Biglaw

What Biglaw Is Saying About The Unrest Sweeping The Nation

We now have 70+ statements from Biglaw on racial injustice. Will this pressure other firms to do something? We sure hope so.

By  
on

Recent Events

The tragic murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and the frustration that has caused protests across the country should cause all of us to confront the grim reality that racism is endemic and persistent. When we learned about George Floyd’s death, after the recent deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor, we thought “not another.” Not another instance of disproportionate use of force against a Black person; not another senseless and heartbreaking death; and not another conversation among Black families about dealing with the police.

Although racism and excessive force devastates those on the receiving end, it affects all of us – regardless of race or ethnicity – and we can no longer quietly return to life as it was and look the other way. Doing so is an abdication of the imperative to connect events that reoccur with morbid consistency, and it goes against our humanity and identity as a firm.

We are committed to continuing to foster a diverse and inclusive work environment at Winston where every person has the equal opportunity to succeed. We are also counting on our fellow firm leaders, office managing partners, all fellow Executive Committee members, and our practice group leaders to increase their efforts to drive our commitment to promote the success of everyone in our firm. Through training and education, internal programs and courageous discussions, we will continue to raise awareness of overt and implicit bias and ways in which we can disrupt its impact. Equally important, through our pro bono work, community involvement and charitable giving, we will continue to work to dismantle racism, inequality and racial injustice in our society. Today, we are asking key stakeholders, including our Black Lawyers Network, for immediate recommendations on how the firm can be on the leading edge of the national movement to address and rectify the ongoing harm caused by racism and racial inequality in our society. We are committing the firm’s resources to support those recommendations once they are solidified and rectified.

As we deal with the sadness, grief and feelings of isolation brought on by yet another tragic death, we stand united as a community in support of one another, especially those who are hurting and grieving. Please reach out to us, any member of firm leadership, including our office managing partners, our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and our Director of Diversity and Inclusion (Sylvia James) with your suggestions as we continue to work on these issues together.

Tom Fitzgerald and Michael Elkin

Sponsored

« Previous29 of 79Next »

Topics

, , , , , , , , , ,