It starts out so innocuously — Pepper Hamilton sent around an invitation for an event in their Philadelphia office. It should be super easy — if you’re interested in the event and are free on that day, mark it in your calendar. If you aren’t? Just ignore it. That’s it, that’s all you have to do to avoid a Reply-All scandal. But this being Above the Law, of course that isn’t what actually happened.

You see, the event that Pepper Hamilton was advertising is a judicial diversity panel. And, the event is sponsored by a few groups at the firm: the African-American/Black Affinity Group, Asian Pacific American Affinity Network, Pepper Latina/o Caucus, Pepper Pride, South Asian Affinity Group, Veterans Group, and Women’s Initiative. Which are pretty much exactly who you’d expect to sponsor an event like this. But one partner, David Stratton, just couldn’t leave well enough alone.

Stratton forwarded the message to two other partners with a derisive comment about the affinity groups, “I never knew we had so many groups who want to be treated specially.” Which is just a shitty thing to say. Affinity groups are a wonderful opportunity for folks to network and find mentorship (which is one of the best ways to keep diverse attorneys at a firm) and ask for pretty little in exchange. But because it isn’t something Stratton is personally involved with or cares about, he writes them off with a nasty little comment he intended to send to friends (I presume) at the firm.

Then, he replied-all with an apology, but, as one of the many, many tipsters who wrote in about Stratton’s comments reveal, not everyone was even aware of his original, wildly inappropriate comments until the apology was sent.

The worst part is, no one knew he felt that way until he REPLIED ALL with an insincere APOLOGY that INCLUDED his original message. Just wow….

Two thumbs way up for diversity and inclusion at Pepper Hamilton.

You can take a look at the email chain below.

As you might imagine, the firm administration was not pleased at all about this turn of events. They quickly sent their own email from managing partner Thomas Cole, distancing themselves from Stratton’s off-color comments, and assuring everyone the matter is being properly handled behind the scenes.

We are disappointed by the inappropriate email sent earlier today by one of our attorneys regarding the Pepper Judicial Diversity Panel. The comments in the email are not reflective of Pepper Hamilton’s culture, which prioritizes diversity and inclusion as core values. We are proud of our Diversity Committee and the firm’s affinity groups to advance diverse perspectives at Pepper. We want to assure all of you that we are handling this incident appropriately, in a private manner, consistent with our values. We also want to encourage all of you to attend the Pepper Judicial Diversity Panel, which is a great event that contributes to the firm’s continuing efforts to overcome biases and ensure an inclusive environment for all attorneys and staff. If you wish to discuss this matter, I encourage you to reach out….

The firm is really trying, I get that. And as Cole’s email signature even says, the firm is Mansfield Rule Certified, meaning they’re committed to take concrete steps to meaningfully diversify the firm. But, as much as the powers-that-be may wish that this email is “not reflective of Pepper Hamilton’s culture,” they have to face the hard truth that, at least in pockets of the firm, it might be. A firm’s management can’t dictate firm culture from on high, and Biglaw is often filled with fiefdoms that are insular from the larger environment (this is why it’s common to see entire groups lateral to a new firm together, as a piece that can be plugged into a new superstructure). The work lives of associates in a group are impacted way more by the attitudes and opinions of the partners they work for than the management committee.

It would be nice, and certainly easier, to think of Stratton’s email as a singular bad act. But for a firm that seems as committed to diversity as Pepper Hamilton, it would behoove them to treat this incident not as a one-off, but as something potentially indicative of the attitudes of more than just Stratton. This should be an opportunity for the firm to have more of the difficult conversations and bias trainings that ensure the inclusive atmosphere they want is what is really happening on the ground.

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).