Campus outreach is an essential part of our diversity efforts. Our lawyers regularly interact with law students, law professors and career services representatives. These interactions help us establish deeper ties with schools and give recruits an opportunity to learn more about WilmerHale. This outreach also enables us to learn about the needs of the students and their affinity groups, which allows us to establish programs for those groups based on their expressed needs.

Our on-campus events include social gatherings and substantive programs. Social events—ranging from small dinners to larger networking receptions—give students the opportunity to meet and network with our attorneys, while our substantive programs provide students with the tools they need to succeed in the legal market. Programs have included resume writing and mock interview workshops, and panels on topics such as “Charting Your Legal Future."

WilmerHale is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to fostering a diverse workforce. It is our policy to administer all personnel actions, including recruiting, hiring, training and promoting employees without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, creed, age, marital status, veteran or military status, gender, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information or predisposing characteristics, medical condition or disability, or any other protected status under applicable federal, state or local law. Consistent with the obligations of these laws, WilmerHale will make reasonable accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. In addition, WilmerHale has implemented an Affirmative Action Program designed to support its Equal Employment Opportunity Policy.

We seek to hire law students and lawyers whose academic and personal record of achievement demonstrates a commitment to excellence. In addition, we look for individuals whose character, intelligence, judgment and training will inspire their colleagues and clients to have confidence in their advice and representation. We strive to recruit diverse lawyers, because we believe our firm and our clients benefit from that diversity.

If you are invited to the firm for an interview, you will be asked to contact our Legal Personnel and Development Department to schedule an in-office interview date. Call-back interviews consist of a two- to three-hour visit, either morning (including lunch) or afternoon. Typically, you will meet with four to six attorneys for approximately 30 minutes each. If you are interested in particular practice areas or if you have questions that might be best addressed by particular lawyers—for example, parents, women lawyers, lawyers of color, LGBTQ lawyers or newly arrived lawyers—please let us know. We will make every effort to accommodate your request.

John Payton was the sixth president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF), the nation’s preeminent civil rights and racial justice law firm. Prior to joining LDF, Mr. Payton was a WilmerHale partner for more than 10 years. A brilliant litigator, Mr. Payton dedicated his life to justice, equality and opportunity until he died suddenly in 2012 after a brief illness. Upon his passing, President Barack Obama remembered Mr. Payton as a “legend” and “a true champion of equality,” whose “courage and fierce opposition to discrimination in all its forms” would never be forgotten.

WilmerHale and LDF honored Mr. Payton’s legacy by establishing the John A. Payton Summer Associate Fellowship, which provides two summer associates in WilmerHale’s New York, Boston or Washington DC offices the opportunity to spend half of their summer at LDF, all while receiving a summer associate salary.