WilmerHale continues to be recognized for its leadership in providing opportunities to women and diverse attorneys, being recently spotlighted in two Law360 reports—the Diversity Snapshot and 2018 Glass Ceiling survey. According to the publication, the firm’s success in recruiting and advancing women and diverse attorneys placed it in a category reserved for “… the rare law firm that is consistently ahead of the pack on hiring and promoting women and minorities…”
WilmerHale was one of only two firms with 600 or more lawyers in Law360’s surveys to appear on the news organization’s combined list of Best Firms for Women and Minority Attorneys. It was the second consecutive year that WilmerHale was one of just two of the largest firms to make that particular Law360 list.
In a series of publications from Law360, WilmerHale came in fourth among the largest firms on Law360’s Best Firms for Female Attorneys list, with women representing 44.4 percent of its nearly 900 attorneys, 50.8 percent of its non-partners and 25 percent of partners. (WilmerHale has only equity partners.)
In another related article, Best Law Firms for Female Partners, WilmerHale was once again listed as a “ceiling smasher” based on the percentage of women equity partners.
WilmerHale’s presence on the Best Firms for Women list placed WilmerHale in the ranks of firms that are “outpacing their peers—breaking down barriers and forging a path to a more diverse working environment,” Law360 said.
The firm also appeared on Law360’s Best Firms for Minority Attorneys list with minorities comprising nearly 20 percent of its lawyers overall, 22.5 percent of non-partners and 11.5 percent of partners.
“While private practice in the US has long professed its adherence to diversity’s ideals, that has yet to bear out in reality for most firms. But the firms on Law360’s list are achieving some measurable results,” Law360 said of the firms on its Best for Minorities list.
In recent months, WilmerHale’s commitment to diversity and inclusion has been validated in numerous ways. Women in Law Empowerment Forum recently announced that WilmerHale once again received its Gold Standard Certification for dedication to women in leadership roles and commitment to equal compensation. Within the past year, WilmerHale also received diversity and inclusion awards from TIAA and Dell. The firm also received the 2017 Law Firm Diversity Award from the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA) and the Human Rights Campaign chose the firm as a Best Place to Work for LGBT Equality for the 10th consecutive year.WilmerHale is also one of 44 law firms that signed on to a one-year pilot of the Mansfield Rule. Inspired by the NFL’s Rooney Rule aimed at bringing more diversity to head coaching and front office jobs, the Mansfield Rule calls for law firms to ensure the pool of candidates for lateral hires, partner elevation and leadership positions include significant percentages of women or diverse attorneys. WilmerHale recently agreed to participate in the pilot of Mansfield Rule 2.0, which will run one year starting in Summer 2018.