Engagement

We seek to collaborate with external stakeholders - including our clients - to further our shared values around DEI. We invite you to join us on moving the DEI needle within the legal industry. 

We must work as a collective. By collaborating with clients around our commitment to DEI, supporting external professional development opportunities for underrepresented attorneys, expanding our supplier diversity efforts, and supporting and sponsoring affinity bar organizations and other diversity organizations, we are committed to doing this work together.

Our Efforts

Client DEI Surveys

DWT completes over 170+ DEI client and industry surveys annually. We leverage our responses for client DEI surveys to connect with our clients about how we can support their DEI journey and business objectives.

These conversations have resulted in furthering DEI opportunities within the legal industry, such as joint partnership on DEI initiatives to discussing staffing and access to leadership roles on the client's matters.

External Collaborations

We sponsor and support a number of national minority bar and external diversity organizations. We support our underrepresented attorneys participating in external professional development programs hosted by these organizations. For many national affinity organization conferences, we host client-focused events to provide opportunities for up-and-coming underrepresented attorneys to connect and deepen our relationships with key clients. These events have been critical to the business development of our diverse attorneys.

  • Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC)
  • Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA)
  • LGBTQ+ Bar Association
  • National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)
  • National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA)
  • National Bar Association (NBA)
  • South Asian Bar Association (SABA)
  • Charting Your Own Course (CYOC)
  • Diversity & Flexibility Alliance (DFA)
  • Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD)
  • Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA)
  • Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession (IILP)
  • Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance (LFAA)
  • J.E.D.I Collaborative
  • New York City Bar Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging
  • Association of Law Firm Diversity Professionals (ALFDP)

Client Summits

Our annual DEI@DWT Client Summit is for our attorneys and clients to engage on our collective commitment to DEI. During these Summits, attendees learn about and engage in discussions about how DWT and our clients can partner to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession. Previous summit topics have included: strengthening the legal pipeline for underrepresented attorneys, mental health and burnout in the legal profession, leveraging DEI demographic data to move the needle, and the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement and its intersection with DEI.

Supplier Diversity

DWT has a supplier diversity program focused on:

  • Monitoring our spend with diverse businesses
  • Obtaining from existing and prospective suppliers an acknowledgement of and commitment to corporate DEI objectives
  • Supporting the growth of communities in which we do business

Since 2020, at least 5% of our total purchases were made from diverse businesses.

DEI Client Engagement Committee

Our DEI Client Engagement Committee, chaired by partner Chris Ford, focuses exclusively on building these partnerships. This includes collaborating with clients on programs to enhance DEI in our law firm and in the broader legal profession.

Project W

An initiative of the law firm DWT, Project W offers a series of accelerator programs for female founders, organizes affinity groups for women professionals, and partners with like-minded organizations to help women scale great companies and elevate their careers.

Hear From Us

Amy Flint, senior DEI engagement manager at Davis Wright, discusses how investment in DEI has grown exponentially at the firm and is serving as an important connection point and conversation channel with clients.

Chris Ford, a partner in the Washington D.C. office and Chair of the firm's DEI Client Engagement Committee, talks about building relationships with the firm's largest clients to help achieve our collective DEI goals.
Autumn Hunter, associate general counsel and managing director for public policy and political law at Bank of America, explains how leadership makes the difference with DEI and how the bank is partnering with firms like Davis Wright to make incremental but significant change in the legal industry.

Affinity Bar Organizations

"Serving as a board member of ABAW feels like home. Practicing law is hard, but finding other attorneys with shared experiences as mine makes it easier. We can relate. And, most importantly, through events and sponsorships, we work on extending the opportunities we've received to the next generation of lawyers."

– Danielle Kim, Associate & Board Member, Asian Bar Association of Washington

"Minority bar associations have been transformative in my professional journey. These organizations offer a sanctuary to share our unique experiences and challenges while providing mentorship, leadership training, and advocacy to overcome systemic barriers. The sense of community and belonging they foster is invaluable, reminding us that we are not alone in our experiences and that our voices matter. I am a better lawyer with a stronger network thanks to my participation in these organizations."

– Shannon McNeal, Partner

NAPABA Convention 2023

Lavender Law 2023

HNBA Convention 2023

National Bar Association Convention 2023

SABA Conference 2023

NAWL Annual Meeting 2023

DEI@DWT Client Summit 2023

Our annual DEI@DWT Client Summit is for our attorneys and clients to engage with our collective commitment to DEI. In 2023, our summit centered on the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) movement and its intersection with DEI.

COMMUNITY

GROWTH

EDUCATION

ENGAGEMENT