ins and outs of being an attorney
  • Firm Culture: help communication and reinforce firm culture, mission, and vision.
  • Education: provide access to knowledge, information, and networks
  • Career Development: be a sounding board on career development and direction.

Corporate Wellness Initiative

professional women

Corporate Wellness Initiative

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig is committed to the idea that corporate wellness is a fundamental key to overall success. We have created a holistic approach to employee well-being by creating an organizational culture of health. We believe strongly that your workplace environment should promote healthiness both mentally and physically. We engage in the following healthy practices:

Mentor Program Goals

  • Provide healthy snacks in all break areas in all offices
  • Promote opportunities to encourage exercise during the workday.

Integrate wellness into the company structure

  • Utilize social fitness app for all employees at all locations: promote by having steps challenges and fitness contests between offices
  • Raffle prizes awarded to wellness participants

Green Sustainability Initiative

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig has a comprehensive Green Sustainability Program. We believe strongly that “working green” needs to be a part of company culture, and we empower our employees to make “green decisions” daily. We believe being an environmentally friendly business is a sound investment for a number of reasons. First, being ahead of the curve in terms of meeting and exceeding environmental regulations means that we are better positioned to handle negative events. Second, clients care. Consumers are more conscious of their choices and are willing to invest in companies that are participating in this movement.

Efficiency and Quality

  • Recycling programs including paper, electronics, and batteries
  • DBL employs a paperless system, which is unique for most law firms

Productivity

  • Automatic light turn-off in all offices
  • Buildings under contract for optimal air quality/efficiency

DEIA Policy

Corporate Wellness Initiative

DBL is committed to fostering, cultivating, and preserving an inclusive, open-minded, and innovative culture. We believe in the value of a diverse workforce that contributes different perspectives and solutions to solve complex legal problems. DBL is dedicated to creating an environment where every member of our team feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives.

Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig’s DEIA Plan provides objectives, policies, and metrics to monitor firm goals in promoting an inclusive work environment, ensuring all employees, regardless of background, have equal opportunities and feel included and heard. Our active Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) Committee meets regularly to support these goals.

We invest in DEIA training, consulting, and recruiting to ensure all individuals, including disadvantaged individuals, have equal job placement, promotion, and input opportunities.

LEARN MORE

DBL History

2001
Founded
2010
DBL Comes Together
By 2010 the core of DBL was established. Ludwig (2007) and Bennett (2009) joining Dunlap & Grubb.
2012
First Office Expansion
Cortland Putbrese joins. Richmond, VA office opens.
2014
Firm Growth:
DBL begins to grow; 13 lawyers and 9 staff members.
2016
DBL Takes Off
40 lawyers and 25 staff. Vienna, New York, Atlanta offices.
2017-22
DBL Growth
Chicago (2018), Delaware (2018). 70+ attorneys & 40 staff.

DEIA Policy

Our employees are the most valuable asset we have. The collective sum of the individual differences, life experiences, knowledge, inventiveness, innovation, self-expression, unique capabilities, and talent that our employees invest in their work represents a significant part of not only our culture, but also the firm’s reputation and achievements as well.

DBL’s diversity initiatives are applicable—but not limited—to our practices and policies on recruitment and selection, compensation and benefits, professional development and training, promotions, transfers, social and recreational programs, terminations, and the ongoing development of a work environment built on the premise of gender and diversity equity that encourages and enforces:

  • Respectful communication and cooperation between all employees.
  • Teamwork and employee participation, permitting the representation of all groups and employee perspectives.
  • Work/life balance through flexible work schedules to accommodate employees’ varying needs.
  • Employer and employee contributions to the communities we serve to promote a greater understanding and respect for diversity.

Intern Program

As part of our effort to recruit, develop and retail the best and brightest attorneys, Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig offers a summer intern program for promising law school students who are looking to work as part of an innovative and incredibly successful team. With a global team of lawyers, selected candidates are able to work on high level projects in a collaborative space.

Paralegals and Legal Support Staff

At Dunlap Bennett & Ludwig, our team of paralegals and staff work together collaboratively along side our attorneys toward a common goal. We have created a positive work environment where our paralegals and legal assistants work to successfully reach firm-wide goals and support each other to combine individual strengths to enhance team performance. They regularly assist our attorneys with organizing and maintaining files, conducting legal research, and preparing documents.