The January 2017 Multicultural Attorney Conference brought together Asian, Black and Latino attorneys from across the US and London offices for career development, networking, and strategic planning. Conference Highlights include:

• “Future of Civil Rights Panel” with speakers from the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, LatinoJustice, and Muslim Advocates
• Courageous Conversations about Race panel exploring PwC’s Color Brave efforts
• Gender breakout sessions featuring Calvin Gladney and Tiffany Dufu
• Lunch discussion with Executive Partner and Affinity Group Management Committee Sponsors
• Student of Color 1L Recruiting & Diversity Reception and Client Panel
• Talking Boldly About Race Workshop facilitated by Vernā Myers

In May 2017, the Firm hosted a professional networking reception featuring a private exhibit viewing at the DAG Modern Gallery and inspiring remarks from Larry Tu, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer of CBS Corp with Weil partner Charan Sandhu. In May 2016, the Firm co-sponsored an event with Morgan Stanley at The Rubin Museum of Art featuring a panel on representations of Asian-Americans in pop culture and media.

In July 2016 and 2017, the Firm hosted Federal Judge panels with alumni of color for US summer associates featuring Judge Vernon Broderick, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, Judge George Hazel, U.S. District Court of the District of Maryland, and Chief Judge Brenda Rhoades, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Texas.

AAW members attend pan-affinity events such as an October 2017 dinner in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month featuring a conversation with Weil Alumni Vanessa Chandis and Erick Flores of NBCUniversal. In April 2017, Latinos@Weil hosted an intimate dinner for associates of color with Weil alumni Andrea Saavedra, Vice President at Goldman Sachs and Ray Mercedes, Senior Vice President, Associate General Counsel - Chief of Staff at Univision Communications, Inc.

AsianAttorneys@Weil annually hosts a Lunar New Year event, with past celebrations including a cooking demonstration at Morimoto, a client reception with spoken word poet, Kelly Tsai, at Radiance Tea House, a private exhibit viewing at the Museum of Chinese in America, and a group dinner at Philippe. For four years, AsianAttorneys@Weil co-sponsored a Festival of Lights Diwali Celebration with the Barclays Embrace Americas Network.

In 2017 the Silicon Valley Office hosted, “Memories from Heart Mountain: A personal account of Japanese-American imprisonment during World War II” with Sam Mihara, a second-generation Japanese-American whose family was forced to move to a remote prison camp in northern Wyoming when the U.S. war with Japan started in the early 1940s. Sam is one of the few survivors of the Japanese-American imprisonment who is willing to speak about his experiences.

Weil requires all attorneys and administrative staff across the U.S. to complete a two hour Annual Mandatory Diversity Training modeled on the ethics CLE requirement. The 2017 program was focused on “Talking Boldly About Race: Being an Upstander in a Time of Cultural Unrest” in the workplace led by Vernā Myers.

Weil’s biennial Diversity Month took place in November 2017, with events held across Weil’s U.S. and international offices on the topic of “Diversity of Thought.”   

The 2017 luncheon addressed Faith, Religion and Diversity of Thought with religious leaders of Faith Forward Texas including: Dr. Mark Chancey, Professor of Religious Studies at Southern Methodist University; Reverend Andy Stoker, Senior Minister of the First United Methodist Church of Dallas; Imam Omar Suleiman, President of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research and a professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Methodist University; and Rabbi Nancy Kasten, Community educator, volunteer and activist.

The Firm has hosted several interactive workshops in 2018 for attorneys and clients fulfilling the New York Diversity, Inclusion and Elimination of Bias CLE requirement. The Silicon Valley office also welcomed clients for a California Elimination of Bias CLE workshop and networking reception in May 2016.

Weil hosted or participated in over 60 targeted diversity recruiting events in 2018. The U.S. 2018 summer class was 34 percent law students of color, with 20 summer associates in that class identifying as Asian/Pacific Islander.

Weil has granted 49 Diversity Fellowships of $10,000 each in scholarship awards to first and second-year law students since 2011.

2018 summer associate events hosted by AAW include an Asian affinity group event at the Hamptons home of an Asian partner, an Iftar dinner hosted in the New York office, and a welcome dinner at Soju Haus.

The Folks party is a Weil tradition dating back to 1987 and is still held annually, bringing together alumni, summer associates, and Weil attorneys of color at a partner’s home.

Weil sponsors the Asian American Bar Association of New York, the Asian American Legal Defense & Education Fund, the Center for Talent Innovation, Council of Urban Professionals, the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, South Asian Bar Association of North America, the Muslim Bar Association of New York, and the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

Weil sponsored the South Asian Bar Association of North America’s 2018 Convention on June 28-July 1. Charan Sandhu, partner in Weil’s Technology & IP Transactions practice group, served as this year’s NASABA Convention Co-Chair

Weil has been a longtime supporter of PALS (Practicing Attorneys for Law Students), a nonprofit organization committed to minority attorneys and law students, including sponsoring and hosting mock interview and 1L exam writing workshops.

The Firm sponsors and actively participates in internship opportunities such as the Dallas Judicial Intern Opportunity Program, the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Program (SEO) and Summer Search. Weil's New York Office has provided nearly 100 summer internships to high school and college students from community based organizations since 2013.

Weil has many teams of attorneys working with students from various law schools to assist the International Refugee Assistance Project to provide comprehensive legal representation to individual refugees seeking resettlement. IRAP has trained more than 4,400 lawyers and successfully resettled more than 3,600 refugees facing life-or death situations.

Weil has been part of the U.S.’s largest nonpartisan election protection program working to break down barriers to the ballot box for traditionally disenfranchised voters with the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, and the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund.