Days after it fired co-founder Morris Dees for undisclosed misconduct issues, the Southern Poverty Law Center hired a Chicago-based lawyer well-versed in gender and racial equity issues to review its workplace environment and policies.

Tina Tchen previously worked as chief of staff to then-first lady Michelle Obama and now leads a "workplace cultural compliance" practice at Buckley LLP, which examines "gender and racial equity, sexual harassment" and other diversity barriers in the workplace.

The review was announced on Thursday alongside the termination of Dees. SPLC President Richard Cohen said at the time Dees failed to adhere to the organization's "values," hinting at misconduct.

“The events of the last week have been an eye-opening reminder that the walk towards justice must sometimes start at your own front door and force you to look at your past so you can improve your future," said Bryan Fair, chair of SPLC's board, in a release. "A key first step in that process for the SPLC is an immediate, top-to-bottom external review of our workplace culture and our past practices and policies. Tina Tchen's extraordinary experience and qualifications will be indispensable in helping us build a more effective and just organization.”

According to a biography on Buckley LLP's website, Tchen previously served as chief of staff to first lady Michelle Obama and assistant to President Barack Obama. She was involved in multiple White House gender equity initiatives, as well as in the formation of the White House Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. She is also a co-founder of the TIME'S UP Legal Defense Fund, according to an SPLC release.

Tchen on Monday would not specifically speak to the issues her SPLC review might focus on, though she said it would look "holistically" at its workplace culture to "build diverse workplaces" for all groups of people.

"This is an incredible institution in our country, and I’m honored to be working with them to build a workplace that will live up to the values of SPLC, of justice and equality," Tchen said.

Though it remains unclear what may have led to Dees' termination last week, the civil rights lawyer has weathered criticism for decades, with a 1994 Montgomery Advertiser series citing concerns about racial discrimination against back employees.

Staffers at the time “accused Morris Dees, the center’s driving force, of being a racist and black employees have ‘felt threatened and banded together.’” Dees strenuously denied the accusation at the time.

A review of the center's 2019 board and senior staff reveals that senior leadership at SPLC remains largely white. This week, multiple employees sent a signed letter to SPLC leadership outlining concerns about workplace culture as well as sexism and racism, according to a Los Angeles Times report. Former employees tell the Advertiser the SPLC has been a "toxic" work environment for some time, with high employee turnover.

But it's unclear if these complaints are directly connected to Dees' termination, as the aging co-founder said he hadn't tried a case in nearly a decade and was not involved in the center's day-to-day operations. A former employee said he maintained a desk at the Montgomery office in recent years, but wasn't in the office every day.

Tchen said Monday her charge is to look at the entire organization, not just its Montgomery headquarters, and to craft recommendations

“Every workplace, including social justice organizations, must work hard to create a workplace culture that fully reflects their values and priorities, including when it comes to racial and gender diversity," Tchen said in a release. "I am honored to have been asked to lead a comprehensive process to address all aspects of the workplace culture at SPLC, and look forward to working with staff, management and the board to build a workplace at SPLC that will truly reflect respect and safety for all, and the principles that SPLC has long stood for: truth, justice, equity and inclusion.”

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Melissa Brown at 334-240-0132 or mabrown@gannett.com.