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Our commitment

Here, diversity is about more than metrics. It’s about a strategy and a holistic approach to culture, advancement, transparency, and change that reflects the modern realities of work and life for our lawyers and clients. Our efforts do not start and stop when a lawyer walks through our doors, or beyond them. We invest in pipelines of future lawyers and leaders from diverse backgrounds – from undergraduate level through law school. And we are committed to supporting our people and our vibrant alumni community through intentional networking and development opportunities.

Lenora Ausbon-Odom

Nurturing a culture of inclusivity allows us to attract the best talent, build the most effective teams, and deliver exceptional client service.

Lenora Ausbon-Odom, Chief Talent Development & Inclusion Officer

Culture

Nurturing an inclusive and supportive environment for all our people allows us to attract the best talent, build the most effective teams, and deliver exceptional client service. Through community building, training on cultural competence and encouraging all to be inclusion champions, we are cultivating a supportive and connected culture.

DLA Piper is a longtime partner of The Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at New York University’s School of Law. The Center is named after DLA Piper’s former Chair, Roger Meltzer, in recognition of his service and dedication to NYU and championing of diversity and inclusion. We work closely with Professor Kenji Yoshino, the Center’s Director, to create and tailor training and educational programs for our employees that reflect current best practices to teaching and facilitating a diverse and inclusive environment. Through our partnership with The Center, more than 2,000 of our lawyers and business professionals have been trained on topics such as authenticity, agility, allyship, inclusive leadership and critical conversations.

DLA Piper's resource groups focus on the development, advancement, and retention of members by amplifying diverse voices, creating mentorship and sponsorship relationships that help junior lawyers better navigate the firm and maximize their opportunities for development and business generation. Each resource group is focused on both bridging and bonding activities. Bonding activities are those that support group needs, provide development opportunities and programs that advance both professional and personal growth. Bridging opportunities include connecting beyond the resource group to other groups and communities including collaborating with our clients to impact change.

Our resource groups include:

  • AAPEX (Asian American Pacific Islander Excellence)
  • Black Resource Group Invested in Development, Growth, and Excellence (BRIDGE)
  • Hispanic Latino/a Organization for Leadership and Advancement (HOLA)
  • Iris – LGBTQ+
  • Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW)
  • Mosaic- all diverse partners and of counsel
  • VALOR (Veterans Advancing Legal Opportunities and Resources)
  • Working Parents & Caregivers

Advancement

By building inclusive recruitment, development, and promotion practices, we empower diverse talent to thrive and for diverse representation among the highest ranks of the firm to flourish. We also foster access to advancement opportunities through transparency around matriculation criteria and potential career pathways, whether at DLA Piper or in-house with our clients and beyond. We provide important opportunities to hone legal skills, gain client exposure, and build business development acumen so the firm’s next generation of trusted advisors is ready to meet the evolving needs of our clients.

DLA Piper created a 15-month Emerging Leaders development program, which cultivates partners within the firm, helping them grow in their business development and leadership skills while also providing them access to key leadership and firm management. We know this access is essential to the firm in demonstrating value to our junior partners in being able to see their career pathways. Many graduates go on to earn leadership positions throughout the firm, including Practice Group Leader, Office Managing Partners, members of the firm’s Policy Committee and leaders of the firm’s national resource groups.

Through our longstanding and valued partnership with LCLD, DLA Piper creates access to developmental programs for diverse lawyers at varying stages in their careers, including the Pathfinders program for junior associates and Fellows for mid-career emerging leaders.

We believe that student athletes have what it takes to succeed in law school and as lawyers - focus, drive, ambition, grit, and a team mindset. The firm's goal is to support the next generation of successful lawyers, with an emphasis on improving the diversity of our profession and providing opportunities to students who might otherwise not have considered a career in law. Each year, DLA Piper will select collegiate student athletes who are interested in attending law school. Students selected for LEAP will receive ready access to top legal professionals who can advise on the students' career path and the opportunity to forge connections with legal mentors. To apply, click here

DLA Piper was one of the first signatories of the Mansfield Rule, a national initiative developed to increase diversity in law firm recruitment, promotion, and leadership appointment practices. The rule has gained significant momentum in the industry as well as with clients over the last two years. As a signatory to the rule since 2017, the firm has received certified plus recognition for all iterations of the rule, most recently 5.0. Mansfield Certification Plus status indicates that, in addition to meeting or exceeding the baseline certification requirements, the firm has successfully reached at least 30 percent underrepresented lawyer representation in a notable number of their current leadership roles.

DLA Piper's Raja Gaddipati Fellowship is an in-house pipeline initiative that offers undergraduate students insight into a large law firm environment. The six-week, full-time paid summer internship involves a combination of research projects, lectures, and direct mentoring. Students complete a rigorous application and interview process to compete for a limited number of seats. The fellowship is named in honor of our former partner, Raja Gaddipati, who was deeply involved in the community and engaged in the advancement of DLA Piper's diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Mansfield Certification Badge Plus 2022-2023

Mansfield Rule 6.0 Certification Plus 2023

DLA Piper is pleased to announce the firm has achieved Mansfield 6.0 Certified Plus status for 2023 as a result of its implementation of the Mansfield Rule 6.0, an initiative through which participating law firms consider at least 30 percent diverse lawyers for c-suite level positions, top leadership roles, senior-level lateral hiring, partnership promotions and participation in client pitch meetings.
Cara Edwards

Having a voice, being a part of a community, and feeling a sense of belonging are essential to retention. My role as a resource group leader is to advocate for that community, to build bridges to belonging, and include diverse voices in both our professional and personal growth.

Cara Edwards, Managing Partner, New York Office
and Co-Chair, Leadership Alliance for Women

Transparency

Alignment around our goals critical to the development of a more inclusive firm culture. We believe that transparency is essential. We measure and report our progress toward fostering and sustaining a rich, diverse workplace. We participate in key industry surveys each year to measure, understand and communicate our progress. We currently participate in the following annual industry initiatives and scorecards:

Change

We are committed to increasing and improving access to opportunities within our walls and beyond. Through sponsorships is how we engage with national, regional, and local associations and organizations by providing resources and expertise to create a positive impact the legal profession.

Highlights of partnerships include:

DLA Piper is proud to partner with Black In-House Counsel (BIHC), an organization dedicated to increasing awareness of Black attorneys in Fortune 500 legal departments and AmLaw 100 law firms. BIHC is committed to forging a new path for Black attorneys through events, digital networks, and career development programs. 

DLA Piper is a founding sponsor of the Legal Mentor Network, a nonprofit organization focused on providing junior lawyers and law students with free mentoring services. Over the last two years, LMN has helped facilitate over 1,000 mentorship connections, matching law students and newly admitted attorneys with mentors in their geographic area and preferred field of legal practice.

The firm is a sponsor of the Hispanic National Bar’s PODER25, the first General Counsel pipeline program that specifically supports Hispanic attorneys and hosts bootcamp programs and knowledge-sharing sessions that provide participating lawyers with key skill building that helps to propel and ready participants for General Council roles in Fortune 500 companies.

Group Photo of Legal Mentor Group

Legal Mentor Group

DLA Piper is a founding sponsor of the Legal Mentor Network, a nonprofit organization focused on providing junior lawyers and law students with free mentoring services.

Community impact

To create and sustain change, our strategies are holistic and focus on both our internal and external communities. We are committed to expanding community outreach through programs that support access to justice for all.

The firm’s Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono teams collaborate to identify signature projects that pursue justice in our communities and around the world by advancing gender and racial equality, advocating for children, and combating hunger. To learn more about these efforts, please visit the firm’s Pro Bono page.

To promote the values of diversity and inclusion among our lawyers, the firm recognizes associates for their contributions to approved diversity and inclusion activities, providing associates the flexibility to determine where to contribute their time beyond billable work. Associates are recognized each year for qualified D&I activities, including: leading resource group goals, designing and executing programming that raises cultural awareness, providing mentorship, supporting the diverse pipeline through recruitment efforts at law schools, participating in client and student-facing diversity events, and more.

As part of centralized procurement, we consistently track the firm's engagement with certified women-owned and minority-owned businesses. The goal is to diversify our supplier network and increase spend with these businesses over time. As we work toward identifying specific benchmarks, we strongly encourage our attorneys and operations teams to consider and recommend women-owned and minority owned-businesses as opportunities arise. This initiative reinforces our commitment to our clients, our communities, and our people.

DLA Piper joined the Alliance for Asian American Justice to lead and fund a unique social justice initiative, spearheaded by our Asian American Pacific Islander resource group leaders. The alliance supports Asian American communities by providing pro bono legal services aimed at holding the perpetrators of anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment accountable. As part of centralized procurement, we consistently track the firm's engagement with certified women-owned and minority-owned businesses. The goal is to diversify our supplier network and increase spend with these businesses over time. As we work toward identifying specific benchmarks, we strongly encourage our attorneys and operations teams to consider and recommend women-owned and minority owned-businesses as opportunities arise. This initiative is important to us and reinforces our commitment to our clients, our communities, and our people.

The firm’s Diversity and Inclusion and Pro Bono teams, collaborate to identify signature projects that pursue justice in our communities and around the world by advancing gender and racial equity, advocating for children, and combating hunger. To learn more about these efforts, please visit the firm’s Pro Bono page.

Awards and recognition

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