Senior Associate Saerim Luciano Seeks to Build Bridges Between People

Growing up in a military family, Saerim Luciano has lived throughout the U.S. and in Korea and Germany. When she was asked to join the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee, she believed that her own racial diversity made her well-suited to shine the light on people’s differences to further her goal of building bridges. Saerim’s mother is Korean and her father is Italian and Puerto Rican. This heritage instilled in her an understanding of what it was like to be a minority living in places here and internationally that were not racially diverse.

“My background made me realize how beneficial it is to celebrate the minority aspects of who we are and to bring other people up and celebrate who they are,” she said. “One of the ways the committee does this is by highlighting cultural events and cultural differences that are important to people. I think this helps the firm be more cohesive because it lets the staff know the firm cares about these things and it lets our clients know that we care about these differences.”

She adds, “We’re really fortunate to have people from all walks of life and all kinds of backgrounds at PB&W. Everyone on our committee comes from a completely different walk of life, so it’s nice to have a diversity of opinion. That’s the beautiful thing: every person you meet is someone you’ve never met before and there’s always something to learn from that person.” 

Since joining the firm five years ago, Saerim has handled liability defense, but focuses her practice in civil litigation areas of subrogation and employment defense. Away from work, she enjoys traveling, canyoneering, backpacking and spending time with her husband and her two ridiculous cats.