Diversity Leaders
Our commitment to diversity is reflected at every level of the firm:
- Susan Murley became the firm’s first female co-managing partner in 2012, serving until 2023
- Former Co-Managing Partner Bill Lee is Chinese-American
- Diversity among our attorneys includes (as of May 1, 2021):
- US equity partners: 27% are women, 15% are attorneys of color and 2% identify as LGBTQ
- US counsel: 35% are women, 6% are attorneys of color and 2% identify as LGBTQ
- US associates: 53% are women, 32% are attorneys of color and 7% identify as LGBTQ
- Diversity in key leadership positions include:
- Management Committee: 40% women and 13% attorneys of color
- Compensation Committee: 44% women and 15% attorneys of color
- US Department and Practice Leaders: 28% women and 16% attorneys of color
- US Office Heads: 43% women and 29% attorneys of color
*All numbers are rounded to the nearest whole number. These figures use the National Association for Law Placement definitions of each title; “associate” numbers are comprised of the WilmerHale titles: associates, senior associates and counsel; “counsel” numbers are reflective of our “special counsel” title.
WilmerHale has long been a leader in efforts to diversify the legal profession. This leadership has been spearheaded by lawyers such as John Pickering, who played a major role in integrating the bar in the District of Columbia; John Hamilton, who for years served as chair of the Boston Lawyers Group; and John Payton, who was lead counsel for the University of Michigan in successfully defending the use of race in undergraduate and law school admissions (he also served as director-counsel and president of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund). Over the years, attorneys of color have served as managing partner and assistant managing partner of the firm, as members of our management and hiring committees, and as practice leaders.