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Diversity Chair |
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| Diversity Chair Prefix | Mr. |
| Diversity Chair First Name | Christopher |
| Diversity Chair Last Name | Garcia |
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Diversity Contact Information |
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| Diversity Contact Prefix | Ms. |
| Diversity Contact First Name | Meredith |
| Diversity Contact Last Name | Moore |
| Link to your organization's diversity website | http://www.weil.com/diversity |
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Recruitment methods |
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| Which of the following methods do you use to increase the presence and retention of under-represented groups? (Check all that apply) |
Diversity job fairs Outreach to law student groups Formal mentoring efforts Recruit at schools with large minority populations Bar-sponsored programs Firm diversity committee Recruit at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) |
| Comments |
Inclusion is in our DNA. Since its founding, Weil has held diversity and inclusion as a core value. Over the following 80 years, as we have become a global firm, these principles have been a cornerstone for our growth and success. Our pioneering attitude towards diversity led us to embark on a series of “firsts” for the legal profession from conducting a diversity assessment in 1992 to creating a formal management level diversity professional position in 2000 to a broad-reaching ally initiative in 2015. We strive for all our people to feel comfortable and supported, able to thrive and achieve as far as their talents and hard work take them.
We believe the results of our inclusion efforts tell a remarkable story: Weil’s 2020 partner class is the most diverse in the Firm’s history:
Since 2007, women have comprised 42 percent of partner promotions in the US. From 2015 to 2020, the percentage of women in the US has increased from 20% to 28% and partners of color have increased from 9% to 15%. In addition, 17 Firm leaders are women, LGBTQ+ and/or people color.
Our cultural diversity is our strength as we serve clients who touch nearly every corner of the globe. Our offices span 3 continents, 6 time zones, 5 countries, and 15 cities. Our people speak 48 languages. In our US offices, nearly 1 in 5 of our people was born outside of the US and over one-quarter has at least 1 parent born abroad.
We pride ourselves on being at the vanguard of diversity practices and our efforts have been recognized by numerous industry and business publications. Weil received the 2019 “Best International Firm for Diversity” at Euromoney Americas Women in Business Law Awards in addition to being “Highly Commended” in the Diversity & Inclusion and Talent, Strategy and Changing Behaviors categories of the Financial Times Most Innovative North American Law Firms 2019. Weil continues to be named among the “Best Places to Work” for LGBT individuals by the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index. Additionally, Weil was named “Most Inclusive Firm for LBGT+ Lawyers” by the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards, which also named Executive Partner Barry Wolf “Outstanding Ally.”
Over the past decade, Weil has evolved from a focus on diversity to an emphasis on inclusion. The following is a brief summary of the Firm’s marquee inclusion initiatives:
[email protected]: Building off a longstanding commitment to engage everyone in our diversity efforts, the Firm launched an innovative new initiative in 2015 to inspire all attorneys and staff to stand up for inclusion in the workplace, community and at home. This campaign expands the powerful “ally” concept within the LGBTQ+ community to a broader spectrum of groups, including people of color and women. An action guide, and extensive online resources were developed to raise awareness and showcase concrete behaviors to be an [email protected] To reward and recognize actions promoting diversity, we created the Andrea Bernstein [email protected] award. To date, there are over 100 awardees across levels and offices.
Diversity Month: In 2019, the Firm hosted over 40 events at our offices around the world on the theme of “From Bystander to Upstander: Together We Can Make a Difference.” Programs included an LGBTQ+ Allies Workshop (London), a speaker from the American Indian College Fund (Dallas), and a presentation from a Holocaust survivor (Silicon Valley).
Diversity Education: Weil has consistently been at the forefront of law firm diversity training programs for over two decades. The most recent evolution of our efforts began in 2011 with a two-hour annual diversity education requirement for all attorneys and staff in all US offices. Each year, a new program is developed specifically for Weil to provide concrete skills for achieving inclusion. Program topics have included unconscious bias, mentoring and delivering feedback across difference, working with different generations, religious diversity, and talking boldly about race in the workplace. In 2019, the Firm offered two types of diversity training—customized interactive theater from Steps Drama, and a CLE from the Perception Institute. Both trainings focused on unconscious and implicit bias and offered everyday solutions for attorneys and staff.
In addition, Weil continues to promote diversity education in recent programs such as:
Pipeline: Weil has a longstanding commitment to enhancing opportunities for historically underrepresented groups from elementary through law school, providing financial and volunteer resources to over half a dozen schools and programs across our US offices. These partnerships introduce minority students to the Firm and the legal profession through mentoring, summer internships, college advising, career exploration days and more. In partnership with PENCIL, approximately 30 Weil volunteers meet monthly with students from Middle School 224 in the South Bronx for college and career readiness sessions. Weil volunteers also serve as mentors to high school students from Murray Hill Academy through the Big Brothers Big Sisters of New York City Workplace Mentoring Program, meeting twice a month at Weil. Since 2013, Weil’s New York office has also provided 81 summer internships to high school and college students from community based organizations. In addition, Weil sponsors over 50 nonprofit organizations including diversity-oriented organizations, bar associations, and law related conferences. Non-discrimination policy All decisions affecting employment, promotion, compensation, assignment and other aspects of the Firm's work environment are made on the basis of qualification, performance and other pertinent work-related factors and without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran's status or any other legally protected status. |
| Non-discrimination policy |
All decisions affecting employment, promotion, compensation, assignment and other aspects of the Firm's work environment are made on the basis of qualification, performance and other pertinent work-related factors and without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, age, religion, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, veteran's status or any other legally protected status. |
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Diversity fellowships or scholarships |
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| Does your organization or office sponsor/offer a Diversity Fellowship or Scholarship? | Yes |
| If yes, is the program open to | 1L|2L |
| Please provide a brief description of the program |
Weil’s Diversity Fellowship Program promotes greater diversity in law school classes by offering scholarship funds to first and second-year law students. Since 2011, the Firm has awarded 83 Diversity Fellowships across four US offices. For additional information, please visit our website at: https://www.weil.com/~/media/2004921_weil_1l_careers_diversity_fellowship_handout.pdf |
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Affinity group information |
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| Does your organization or office have affinity groups? | Yes |
| If yes, please describe your affinity groups below |
Weil was among the first law firms to establish Professional Development Affinity Groups which:
Weil’s five affinity groups include:
Throughout 2019, affinity group members participated in a wide range of events including:
Affinity Group Conferences: Weil holds biennial individual conferences for its [email protected], Black Attorney Affinity Group, WeilLatinx, and WeilPride (LGBTQ+) affinity groups. The conferences are designed to bring together members from across the Firm’s offices for professional development, internal networking and mentoring, client development and pipeline efforts. In 2018, Weil hosted the Black Attorney Affinity Group in New York in July and the WeilPride LGBTQ+ conference in Washington, D.C., in September. In 2019, the Firm convened Latinx attorneys in New York in September and held a conference for the [email protected] affinity group in Brooklyn in November. In 2020, the Firm will host conferences for the Black Attorney Affinity Group and WeilPride. To date, the Firm has hosted 17 affinity group conferences.
Management Committee Sponsors: The strength of the Firm’s leadership commitment is demonstrated through the designation of a Management Committee member, who is not a member of that demographic group, appointed to serve as a sponsor for each affinity group. The sponsors provide visibility to the group and individual members internally and externally. |