Diversity & Inclusion

As a firm with a global presence, we embrace and promote diversity and inclusion, both within our own organization and throughout the legal profession. We are proud of our employees' rich and varied backgrounds, knowledge and skills, which make us stronger as a Firm.

Diversity at Kirkland transcends race, gender, age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, religion, country of origin and political affiliation. We value and encourage diversity with respect to each individual’s work style, career path and professional and life experiences. We continually strive to build and maintain a culture that values and gathers strength from our differences.

To achieve this goal, a dedicated and active group of partners leads our Firmwide Diversity and Inclusion Committee. The committee has racial and ethnic minority, gender and LGBT subcommittees to ensure that our programs and policies address the needs of all attorneys. 

Kirkland’s new Inclusive Leadership Series will continue the Firm’s tradition of involving our young attorneys in the conversation. The Inclusive Leadership Series is a series of ongoing engaging programs geared toward building an inclusive, welcoming culture and fostering dialogue and connection among Kirkland attorneys at all levels. The series kicked off with our Kenji Yoshino program, and we look forward to future programming that will prepare the next generation of culturally fluent, global leaders at the Firm.

On October 30, 2018, the New York office hosted a Firmwide videoconference with NYU Law Professor Kenji Yoshino. Kenji discussed the issue of women and minorities downplaying their stigmatized identity to blend into the mainstream, also known as “covering.” He offered insights on the consequences of “covering” and why this causes an underrepresentation of women and minorities in the legal profession.

The Diversity Leadership Series provides training, mentoring and leadership opportunities for Kirkland attorneys and clients to solidify social and professional connections with and among diverse attorneys.

• The Firm sponsors the Kirkland Connection Series, a series of informal events where diverse attorneys connect socially with senior partners in their practice groups or offices.
• Kirkland’s “Path to Success” speaker series gives attorneys the opportunity to meet and learn more about senior leaders, who share stories about their career paths while advancing the diversity dialogue at the Firm.

The Firm hosts ongoing Firmwide programs with industry experts like Vernā Myers and Jerry Kang to broadly reach attorneys at all levels and promote cultural fluency, inclusion and awareness of unconscious bias and other key issues.