Inclusion & Belonging @Orrick


Our commitment to an inclusive legal profession is longstanding. At our firm, it means sustaining a workplace where top talent of all backgrounds and experiences feel they belong, can collaborate to produce the best client work and have opportunities to advance their careers. This commitment is embedded in our core values. It also extends to collaborating with clients and our communities.

In our experience, teams comprising individuals with a diversity of perspectives and experiences often produce the highest quality, most innovative work. This holds true for our client teams and the team that leads our firm. Based on the traditional U.S. measures of diversity (lawyers who are of color, women, LGBTQ+ and/or have disabilities), our teams today are among the most inclusive in large law firms: our senior leadership team is 55% diverse and our U.S. partnership is 46%. We exceed large law firm averages at the partner and associate levels, as reported by NALP, in every category.

“We are fortunate to have a diversity of perspectives on our senior leadership team – reflective of the voices and perspectives of our clients and our team and enabling us to make better decisions for our firm.” – Mitch Zuklie, Orrick Chair  

 

Below are highlights of the ways we live our values around inclusion at Orrick and in the community:

The Law Student Pipeline: In 2021, we became a founding law firm partner of Legal Innovators, a program that helps large law firms and corporate legal departments recruit and develop top talent from a broad range of law schools. Legal Innovators uses predictive analytics to look at 20 factors – such as accolades and undergraduate work experience – to identify the best fits between students and corporate law practice. They provide a two-year fellowship program. They also advise on our onboarding curriculum for first-year associates generally.

Advancing Opportunities for Veterans: In 2015, we founded the nation’s first Veterans’ Legal Career Fair – and it remains the only one in the market. This annual fair attracts more than 40 law firm, corporate, government and public employers nationwide – including founding co-sponsors Microsoft and Morgan Stanley. It has helped more than 800 active duty and veteran lawyers and their spouses connect with potential employers. We have hired seven members of our team through the fair. In addition to facilitating networking and interview opportunities, the fair provides candidates with resume counseling and pairs interested candidates with mentors from participating employers.

“We founded this event because we recognized that several of our best lawyers and staff were veterans, and we wanted to hire more. We looked for a career fair to attend. When we learned there was none, we created one. Launching this career fair is one of the firm’s achievements that I am most proud of.” – Mitch Zuklie, Orrick Chair 

 

Inclusion Networks: One of the most concrete ways we foster community and belonging at our firm is through Inclusion Networks. We facilitate participation in these communities and the activities they sponsor with bonus-eligible time. Our team members can choose among many different networks – and allies are always welcome:

  • Asian Pacific Attorneys
  • Black Lawyers of Orrick (BLOO)
  • Orrick Latinx Attorneys (OLA)
  • Veterans Forum
  • LGBTQ+ Attorneys
  • MENA Attorneys
  • South Asian Lawyers and Staff
  • Parents Forum
  • Women’s Initiative, including our Women of Color Collective
  • First Generation Lawyers
  • DiversAbility Network
  • Jewish Inclusion Network
  • Interfaith Inclusion Network
  • Professional Staff Inclusion Networks

 

Allyship Conversations: Established in partnership with Dr. Arin Reeves, our allyship program is designed to help all of us become more skillful in being members and leaders of inclusive teams. It addresses topics from understanding invisible identities to mentoring and sponsorship across difference.

In addition, since 2009, our entire firm globally has designated a day each year – known as Dive/In – to learning more about our colleagues and creating a culture of inclusion and belonging in each of our offices. Through events and conversation, we aim to become a more effective and connected team with greater awareness of the backgrounds and experiences our colleagues bring to the workplace.

“Dive/In is a moment to learn more about each other, celebrate both our differences and what unites us, and talk about how we can be more inclusive. We do it globally, yet each office leads the conversation in a way that reflects our unique local cultures. What could be a better expression of inclusion and belonging at Orrick?” – Mitch Zuklie, Orrick Chair 

 

Leadership Development: One way we invest in the next generation of leaders at our firm is by creating opportunities for rising stars to attend leadership pipeline programs, including Chart Your Own Course, the LCLD Pathfinders and Fellowship Programs, and The NYC Bar Office for Diversity and Inclusion’s Associate Leadership Institute (ALI).

Collaborating With In-House and Law Firm Leaders: Our Chairman Mitch Zuklie is working with his peers to help advance inclusion in our profession by serving as a board member of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD).

Tech Ecosystem: We work with many leading organizations in the tech community to support innovation through a more inclusive ecosystem.

Market Recognition

Top Firm for Diversity
Yale Law Women, 2024
12 years on the list

No. 1 Best Law Firm for Women and Diversity
Seramount, 2024
16 years on the list

Leader in LGBTQ+ Inclusion
Human Rights Campaign,
100% on the Corporate Equality Index for the past 18 years

Gold Standard Firm for the past 11 years
 Women in Law Empowerment Forum, 2023

7 Rainmakers in 7 Years
Minority Corporate Counsel Association

Mansfield Certified Plus for the last 7 years
Diversity Lab, 2024

Top 10 for Pro Bono for the past 10 years
The American Lawyer, 2024