The January 2017 Multicultural Attorney Conference brought together Asian, Black, and Latino attorneys from across the U.S. 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

Weil is unique among law firms for holding Firmwide individual affinity group conferences. BAAG hosted its fifth biennial conference in July 2018. The 2018 conference was held in New York and included a strategic planning session as well as interactive panels focused on professional development for attorneys at all levels. BAAG hosted a client and alumni networking event to kick off the 2018 conference. Members from the U.S. and London offices participated in:

• “One Size Never Fits All: Building a Professional Network & Developing Business in a Way That Fits You” presentation facilitated by Dr. Arin Reeves, President of Nextions
• A client networking reception featuring Michele Roberts, Executive Director of The National Basketball Players Association
• “Building Brand and Creating Preference” and “Business Development Recruitment, Retention & Advancement” Leadership Academy Workshops facilitated by Werten Bellamy, President of Stakeholders, Inc.
• A panel on public service and external leadership featuring Brennan Marcano, former Executive Director, Council of Urban Professionals and Nicolaine Lazarre, SVP & General Counsel, National Urban League

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.

In November 2016, Weil hosted a U.S.-wide panel, “Racial Justice in America: Diverse Perspectives on the Current Crisis,” featuring William Bratton, Former New York City Police Commissioner and Former Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Kristen Clarke, President and Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, and Don Cravins Jr., Senior Vice President for Policy and Executive Director of the Washington Bureau of the National Urban League.

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.”

Programs included:

• Conversation on Leadership, Mentorship and Diversity of Thought in Higher Education with Michael Sorrell, President of Paul Quinn College
• Diversity recruiting event and cocktail reception featuring Marc Morial, President and CEO of the National Urban League

Annually, the Dallas Office hosts a Multicultural Luncheon with varying topics and speakers. The 2018 luncheon featured a fireside chat with Angela Winfield, Director of Inclusion and Workforce Diversity at Cornell University and an African American attorney who is blind, discussing disability awareness and intersectionality. The 2017 luncheon addressed Faith, Religion and Diversity of Thought with prominent religious leaders from Faith Forward Dallas 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.

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.

BAAG 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.

In Summer 2016, Weil hosted a Women of Color luncheon with Maria Fernandez, Senior Counsel, IBM Systems Group and member of the Board of Directors for LatinoJustice PRLDEF. The event was attended by women associates of diverse backgrounds and levels.

In 2017 and 2018, BAAG members in the London office have held a series of events focused on entrepreneurship. Over 30 entrepreneurs and professionals have attended, including the Head of Technology, Media & Telecommunications Transactions for PwC, and representatives from JP Morgan, Nomura, Goldman Sachs and Smiths Group plc.

Weil hosted or participated in over 60 targeted diversity recruiting events. The U.S. 2018 summer class was 34 percent law students of color, with 14 identifying as Black or African-American.

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

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.

In June 2018, BAAG and Latinos@Weil co-hosted a cooking class at Rustico Cooking for summer associates, and a welcome event for SEO (Sponsors for Educational Opportunity) summer interns.

Weil hosts annual MLK Day of Service activities. In 2019 and 2018, the Firm hosted a number of on-site and offsite volunteer opportunities. In 2017, the New York Office bundled 2,000 healthy snack packs and health and hygiene kits for clients served by the Bowery Mission.

Weil is a supporter of the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference, the Council of Urban Professionals, the Center for Talent Innovation, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity and Legal Outreach, amongst many other nonprofit and membership based organizations.

Weil has a longstanding relationship with PALS (Practicing Attorneys for Law Students), a nonprofit organization committed to minority attorneys and law students, including hosting mock interview, 1L exam writing, and networking workshops. Weil also hosts onsite pipeline programs for students in middle school and high school through PENCIL and Big Brothers Big Sisters of NYC Workplace Mentoring Program.

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.

In response to the increase in shootings of unarmed men of color in 2016, the Firm joined the National Urban League’s Urban Solutions Council as one of its first law firm members. Weil continues to partner with the NUL’s Policy Bureau and other member companies in the Council to help create socioeconomic opportunities for men of color in the United States through policy and advocacy efforts.

A Weil team successfully secured a grandmother’s guardianship of her Jamaican grandson, who had been abandoned by his parents. On National Adoption Day, New York City’s Kings County Family Court approved the petition for adoption.

Weil’s partners and associates are currently co-leading an effort to help the Innocence Project review its backlog of more than 7,000 requests for assistance from prospective clients who are currently incarcerated.