Mayer Brown remains committed to the recruitment, retention and advancement of attorneys of color and business services staff of color. We provide opportunities across our firm to build a sense of community while also offering programs for professional development support, networking and mentoring. We also recognize the many examples of racial injustice that persist our communities. In response, Mayer Brown is pursuing very specific initiatives to help bring about meaningful and positive change.

For example, our Project Equity program addresses issues of racial and social justice in areas such as voter rights, policing reform, housing and migrant workforces. While initially directed at addressing systemic racism in the United States and expanded to firm offices in other regions, Project Equity finds pro bono and community service opportunities for lawyers and commits time and money to these causes.

In addition, our US offices have launched an educational speaker series featuring conversations with experts in their field on the experiences, perspectives and challenges of being Black in America and have held events focused on structural racism in American institutions.

In Asia, Mayer Brown has pledged to adopt the Code of Practice against Discrimination in Employment. The firm is also among the 150 organizations who signed Hong Kong’s Racial Diversity and Inclusion Charter for Employers in March 2021. Launched by the Equal Opportunities Commission, the charter includes nine goals on inclusive policy, culture and work environment, including ensuring that racial minorities from underprivileged and under-represented communities can access internship, training, mentoring and volunteering opportunities.

In the United Kingdom, a group of lawyers and business services staff—the Fusion Network—focuses on racial and social justice, social mobility and social outreach. The London office also runs an annual Black Mentoring Schemes for students in partnership with Aspiring Solicitors; works pro bono with UnLtd, a charity supporting enterprises owned by Black entrepreneurs and members of other racial and ethnic communities); and hosts events to in honor of Black History Month.

“Improving the racial and ethnic diversity of Mayer Brown is a high priority. The firm consistently seeks innovative and effective ways to build and support a diverse and inclusive work environment. We recruit, develop and promote the highest-caliber lawyers and staff and are committed to providing them with opportunities to realize their full potential.”

Jeremiah DeBerry, Partner, Director of Diversity & Inclusion, US

Recognizing that recruitment and advancement of women is essential to the growth and strength of our firm, we focus on gender diversity not just at promotions time but throughout the year through a range of training programs, networking opportunities and client events designed to support women at every career level.

In addition to our Women’s Leadership Committee, Women’s Forums in the majority of our regions guide women’s initiatives at the office level.

We are committed to creating a thriving and supportive workplace for LGBT+ lawyers and business services professionals in each of our regions, ensuring that all individuals can bring their authentic selves to work.

We promote LGBT+ diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, provide pro bono legal services for a number of LGBT+-focused organizations as well as support for their events, strive to raise awareness of LGBT+ legal issues locally and globally and consistently earn recognition for LGBT+ inclusiveness and equality in our firm.

“Mayer Brown is proud of our commitment to all our employees who identify as LGBT+ to support them to achieve their full potential in the workplace, to build relationships with our clients’ LGBT+ networks and to promote LGBT+ charitable activities in the wider communities in which we operate.”

Michael Hutchinson, Partner, London

Family

 Helping our people balance work and family commitments is a top priority for our firm. We offer family-friendly work policies, support transitioning to and from parental leave, relevant programming on family topics from child-rearing to elder care and affinity networking opportunities.

“We recognise balancing home life with a fulfilling career requires varied levels of flexibility at different times in life. We are committed to supporting our people with flexible working options and coaching to help them manage their various commitments.”

Hong Tran, Partner, Hong Kong

Mental Health and Well-being
We believe that optimum social, mental and occupational health is critical to helping our people reach their full potential. We provide resources to support stress management; fitness and nutrition, which can impact mental health; time management; financial well-being; conflict resolution; and other factors critical to health and wellness, including in-office and virtual yoga classes and mindfulness presentations.

“Each of us can face a range of personal, work and societal pressures that can impact our mental well-being. The firm aims to ensure our people are able to appreciate the importance of maintaining good mental health and to build their resilience and ability to operate healthily and successfully.”

Angela-Katrin Lössl, Director of Office Administration & HR, Germany

We believe that having a disability has no bearing on what a person contributes to an organization, so we are working to ensure that people with disabilities are among the pool of people we consider when seeking talent for our business.

We partner with the Business Disability Forum on our journey to becoming more disability-smart and with organizations such as My Plus Consulting and Aspiring Solicitors to attract, retain and progress the careers of graduates with disabilities. The work that we have done so far is only the beginning, and we recognize there is more work to be done.

“The challenge is to ensure that people with disabilities feel comfortable with disclosing their disabilities when going through the recruitment process and work with us so we can make any adjustments needed.”

Annette Sheridan, Global Chief Human Resources Officer, London

We have implemented a respect-at-work policy reinforced by presentations exploring the negative effects of oppressive language and offering practical recommendations for cultivating a culture of respect and inclusion.

We also conduct a workshop in our offices worldwide to heighten awareness of unconscious bias. This popular training program is interactive, professionally facilitated and features actors creating scenarios that spark reaction and promote productive discussion from the audience.

“Interrupting unconscious bias and requiring respect in the workplace improve our recruitment decisions, employee development and retention rates. And, beyond creating a more connected workforce, these initiatives are vital to ensuring that individuals feel comfortable at work.”

Jeremy Clay, Managing Partner

At Mayer Brown we believe that career success should not be restricted by a person's social, educational or financial background and that the legal sector should be open to talent from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

As a business, we have an important part to play in creating opportunities and breaking down barriers. For example, in Asia, we work with Y-We (the Youth Work Experience Programme) to provide work experience for underprivileged high school students and with HK Scholars to provide English courses for high school students from low-income families. In the United Kingdom, we partner with various organizations—the Angle House Foundation, MyKindaFuture, Think It Possible and AllAboutSchoolLeavers—that offer students skills and awareness workshops, talks, open days and workplace experience. We also work with organizations such as PRIME, Sponsors of Educational Opportunity, Aspiring Solicitors (AS) and City Solicitors Horizons to provide students from under-represented groups with training, mentoring, networking and work experience.

"We believe that everyone, regardless of their background, has the right to aspire and deserves the support and guidance to reach their full potential.”

Stuart Pickford, Partner and Training Principal, London

Our ability to attract the best talent tomorrow requires encouraging students with diverse experiences and insights to pursue a career in law today.

We offer students a conduit to opportunity and professional success through our involvement in conferences, job fairs, panel discussions and workshops at law schools, universities, colleges and secondary schools.

Our apprentice programs, scholarship programs and partnerships with organizations such as the Minority Corporate Counsel Association (MCCA), the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), Sponsors for Educational Opportunity (SEO) London and Aspiring Solicitors (UK) also play a key role in creating a supportive, diverse workplace.

Our US Diversity Scholars Program recognizes law students in our Summer Associate Program who share our commitment to improving diversity in the legal profession and who demonstrate strong academic achievement, leadership skills and an ability to overcome adversity. The program provides annual scholarships.