WeilLatinx

In 2023, Weil hosted Radiating Brilliance, a conference bringing together Asian, Black, Lantinx and Multiracial attorneys across our U.S. and U.K. offices. The conference was designed to connect attorneys of color across offices and practice groups and provide access to internal and external role models sharing career guidance. The conference featured remarks by Executive Partner Barry Wolf, roundtable discussions with Weil leaders, presentations on professional and business development, and affinity group-specific breakout sessions.

WLX members participate in affinity group specific mentoring circles, which supplement the existing mentoring program for associates who seek additional access to partners as advisors and role models. The circles foster peer mentoring and provide a forum to discuss diversity-related topics at the Firm.

Mentors Across Borders facilitates Partner and Counsel connections with affinity group members when visiting other Weil office locations. These meetings have ranged from one-on-one coffee meetings to breakfasts or lunches hosted for a larger group of associates.

In 2023, Weil welcomed Carmen Ortiz-McGhee, Chief Operating Officer of the National Association of Investment Companies, for a fireside chat with Vynessa Nemunaitis, a partner in Weil’s Banking & Finance practice and a leader of the WLX affinity group.

As part of Weil’s General Counsel Spotlight Series and in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Partner and WLX leader, Adam Hemlock, held an insightful conversation with Pilar Ramos, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of TelevisaUnivision, and Lara Bueso Bach, Senior Vice President of Litigation at TelevisaUnivision and Weil Alum. They discussed the importance of leveraging a culturally fluent and global mindset in times of change and celebrated Pilar’s spirit and success as a Hispanic trailblazer.

Weil’s pro bono legal work addresses access to adequate legal representation on a broad range of critical issues, ranging from housing to refugee and asylum matters. Recent examples of Weil’s pro bono work to address racial justice and with a particular impact on communities of color include:

• Make Us Visible, an organization that activates and empowers local communities to build curriculum and advocate for the integration of Asian American contributions, experiences and histories in K-12 classrooms. Weil assisted in exploring, assessing, and entering into a fiscal sponsorship arrangement.
• Weil’s expertise in voting rights litigation is engaged in two major matters in Texas and New York, where low-income communities of color have been stripped of their right to vote.
• Working with Start Small Think Big, the VOLS Microenterprise Program, Ascendus, and other clients and legal services organizations, Weil supports dozens of low-income entrepreneurs, many of whom are people of color, by assisting with business organization and related governance issues. Weil’s pro bono awards are also sourced from BIPOC-owned businesses connected to these NGOs.

For more information, visit the Pro Bono page.

Weil’s multifaceted diversity pipeline efforts aim to increase access and opportunity for first generation and students of color.

Weil has been a longtime supporter of PALS (Practicing Attorneys for Law Students), a nonprofit organization committed to attorneys and law students of color, including sponsoring and hosting mock interview and 1L exam writing workshops. Other notable pipeline efforts include longstanding partnerships with organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, Pencil, and Read Alliance.

Additionally, Weil has recently partnered with New York City Urban Debate League (NYCUDL), a non-profit organization that serves 3,000+ students by creating access to debate so that we may raise the next generation of courageous, engaged and informed citizens.

Weil has been a longtime supporter of LatinoJustice PRLDEF, as well as the Corporate Counsel Women of Color Conference (CCWC), the Council of Urban Professionals (CUP), the Hispanic Lawyers Society (HLS) of New York, the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA), the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), Legal Outreach, and the Lawyer’s Committee amongst many other nonprofit and membership based organizations.