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Our Corporate Social Responsibility Program
Our Responsibilities as an Employer
Diversity & Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are integral to who we are and how we do business. For many years, we have actively implemented initiatives to promote diversity and inclusion within the firm and the greater legal community. Our workforce represents a cross-section of the world community, and the varied backgrounds and perspectives of our lawyers and staff shape our innovative firm culture. The results are tangible: better work product and a better work environment. The firm is a member of LCLD, a US non-profit organization of corporate chief legal officers and law firm managing partners dedicated to creating a truly diverse legal profession.
We support several inclusion networks created and directed by our associates. These groups meet regularly to share ideas on professional and business development and to offer guidance and support to one another as the group’s members advance within the firm. The groups also host events of interest to people within and outside the firm, showing thought leadership and building relationships with colleagues and members of the broader legal and business communities. Inclusion network membership is open to all associates and counsel.
Our inclusion networks are comprised of the following groups: AVALANCHE (Association of Various Asia-interested Lawyers Aligned for Nondiscrimination, Community, Honor and Excellence); BAD (Bay Area Diversity Group); BLAQUE (Black Lawyers Aligned in the Quest for Excellence); LAPD (Latin American Professional Development Group); Sterling Pride (with a focus on the LGBT community); and WISER (Women’s Initiative for Success, Excellence and Retention).
Our recent global diversity initiatives include:
- We are a founding sponsor of The Glass Hammer, an innovative online community dedicated to the advancement of women executives in financial services, law and business.
- The New York and Washington, DC offices participate in the Corporate Law summer program sponsored by Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO), the US’s premiere summer internship program for talented and underrepresented minority students. The SEO interns observe and experience first-hand the day-to-day duties and responsibilities of corporate lawyers at the firm’s New York and Washington, DC offices.
- The London office recently launched its diversity training workshops, featuring an innovative mode of training known as Forum Theatre. Our lawyers and business support staff observed closely as actors performed short work-based scenes. The audience was then invited to comment on the scenes, ask questions of the performers and even to redirect scenes. This created much discussion on behaviors that help to create an inclusive working environment.
- The San Francisco office contributes to The National Center for Lesbian Rights, a national legal organization committed to advancing the civil and human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people and their families through litigation, public policy advocacy and public education.
- The New York office participates in the YAB Summer Camp Program designed to educate diverse high school students on the mechanics of mergers and acquisitions by exposing them to different aspects of a mock transaction through their roles as executive managers of a publicly traded company.
View more information on our Diversity & Inclusion initiatives.
Professional Development
The firm also fosters a working environment in which the professional development of each person is highly valued. During the course of the year, both our legal and administrative staff receive training related to their needs and their position within the firm (e.g., legal instruction, language and IT skills, etc.).
View more information on our Professional Development program.
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