Diversity
Diversity and inclusion are core values for Arnold & Porter. We are committed to cultivating diversity and inclusion in a positive work environment, where all talent is supported and accorded dignity and respect. We value the contributions that each person makes, enable our colleagues to be comfortable being themselves, and encourage every person to realize their potential. We believe that each individual has the right to work in a professional atmosphere that promotes equal opportunity.
Diversity & Inclusion Committee
Arnold & Porter's chair and managing partners work closely with the firm's Diversity & Inclusion Committee, which is composed of senior attorneys and senior professionals, to drive the firm's diversity and inclusion strategies around five pillars: recruitment, retention, advancement, engagement and service.
Affinity Groups
Among Arnold & Porter’s most active diversity initiatives are our affinity groups. The firm’s affinity groups for colleagues who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and other People of Color), caregivers, first generation, LGBTQ+, veterans, women, and allies offer community and opportunities for mentoring, skills enhancement, and education throughout the year.
- APCares: The APCares community focuses on supporting parents and caregivers.
- ACCORD: The Attorney Community Championing Our Racial Diversity focuses on lawyers who identify as racially and ethnically diverse.
- BLAC: Black Lawyers of ACCORD Caucus focuses on Black lawyers.
- First Gen: First Gen centers on those who are in the first generation of their family to graduate from college and/or law school.
- Pride: Pride is a network for the firm’s LGBTQ+ community.
- Professionals of Color: Professionals of Color focuses on professionals who identify as racially and/or ethnically diverse.
- VALOR: The Veterans and Affiliates Leadership Organization offers support and community to all veteran-affiliated individuals, including veterans, reservists, families of service members, and anyone interested in military and veterans communities.
- WISE: The Women's Initiative for Success and Empowerment is our affinity group for women.
Our affinity groups sponsor numerous firmwide events engaging the Arnold & Porter community on a variety of topics. Recent examples include:
- Celebrating Women’s Leadership: A Discussion with Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the First Woman Director General of the World Trade Organization and Co-Author of Women and Leadership: Real Lives, Real Lessons
- Fireside Chat with Award-Winning Journalist Juan Gonzalez: The Sweeping History of the Latino Experience in the U.S.
- Disability Pride: Advancing Disability Rights in the Legal Profession
- Pride Month: Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling with Dr. Layla McCay, Author of Breaking the Rainbow Ceiling: How LGBTQ+ People can Thrive and Succeed at Work
- Black History Month Short Film Festival: a Curated Screening
- Advancing Veterans Causes: A Pro Bono Perspective at the Intersection of Diversity & Inclusion, Veterans Advocacy, and Pro Bono Work
Recruitment
Arnold & Porter welcomes people of all backgrounds and recognizes that a significant part of our strength as a firm is connected to the breadth of experiences and perspectives we bring to bear on every client matter. The diversity of our attorneys and staff is important to us and to our clients. To ensure we attract and hire an inclusive workforce, we engage in numerous opportunities to connect with candidates, including
- hosting affinity-based panel discussions and receptions for first-year law students, at which attorneys share practical advice and tips on the law firm recruiting process with the students;
- holding mock interviews for first-year law students;
- participating in affinity bar association career fairs;
- doing regular outreach to affinity groups at law schools across the country; and
- providing scholarships and fellowships to rising second-year law students.
» Learn more about our legal career and summer associate opportunities.
» Learn about more our professional/administrative career opportunities.
Retention and Advancement
We take a holistic and interdepartmental approach to retention and advancement, implementing initiatives and programs that aim to foster the professional growth of our attorneys. From our firmwide professional development training curriculum and our mentoring programs to our family-friendly policies and our in-house career counselors, we strive to empower colleagues' ownership of their career and provide a variety of opportunities and resources that support their career advancement.
In addition to internal programming, we sponsor external leadership and business development opportunities that expand our attorneys' networks. Among other conferences and programs, our attorneys participate in the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference, Corporate Counsel Men of Color Conference, Chart Your Own Course Conference, Leadership Council on Legal Diversity's Fellows and Pathfinders programs, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association Annual Conference, National Bar Association Annual Convention, Hispanic National Bar Association Annual Convention, New York City Bar Associate Leadership Institute, and National Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Bar Annual Conference (Lavender Law). We regularly partner with clients to ensure that our attorneys—at every stage of their careers—can access client-facing opportunities and hone the skills that will make them invaluable members of our client teams.
To further support our journey toward fuller inclusion, we provide periodic firmwide education and training sessions on topics such as implicit bias, allyship and racial justice. We hold ourselves accountable through a variety of internal and external mechanisms, and we participate in initiatives such as the America Bar Association's Resolution 113 Model Diversity Survey, the ABA's Wellness Pledge and Diversity Lab's Mansfield Rule Certification.
Engagement
Arnold & Porter is committed to having a positive impact on the communities in which it works—and has been since its inception. From using the rule of law to advance basic human and civil rights to making individual investments in grassroots and local organizations, we seek opportunities to engage with our community and invest in sustained improvements.
Pro Bono
Our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion extends to our pro bono legal work and includes litigation, transactional, regulatory, and public policy advocacy on both systemic and individual levels.
We have a long history of taking on cases to redress injustice, whether in the criminal justice system, protecting the right to vote, defending those wrongly persecuted by the government or protecting immigrants.
–Chairman Richard M. Alexander
Recent Pro Bono Matters
- Black Lives Matter (BLM): Representing BLM DC in a lawsuit against the federal government on behalf of protesters tear-gassed in Washington, DC's Lafayette Square, and BLM 5280 in a lawsuit against the city and county of Denver for police violence in the wake of social justice protests.
- Voting Rights: Successfully challenging the partisan gerrymandering of Pennsylvania's congressional districts; expanding access to voter registration and vote-by-mail in Florida; and dedicating thousands of attorney hours and technical support to Election Protection hotlines to protect the right to vote.
- Reproductive Freedom: Obtaining an injunction on behalf of the City of Baltimore to allow family planning providers that permit abortion referrals as part of pregnancy counseling to continue receiving Title X funds, and by obtaining a jury verdict in favor of Planned Parenthood against anti-abortion activists who engaged in a years-long campaign of fraud and deception to "destroy" the organization.
Community Involvement
We strive to support charitable and nonprofit organizations that celebrate and advance rights for women, people of color, LGBTQ individuals, immigrants, and other communities that can experience marginalization.
To enhance the work of the firm's Community Service Committee and encourage colleagues who wish to give back, the firm instituted an annual day of service which gives each Arnold & Porter attorney and business professional one day a year of paid leave to do volunteer work.
Service
Part of our commitment to excellence includes both providing clients with inclusive teams and partnering with them to advance our mutual commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. Here are some examples of our client collaborations:
- Partnering with clients to provide career counseling and professional development programs for summer associates.
- Collaborating with clients on bespoke mentoring programs that pair Arnold & Porter lawyers with members of the client's legal team.
- Involving diverse attorneys from our clients on panels organized by our affinity groups.
- Liaising regularly with clients to ensure that their Arnold & Porter team is inclusive.
Recent Awards & Recognitions
- Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Equality 100: Leader in LGBTQ+ Workplace Inclusion (Recognized for the 17th year)
- Seramount’s 2024 “Best Law Firms for Women and Diversity” (Ranked among the top 5 firms)
- Mansfield Rule 7.0 Plus Certification (2017-2024)
- MLT Black Equity At Work 2024 (Gold Certification)
- The American Lawyer’s 2024 “A-List”
- Law.com International’s 2023 UK “A-List”