Pillsbury Named Top Firm for Racial Justice in 2021 by Yale Law Women

“We are beyond honored to receive this recognition, as our steadfast commitment to racial justice is at the forefront of the firm’s social impact agenda,” said Pillsbury Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Stacie Yee. “Pillsbury is proud that countless of its members have coalesced to work towards eradicating systemic racial inequities wherever found.”

Yale Law Women’s 2021 report developed its lists from a survey sent to all law firms listed in the Vault 100 and from alumni working at those firms, with data reflecting the 2020 calendar year for U.S. office locations.

“As the nation continues to reckon with systemic racial inequities, the disastrous effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have mapped along those same fault lines, harming people of color at disproportionately high rates,” the report stated. “Firms have begun taking the first steps in what should be a long-term effort to implement racial justice initiatives by improving implicit bias training and investing in racial justice organizations and impressive long-term pro bono projects.”

Pillsbury brings innovation to more than just its legal work. That same pioneering vision directs the firm’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. It 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 Firm Chair. Today, Pillsbury’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is evident in the composition of its firm leadership; attorneys of color, women attorneys and LGBTQ+ attorneys lead our practices and offices and serve on influential firm committees. In 2020, Pillsbury formed the Black-Owned Startup Support (BOSS) Lab to address the systemic inequities that have resulted in Black founders representing only 1 percent of venture-backed startups. And, to address the rise in anti-Asian violence, Pillsbury recently convened a panel of experts to explore the origins and history of anti-AAPI sentiments in the U.S., aware that all positive change starts with a better understanding of the problem at hand. See more on Pillsbury’s D&I efforts here.