Gender Equity

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Kirkland's Women's Leadership Initiative comprises innovative, award-winning programming that aims to support and empower our Firm's women attorneys at all stages of their careers.

- Rajinder Bassi, Partner

Overview

Women play critical roles leading our Firm, clients and communities. Gender equity is an integral part of the mission of our Diversity and Inclusion Committee, which has a Gender Subcommittee dedicated to examining issues, policies and practices that directly impact women attorneys at the Firm.

Program Highlights

Women's Programming

Kirkland's Multicultural Women's Series program on "Intersectionality" with Dr. Arin Reeves

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, New York

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, Houston

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, New York

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, New York

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, Houston

Women Partners' Luncheon

Women Partners' Luncheon

Women Partner's Luncheon

A Conversation with Susan Smith Blakely, Chicago

Kirkland's Multicultural Women's Series program on "Intersectionality" with Dr. Arin Reeves

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, New York

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, Houston

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, New York

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, New York

Kirkland Local WLI Retreat, Houston

Women Partners' Luncheon

Women Partners' Luncheon

Women Partner's Luncheon

A Conversation with Susan Smith Blakely, Chicago

29 Women's Leadership Initiative Programs

January 2019–December 2019

One of the Best Law Firms for Women

Recognized by Working Mother every year since 2012

15 Strategic Partnerships

With women's organizations

Partner Spotlight

Partner Spotlight Erin Johnston

"Kirkland’s steadfast support over the years has enabled me to raise three young children while simultaneously building my successful legal career. In my role as chair of the WLI in the DC office and in serving on the Gender and Racial and Ethnic Diversity Subcommittees, I have connected with other similarly situated lawyers, both internally and externally, and gained the leadership, strategy and management skills that have been critical to my success at the Firm." — Erin Johnston, Litigation Partner

Women's Leadership Initiative

Kirkland’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) promotes the recruitment, retention and advancement of our women attorneys and aims to develop them into leaders within their practice groups, the Firm, the legal profession and the community. WLI sponsored 66 programs in 2018, including networking events, discussions, informational lunches and training sessions.

Program Highlight

Joanne Lipman, WLI Program

Kirkland’s WLI program on Joanne Lipman’s book “That’s What She Said: What Men Need to Know (And Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together”

Kirkland’s Women's Leadership Initiative is proud to serve in an exclusive relationship providing mentoring to members of the Women’s Law Coalition at Northwestern Law school. This strategic initiative provides mentoring and networking opportunities for women law students as they begin their professional careers through informal lunches, career panels and receptions.

Kirkland is also the exclusive sponsor of Harvard Women’s Law Association’s annual conference. This conference hosts a series of panels and programming on topics relevant to emerging women leaders on campus. Kirkland hosts a networking reception and career breakfast during the conference as an opportunity for students to meet with and seek mentorship from attorneys.

Additionally, Kirkland women attorneys support women’s student groups by speaking on panels, hosting networking events and providing non-exclusive mentoring relationships at various law schools including Columbia Law School; Cornell Law School; George Washington University Law School; New York University School of Law; Stanford Law School; Tulane Law School; University of California, Berkeley, School of Law; University of California, Los Angeles, School of Law; University of Chicago Law School; University of Michigan Law School; University of Pennsylvania Law School; University of Southern California Gould School of Law; University of Texas at Austin School of Law; and University of Virginia School of Law.

Kirkland attorneys have served as City Lead in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Palo Alto for LCLD’s mentoring program for diverse first year law students, who are matched with law firm or corporate legal department mentors.
Through our Women’s Leadership Initiative, the Firm has organized retreats for all women attorneys in our Houston, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., offices. We also hosted a Chicago-based retreat for women partners across the globe to strengthen Firmwide connections and hone our strategic plan for gender-related efforts.

1L Diversity Scholars Program

Apply now to join the brightest law students across the country in gaining early exposure to one of the world's leading law firms

2L Diversity Fellowship Program

Apply today for consideration as a 2020 Diversity Fellowship recipient

Women at Kirkland

Read our one-pager

Kirkland’s ALLSA initiative reflects our mission to reach out to “all” racial, ethnic, women’s and LGBT student groups at law schools across the country. Kirkland attorney liaisons have formed relationships with more than 125 law student groups at 21 law schools across the nation.
Our unique and highly selective annual 1L Diversity Scholars Program features interactive panels, group discussions and unprecedented networking opportunities with Kirkland attorneys and clients. This opportunity provides law students with invaluable information about big law and clients.
During this 10-week program, students split their summer with Kirkland and one of our clients, allowing an early view into working in-house and as outside counsel at a major law firm. Participants also attend a broader program sponsored LCLD. Kirkland attorneys across our U.S. offices actively mentor diverse law students through the program.
Our 2L Diversity Fellowship Program offers $25,000 stipends to second-year law students who hold offers to join our summer associate program and have demonstrated how they will promote diversity at Kirkland and in the broader legal profession. Since 2004, Kirkland has awarded over 215 fellowships totaling nearly $4.4 million.

Partner Organizations

Progressive Benefits

We recognize that true gender equity requires programs that support employees in balancing their careers and personal lives. Our progressive benefits, services and programs include:

  • No minimum billable hour requirement.
  • Enhanced technological offerings that enable attorneys to work flexibly and seamlessly in or out of the office.
  • Flexible/reduced-hour work schedules without sacrificing merit-based compensation or professional growth opportunities.
  • Our paid leave benefits rank among the top in the industry, making Kirkland one of the top family-friendly firms.
  • Full medical, dental and vision insurance for domestic partners.
  • Access to our award-winning CareerLink and In-House Insider Experience career assistance services that support transitions at all stages of attorney careers and personal lives.
  • Kirkland is proud to support attorneys who are balancing the demands of family and work.
  • We also offer resources to support attorneys in making a smooth transition to and then back from leaves of absence, including a self-paced e-course designed to ease anxieties about the return-to-work process so that new parents can focus on spending time with their little ones.
  • We offer working caretakers cost-effective access to in-home and center-based backup childcare and adult/elder care.
  • Kirkland provides support to new mothers by providing nursing mothers’ rooms, prenatal breastfeeding classes and opportunities for private consultations with certified lactation consultants and childbirth educators. Additionally, for nursing mothers traveling for work within the U.S., Kirkland offers a program that supports shipping breast milk home safely.
  • Kirkland’s Parenting Link program provides a forum for attorneys, their spouses and partners, and their clients to receive concise, practical information from parenting experts in an informal setting and to develop camaraderie with other parents with young children.

Learn More

Gender Subcommittee Co-Chairs

Rajinder Bassi

Partner

London

T +44 20 7469 2120

Ashley S. Gregory, P.C.

Partner

New York

+1 212 446 4697
OUR COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY & INCLUSION