Founded in 1963, SEO began as a mentoring program for high school students of color. Today, the organization has affiliate programs around the world — from Europe to Africa to Southeast Asia — and has produced 21,000 graduates from four professional programs who have gone on to pursue careers in private equity, business, investment banking and law.

SEO has garnered support from several Kirkland clients, including KKR’s Henry Kravis, who has chaired the organization since 2014. The outcomes have changed lives, with SEO’s early pipeline program boasting a 90% college graduation rate, 100% four-year college acceptance rate and 90% acceptance rate to universities on U.S. News & World Report’s top 100 list.

Each year, Kirkland hosts SEO Law Fellows — more than any peer law firm — across our offices. This legal diversity pipeline program has proven to be transformative, with SEO Law Fellows interning at 47 of the country’s top law firms, and hundreds of SEO alumni ascending to general counsel and senior corporate counsel in-house roles and partner positions at more than 40 top law firms.

In 2022, Kirkland partnered with SEO’s Leadership Institute to launch SEO Law Advance, a leadership development initiative that provides curated mentorship, coaching and educational programming for the Firm’s attorneys of color and those who identify as LGBTQ+. SEO Law Advance consists of three components: the Legal Practice Accelerator, which bridges law school education and legal practice for first-year corporate associates; Elevate, which features enhanced mentorship and leadership development training for midlevel associates; and General Counsel Connect, which engages private equity clients in support of select senior attorneys.

Kirkland has donated to SEO since the beginning of our partnership, becoming the organization’s top law firm sponsor. And as part of Kirkland’s five-year, $5 million pledge to support organizations promoting racial equality, SEO will continue to receive funds to expand its professional programs — ensuring that more high-achieving students of color go on to top colleges and law schools, and build successful careers.

Learn more about our commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Next Generation of Diverse Attorneys

The Next Generation of Diverse Attorneys