Diversity

Establishing and maintaining a diverse and fully inclusive workforce is essential to a strong law firm.  At K&L Gates, we are committed to fostering diversity to enrich the experience of our lawyers, reflect the communities in which we live and work, and better serve our clients.

K&L Gates is a leader in the legal profession in the area of diversity. By creating the position of Chief Diversity Officer in 2003, K&L Gates launched one of the most ambitious diversity initiatives to occur in a major law firm. To take this initiative to the next level, the firm hired a highly experienced diversity consultant, Rick Jones. Rick is a former practicing lawyer, strategist and collaborator and brings with him a broad view of the U.S. legal profession that is unsurpassed among diversity professionals. His perspective, gained through thousands of one-on-one interviews and counseling and training sessions, as well as through the provision of strategic advice to leaders of multiple leading law firms. As Director of Diversity, Rick focuses on expanding recruiting activities, overseeing firmwide mentoring programs to ensure that all lawyers have the necessary support to succeed at every level, and promoting the firm and its initiatives among diverse constituencies and in the community. He also maintains open channels of communication with all groups in the firm, and ensures that the interests and perspectives of all K&L Gates lawyers are considered in firm decisions.

K&L Gates lawyers also regularly participate in and lead traditional and minority bar organizations and non-legal community organizations focused on serving minority communities or enhancing opportunities of minority youth, including the National Bar Association, the Hispanic National Bar Association and the National Asian Pacific Bar Association.  Our firm also funds a number of fellowships for diverse law students from ABA-accredited law schools, co-sponsors programs with minority bar associations, and extends its reach to the school-age population through community pipeline programs.

K&L Gates is committed to maintaining a work environment that fosters a collegial atmosphere and the professional development of all our personnel, encourages cooperation and teamwork, and provides fair, equal and ethical treatment of all employees and employment issues, regardless of the employee's race, color, gender, religion, age, national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, veteran status or disability.

Fellowship Opportunities
The Seattle K&L Gates office offers two diversity fellowships each year - one nationally to a first-year law student and one to a first-year law student at the University of Washington School of Law. The fellowships provide a $7,500 academic scholarship and a paid position with the Seattle office as a summer associate during the summer immediately following the student's successful completion of the first year of law school.