Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Pillsbury has been a long-time supporter of diversity, equity and inclusion. The firm was among the first major law firms to promote women to partnership and the first large, national firm in the U.S. to elect a woman as its top leader. Today, DEI initiatives and programs are widespread across the firm.

Pillsbury is strongly committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Our firm’s strategic plan includes a combination of internal and external initiatives. Internal initiatives are focused on, among other things, enhancing the experience of our diverse attorney population, increasing our retention and promotion rates, increasing the number of diverse attorneys in leadership roles, and increasing the number of diverse equity partners. Our employee resource groups include: (i) DiverseAbilities, an employee resource group that serves as a resource and an advocate for employees with disabilities and their families, (ii) M.E.R.G. (military employee resource group), which supports active and retired military personnel and their families, and (iii) Pillsbury Pride, a resource group for LGBTQ+ members and their allies. Our business resource groups that focus on professional support and development and fostering business relationships are: (i) Women’s Impact Network and (ii) Attorneys of Color Network.

The firm’s external initiatives are focused on a number of different efforts, including pipeline programs to provide mentoring for high school and college students and expose them to legal careers, the development of a diversity scholarship program for college graduates entering law school, enhancing our visibility on law school campuses by educating students on the firm’s culture and commitment to diversity and inclusion, in addition to exposing them to new areas of law, being intentional about recruiting diverse lateral attorneys, and requesting a diverse candidate pool from our recruiters.

Year after year, Pillsbury’s inclusion efforts are recognized throughout the industry. Here are some examples of our accolades: Best Law Firm for Women for 13 years, 100 Best Companies for Women for 14 years, a Best Companies for Dads, has achieved a 100% score on Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index for LGBTQ+ equality since 2006, and in 2021 Yale Law Women ranked Pillsbury the Top Firm for Racial Justice Contributions.

When our FinTech, Payments & Blockchain practice was hailed by Delaware’s governor as “the gold standard” for its work in the Delaware Blockchain Initiative, it was merely the latest example of Pillsbury playing a central role in the advancement of groundbreaking technologies. From its founding in the 1800s, the firm has stayed at the forefront of innovation. Be it with the first telephone lines, the first nuclear energy practice, or the first trademark for a dotcom, Pillsbury has guided clients through economic and societal transformations throughout our history.

Pillsbury brings innovation to more than just its legal work. That same pioneering vision directs our diversity initiatives. Among the first major law firms to promote women to partnership and the first large, national firm in the U.S. to elect a woman as its top leader, Pillsbury earned the 2017 Law Firm of the Year Award from Chambers Women in Law for furthering women’s career progression. Today, diversity is widespread in firm leadership; attorneys of color, women attorneys and LGBT attorneys lead our practices and offices and serve on influential firm committees. Year after year, Pillsbury’s inclusion efforts are recognized by Vault.com, the National Association of Female Executives and the Human Rights Campaign, among other organizations, and the firm has been named to Working Mother’s 100 Best Companies list for 12 consecutive years.

At Pillsbury, brains and talent are a given. What sets us apart is our chemistry—that appealing combination of teamwork, drive and mutual respect that’s hard to define, but easy to recognize. It’s built into our culture. It’s often noted by our clients. And if you’re a person who thrives on collaboration, Pillsbury is where you want to be.