The New York and London offices have over 20 active mentoring circles which include one female partner, one male partner, and five-to-six male and female associates to discuss career development topics.

“Mentors Across Borders” fosters informal mentoring between women attorneys when they travel to other offices.

The London office sponsors the Women of Impact initiative, which pairs a junior female lawyer with a female partner to co-mentor a social enterprise which benefits women and girls.

During Mentoring Week, TOWER hosted a Sponsorship & Mentorship pilot for associates facilitated by the Center for Talent Innovation.

In 2019, Weil women staff and attorney leaders — including Head of the Environmental practice Annemargaret Connolly, Chief Talent Officer Lisa Cuevas, Dallas Co-Managing Partner Courtney Marcus, Global Diversity & Social Responsibility Director Meredith Moore, General Counsel Mindy Spector and Litigation partner Diane Sullivan — shared their life lessons learned during a multi-office panel discussion. Click here to read the PDF, “Advice to Our Younger Selves.”

In 2017, Weil offices nationwide participated in a fireside chat with Carol Robles-Roman, President and CEO of Legal Momentum and former NYC Deputy Mayor for Legal Affairs and Counsel to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Carol spoke about the litigation matters Legal Momentum is undertaking to shape the laws and policies that affect gender equality, her personal career trajectory, the importance of mentors and sponsors, and how diversity has played a role in her personal and professional life.

In 2016, Weil celebrated Women’s History Month with a talk from Linda Hirshman, author of the New York Times critically acclaimed book, “Sisters in Law: How Sandra Day O’Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg Went to the Supreme Court and Changed the World”. After discussing her book, Linda joined Ira Millstein, a senior partner at the firm, for a fireside chat to discuss how he and Justice Ginsburg’s husband and former Weil partner, Marty Ginsburg, were advocates for Justice Ginsburg early in her career. Thirteen offices globally participated in the event.

The Firm focuses on intersectionality of gender and other diversity demographics through affinity group partnerships:

• In fall 2019, the Black Attorney Affinity Group and Women@Weil co-hosted a pre-screening of Harriet for attorneys and clients
• In fall 2019, the Black Attorney Affinity Group and LGBTQ+ affinity group co-hosted an intimate dinner with SoundCloud General Counsel Antonious Porch.
• In 2019, the Firm held two intimate breakfasts for women attorneys of color and an informal networking event with the women of the Firm’s LGBTQ+ affinity group and women of color were held in New York.
• In the summer of 2018, Weil hosted two firmwide programs exploring intersectionality among other topics. The Silicon Valley office program addressed gender identity and the Dallas office program discussed disability, race and gender.

In March 2018, the second cross-office women partner and client retreat was held in Palmetto Bluff, South Carolina. The retreat convened 53 women for two and one-half days of CLE panels, roundtable discussions, team-building activities and networking. The retreat’s theme of “Managing Risk” was addressed throughout the program. The inaugural retreat was held in Napa, California in 2016.

Recent U.S. client events include an exclusive pre-screening of Harriet for female and male associates and clients, a Mindfulness Luncheon for Private Equity Clients in Boston; a private viewing of “Dior, from Paris to the World” in Dallas’ Cheese School class for associates and clients in Silicon Valley; “Rides & Rosé” charity cycling class in support of the Tahirih Justice Center in Silicon Valley; and several Weil offices hosted clients at tour stops of Becoming: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama.

In 2018, Women@Weil in Germany held two events spotlighting women’s leadership in sports. The Munich office hosted “Higher – Faster – Further – Women” featuring the coach and member of the German national female team, former soccer player, and the first female soccer referee. The Frankfurt office hosted “Go beyond – Women@ Weil Challenges Your Limits” featuring the coach and a member of the German Female National Gymnastics Team discussing mental strength.

Other European events include an exhibition of artist Dora Maar at the Pompideau Center in Paris; a half-day interactive workshop with a client focused on honing women’s communication skills and a museum tour presenting the work of Jil Sander in Frankfurt; and a discussion of the impact of digitalization in our professional and private lives in Munich.

In 2016, Weil hosted a “Returnship Workshop” to inform alumni who have taken a career break about opportunities to return to the workforce.

In celebration of Earth Month 2017, Weil volunteers revitalized the Intervale Rooftop Garden benefiting the Women’s Housing and Economic Development Corporation. In March and September 2017 in partnership with the United Way, attorneys and senior staff volunteered for a Resume and Mock Interviewing Workshop benefiting 20 women participants in the Coalition for the Homeless First Step Job Training Program.

A partner in the Silicon Valley office participated in the Women in Law Hackathon hosted by Diversity Lab in 2017, where teams formed from leaders at various law firms presented competing innovative solutions to the promotion, retention, and advancement of women in law firms. In 2018, a partner in the Dallas office will participate in the second Diversity in Law Hackathon series.

Weil supports HerJustice, Legal Momentum, the New York City Bar Association’s Annual Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg Women in Law Lecture Series and ChIPs Women in IP Global Summit, amongst others. Weil also supports the Corporate Counsel Women of Color conference, the Council of Urban Professionals, the Center for Talent Innovation, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, NYU’s Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, and the Minority Corporate Counsel Association.

Weil focuses on the intersectionality of gender with other demographics through affinity group partnerships: 

• The 2017 Multicultural Attorney Conference featured men and women of color breakout sessions with women of color facilitator Tiffany Dufu and men of color facilitator Calvin Gladney.
• Weil hosted a Pride Month Lunch Panel Presentation in 2016: “OutWomen at the Forefront” moderated by Stephanie Sandberg, Managing Director at Out Leadership and hosted a LGBT+ Women’s Networking and Recruiting Event in March 2017 as an opportunity for all women LGBT+ students in New York to network and hear from current attorneys about working in law as an out woman.
• In June 2016, the Firm hosted a women of color discussion featuring Maria Fernandez of IBM.

Developed in response to recommendations from the Task Force on Women’s Engagement and Retention, the global Work-Life Task Force was formed to recognize the challenges of practicing law in a global professional services firm and offers a suite of work-life programs and benefits reflecting the diverse needs of our attorneys:

• Career and life coaching is offered to both female and male attorneys and their significant others for any reason, including juggling multiple client responsibilities, elder care and parenting. There are over 30 participants in the U.S. and London.
• Recent additions to the U.S. Work-Life benefits include back up in-home care for child and adult dependents, and access to Milk Stork, which helps business traveling, nursing mothers store and ship their milk back home to her baby while she is away.
• The Work-Life Task Force and TOWER co-sponsored pilot workshops for partners on how to attract, engage, and retain millennials at Weil.
• A number of workshops have been offered for associates, including, “Building Resilience” and “Finding Success as a Working Parent”.

The Firm has a long-standing Flextime program for associates to adopt a reduced work schedule while continuing their commitment to practicing law. The Firm also created the role of “Flex-Time Partner,” available for women and men who have made a long-term career choice to work on a flexible schedule. There are currently four flex-time partners.

Following the birth or adoption of a child, U.S. associates and counsel are eligible for 10 weeks of paid Parental Leave, regardless of gender or caregiver status. Birth mothers and primary caregivers of an adopted child or a child born by surrogate are eligible for an additional 10 weeks of paid Parental Leave, for a total of 20 weeks.

This Women@Weil subcommittee provides a forum for mothers of young children, as well as hosting programs on a range of topics including kids and technology, business travel as a working parent, an infant and child CPR course, the estate planning process for parents, and a male and female associate-led discussion on navigating parenting and professional responsibilities. The group also hosts info sessions where prospective parents can ask current members of the group questions about what it is like to be a parent working at Weil and monthly informal lunches.