Diversity Overview

View McDermott Momentum, our recently released diversity report

McDermott Will & Emery is committed to a culture that values and nurtures diversity.  We understand that our culture enhances our ability to attract and retain exceptional talent to best serve our clients.  It also helps us bring the best, broadest and most innovative ideas and approaches to client service.  To meet our commitment, we have established diversity programs and practices that have helped us achieve great progress in recent years.

At McDermott, diversity means more than differences in gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation and identity.  It embraces a breadth of ideas, experiences, perspectives and insights that span lines of age, background and culture.  Because solutions to complex problems often require broad and innovative approaches, a diverse team of lawyers and professionals is most likely to provide that breadth of approach.

During the past few years, we formalized our diversity program by establishing three separate diversity committees, with varying programs and initiatives, but each with the same goal—to create and sustain an inclusive work environment where diversity of thought and expression from every employee is valued.

Our diversity initiatives are ultimately directed by our Firm chairman and our Management Committee, to whom our diversity committees report.  However, the work of our diversity committees helps to keep our Firm focused sharply on diversity issues.  These committees help steer our Firm along the path to an ever more inclusive work environment that benefits our lawyers and staff and provides our clients with the excellent legal services they expect.

McDermott works continuously at the highest level of Firm management to ensure equal access to all mentoring opportunities, client development activities and challenging work assignments for all McDermott lawyers by: 

• identifying and breaking down possible conscious and unconscious stereotypes and biases;
• adopting, implementing and enforcing policies and procedures to prohibit conscious and unconscious discrimination;
• understanding the extent to which McDermott could be affected economically if it relied on stereotypes and biases in its decision-making;
  supporting equality at all management levels;
• providing training, recognition and funding for the development of sustainable and growing practices and professional reputations by all of our lawyers; and
• addressing the lawyer review process and focusing lawyer evaluation procedures to identify and eliminate inappropriate stereotypes, biases and language.

McDermott also continuously communicates clearly understood, equitable and viable advancement options for all of our lawyers by:

• soliciting comments regarding diversity from all of our lawyers through surveys;
• encouraging open and frank discussions with all of our lawyers to learn their views with respect to the Firm’s strengths and weaknesses in supporting equality and diversity;
• communicating that compensation is non-discriminatory;
• communicating the reduced-time and flexible schedules McDermott offers our lawyers and the positive impact that nontraditional schedules will have on professional development and long-term careers at McDermott;
• communicating formally adopted maternity/paternity leave policies and the consequences of actually taking leave, and clarifying the impact that taking such leave will have on professional development and long term careers at McDermott so that our attorneys are comfortable using these benefits;
• communicating the compensation methodology for lawyers on a reduced time schedule and those who take maternity/paternity leave, including how compensation is annualized for lawyers when using these options and addressing any issues to the extent any arise; and
• using an exit interview process, including an exit survey which includes diversity questions, to learn the views of departing lawyers with respect to McDermott's strengths and weaknesses in gender and racial diversity and equality.

The Firm's diversity is protected and furthered with vigilance at all levels of the Firm.  The door at McDermott is open to all who share our commitment to excellence.