As part of our General Counsel Spotlight Series and in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Weil partner and WeilLatinx leader Adam Hemlock held an insightful conversation with Pilar Ramos – General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of TelevisaUnivision – and Lara Bueso Bach – Senior Vice President, Litigation at TelevisaUnivision and Weil Alum. They discussed the importance of leveraging a culturally fluent and global mindset in times of change and celebrated Pilar’s spirit and success as a Hispanic trailblazer.

In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month 2021, Weil hosted our second annual “Latinx Legal Leaders” Fireside chat. Weil welcomed LatinoJustice President Lourdes Rosado and TPG Chief Human Resources Officer Anilu Vazquez- Ubarri. Topics included Latinx advocacy work, intersectionality, and being Latina in the legal industry. In 2020, the program featured partner Ed Soto and Weil alumni Jose Ramon Gonzalez of CNA Insurance.

WeilLatinx hosts pan-affinity group programs to connect with Latinx clients and alumni, such as Discovery, Goldman Sachs, IBM, NBCUniversal, and Univision. The intimate roundtable discussions address leveraging the Latinx/Hispanic community, developing relationships with sponsors, and general career advice.

The Dallas office recently hosted a Women@Weil client event hosted by partner and WeilLatinx leader Vynessa Nemunaitis featuring speakers from the Texas Ballet Theater.

In September 2019, Weil’s Latinx attorneys from across the U.S. convened in New York for strategic planning and career development sessions, including a fireside chat with Weil alumni from Columbia University and NBC Universal. In the evening, Weil hosted the 2019 Annual Hispanic National Bar Association Convention’s kick-off reception where partner Ed Soto delivered welcome remarks.

Since May 2020, Weil has held 25+ virtual programs for the Racial Justice Speaker Series, including:

• “How to Be an Antiracist” with Professor Ibram X. Kendi, an anti- racist activist and historian of race and discriminatory policy.
• “Linguicism and Antiracism in Law” with Professor Jasmine Gonzales Rose, the Associate Director for Policy at the Center for Antiracism Research.

Other Educational Programs:

• Pride Month program with Gabby Rivera about the intersectionality of gender identity and race in the LGBTQ+ community.
• Transgender Awareness Month program with Anya Marino and Alejandra Caraballo, the first transgender women of color to teach at Harvard Law School.

Weil started the formal Racial Justice series in 2020 to highlight the racial inequities present in the United States and to increase dialogue. As part of the series, Weil invited speakers from non-profit organizations to take part in fireside chats and discuss their missions.

The Racial Justice Series included:

• Weil sponsored the LatinoJustice Lideres Young Professionals Board Fall Networking reception in support of their Legal Pipeline Programs, in addition to sponsoring their annual dinner.
• In honor of Juneteenth 2020, Weil hosted a fireside chat with Clint Odom, SVP at the National Urban League, who discussed the history of police brutality in the United States and the reform efforts of the League.
• As part of Asian Pacific Islander American Heritage Month 2020, Weil hosted Jerry Vattamala, Director of the Democracy Program at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Jerry touched on topics such as the rise in anti-Asian sentiment as a result of COVID-19 and how redistricting can affect communities of color.
• In June 2020, Weil partnered with LatinoJustice, a non-profit organized working to create a more equitable society through education and advocacy. LatinoJustice held two events, with the first focusing on the effect of the citizen question litigation on the 2020 Census and the second discussing the importance of voting and the effects of the pandemic on voting.
• Weil hosted two partners from McKinsey, Shelley Stewart & Jason Wright, to discuss the disparate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community. Shelley and Jason will also discuss the historical racial inequities present in the United States healthcare system.
• Weil invited Samuel Spital, Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to discuss the current policing crisis and how to achieve racial justice through legal and policy solutions.

Historically, Weil has placed great emphasis on racial justice. 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.

Weil holds individual affinity group conferences to bring together members from across the Firm for professional development and pipeline efforts.

WeilLatinx members participate in associates of color mentoring circles, which supplement the existing mentoring program for associates who seek additional access to partners as advisors and role models. The circles foster peer mentoring and provide a forum to discuss diversity topics at the Firm. During the pandemic, WeilLatinx members across the U.S. met periodically to stay connected, offer mutual support, and share career advice.

In September 2019, Weil’s Latinx attorneys from across the United States convened in New York for strategic planning and career development sessions, including a fireside chat with Weil alumni from Columbia University and NBCUniversal. In the evening, Weil hosted the 2019 Annual Hispanic National Bar Association Convention’s kick off reception where partner Ed Soto delivered welcome remarks.

In fall 2019, Weil hosted its biannual Women of Color breakfast with partner, Charan Sandhu at Amali in New York City. The event was attended by women associates of diverse backgrounds and levels.

Since 2011, 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. In 2022, the US training featured Vallotkarp Consulting, delivering programing on how to promote inclusivity as an everyday habit.

Weil’s biennial Diversity Month took place in November 2019, with events held across Weil’s U.S. and international offices on the theme From Bystanders to Upstanders: Together We Can Make a Difference.

Weil has granted 53 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 2022 Weil hosted a welcome program for summer associates featuring La Newyorkina ice-cream.

Weil started the formal Racial Justice series in 2020 to highlight the racial inequities present in the United States and to increase dialogue. As part of the series, Weil invited speakers from non-profit organizations to take part in fireside chats and discuss their missions.

The Racial Justice Series:

Since May 2020, Weil has held 25+ virtual programs for the Racial Justice Speaker Series, including but not limited to:

• In honor of Black History Month and Heart Health Month 2023, we recently held a fireside chat between Candace Arthur, a partner in our Restructuring Department, and Tracy K. Paul MD, acclaimed cardiologist and Director of Weill Cornell Medicine’s Women’s Heart Program.
• Heather McGhee, political commentator, strategist and author for Juneteenth 2021
• Professor Ibram X. Kendi for a fireside chat on How to Be an Antiracist.
• Dr. Jennifer Eberhardt to help understand and uncover Bias: Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We Say, Think and Do

Weil also offered programming with an intersectional lens, including:

• Intersectionality with Kimberlé Crenshaw, a UCLA and Columbia law school professor who is the leading authority on race, racism and the law
• Veteran’s Day program with Lieutenant General Nadja West

Prior in June 2020, Weil collaborated with LatinoJustice, a non-profit organized working to create a more equitable society through education and advocacy. \Weil hosted two partners from McKinsey, Shelley Stewart & Jason Wright, to discuss the disparate impact of COVID-19 on the Black community. Shelley and Jason will also discuss the historical racial inequities present in the United States healthcare system.

Weil invited Samuel Spital, Director of Litigation at the NAACP Legal Defense Fund to discuss the current policing crisis and how to achieve racial justice through legal and policy solutions.

Historically, Weil has placed great emphasis on racial justice. 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.

Additionally, The Institute for American Policing Reform (IAPR), a pro bono client of the Firm, has published a Weil Racial Justice Fellow and associate’s comprehensive White Paper, which sets out a principle-based approach to reforming state policing laws and police department policies regarding the use of force. 

Two advisory boards were formed to work with Executive Partners Barry Wolf. One is composed of Black partners, and the other of Black counsel and associates in the US and London. These advisory boards will advise on a range of issues of importance to the Firm, including but not limited to diversity-related topics.

The Racial Justice Fellowship Program was developed to provide associates with the opportunity to participate in six-month, full-time pro bono fellowships with nonprofit organizations focused on racial justice. During the first phase of the program, two associates worked with the Institute for American Police Reform (IAPR), a pro bono client of the Firm. The IAPR aims to take a research-driven approach to transforming police practices, particularly those that disproportionately affect people of color.

• Weil won a transformational victory in a federal civil rights case challenging the constitutionality of a ban on a Mexican- American Studies Program in Tucson, Arizona schools.
• Weil supports LatinoJustice PRLDEF through sponsorship and pro bono partnerships.

Weil has been a longtime supporter of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, as well as the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference, the Council of Urban Professionals, the Center for Talent Innovation, the Hispanic Lawyers Society of New York, 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 2022, Weil partnered with LatinoJustice Trailblazer's breakfast honoring key Latinx dignitaries who made an impact on the Latino community in the US and beyond.

Weil also participated in the annual gala honoring dignitaries distinguished Weil alumni to celebrate their impact.

In June 2020, Weil partnered with LatinoJustice, a non-profit organized working to create a more equitable society through education and advocacy. LatinoJustice held two events,with the first focusing on the effect of the citizen question litigation on the 2020 Census and the second discussing the importance of voting and the effects of the pandemic on voting.

In fall 2019, Weil sponsored the LatinoJustice Lideres Young Professionals Board Fall Networking reception in support of their Legal Pipeline Programs, in addition to sponsoring their annual dinner.