When you choose to work at Goodwin, you join a work environment that fosters a sense of belonging for everyone. Diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are core values embedded in our approach to the business and practice of law, evidenced in the initiatives we create and in the workplace environment we cultivate.
- Nurturing Inclusive Communities | From recruiting, to onboarding, to performance reviews, we synthesize inclusive leadership training into the day-to-day operations of our firm. DEI and legal practice group leaders work closely to curate strategies specific to each team while advancing firmwide DEI goals.
- Strengthening Accountability | We partner with AllVoices, a platform where employees and partners can anonymously ask questions, voice concerns around topics such as inclusion, workplace respect and company culture, report microaggressions, and provide feedback directly to our DEI and HR Talent teams.
- Advocating for Social Justice | Our firm proudly provides pro bono legal assistance to support and empower those who need it most, from providing business-related legal assistance to entrepreneurs and low-income small businesses in historically excluded and discriminated communities through our firm-founded Neighborhood Business Initiative with the goal of promoting equity and supporting wealth creation in those communities, to counseling and collaborating with a diverse array of legal services organizations that address critical social justice issues such as expanding voting rights, reproductive rights, prisoners’ rights, and reversing wrongful convictions. This includes working closely with the ACLU, the Law Firm Anti-Racism Alliance and the Last Prisoner Project. The firm also regularly represents individuals seeking pathways to citizenship such as asylum and naturalization, as well as clients who are eligible for VAWA or otherwise fleeing their home countries due to gender-based violence. Our docket of individual representation matters also includes the Transgender Name Change Project, a longstanding and popular partnership with GLAD through which we help individuals obtain identity-affirming name and gender-marker changes, as well as advocacy on behalf of students with disabilities to obtain the special education services they need to learn and thrive
- Incentivizing Efforts | We support a strategic initiative that gives billable credit to associates, counsel and professional track attorneys for time spent on DEI efforts that will count toward their bonus allocation.
Explore our dedicated hub to learn what Goodwin is doing to examine and improve our work processes, structures, mindsets and beliefs, and behaviors throughout the talent lifecycle.
Diversity Fellowships
Goodwin’s 1L Diversity Fellowship program provides first-year law students with the opportunity to be a 1L summer associate in Goodwin’s 10-week summer associate program, following their first year of law school. Candidates will spend the first six weeks of the summer associate program working in their preferred Goodwin office and have the opportunity to spend the final four weeks of this time working at the direction of a Goodwin client. 1L Fellows are invited to participate in the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity’s 1L Scholars Summit, and each 1L Diversity Fellow is compensated for the full 10-week program at the standard summer associate salary.
To learn more, access our dedicated 1L Diversity Fellowship webpage and a personal account from former fellow Sydney Simmons, who recently spoke to us alongside Goodwin client Cerevel about how she was encouraged to develop her talents, pursue her interest in life sciences, and explore a client-side experience.