Charitable Contributions

McDermott Will & Emery and the McDermott Will & Emery Charitable Foundation regularly sponsor events and donate to organizations that promote diversity.  We also support programs that encourage diversity for members of the legal profession.

We are active members of the following organizations:

• Boston Lawyers Group, a consortium of more than 30 members including the most prominent firms, corporations and government agencies in the City of Boston dedicated to creating and maintaining diversity in the Boston legal marketplace
• California Minority Counsel Program, an organization committed to promoting diversity in the legal profession and increasing opportunities for minority lawyers
• Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms (two of McDermott’s minority lawyers serve on the Board of Directors), an organization created to provide networking opportunities and support for minority lawyers in large law firms
• National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), an organization committed to advancing the role of women in the legal profession, providing continuing education and enhancing career development for women lawyers
• Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts, an association where women lawyers in Massachusetts come together to build personal and professional relationships

We have hosted, sponsored or co-sponsored the following events:

• Sponsor of the 2006 and 2007 Lambda Legal Bon Foster Civil Rights Celebration, a fundraiser in support of Lambda’s wide range of programs and services that help protect LGBT people and those with HIV
• Sponsor of the National Black Law Students Association International Negotiations Competition
• Silver Sponsor of the 2005 annual fundraising auction of the Greater Washington Area Chapter (GWAC) Women Lawyers Division of the National Bar Association and the GWAC Foundation, Inc., a network of mostly African-American women lawyers dedicated to improving the quality of life in the region through a variety of educational programs and community service activities
• Lead signatory of the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women’s “Call to Action on Women’s Leadership in the Legal profession";  as an original signatory, we have promised to increase the percentage of our women partners, to have women represented on every Firm committee, to increase the number of women practice group leaders as well as to review our compensation process for any gender disparities
• Hosted NAWL's “Backpack to Briefcase: A Transitions Program for Law Students,” with a number of our lawyers serving as panelists
• Firm sponsor of the Harvard Law School Black Law Students Association Annual Spring Conference
• Sponsored and participated in the 2005 Lavender Law Conference

Over the past five years, the McDermott Will & Emery Charitable Foundation has donated to a number of organizations committed to diversity.  Some of these organizations include:

• Anti-Defamation League
• Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms
• Chicago Urban League
• Girl Scouts of Chicago
• GWAC Foundation, Inc.
• Human Rights Campaign
• Human Rights Watch
• Human Rights First, formerly the Lawyers' Committee for Human Rights
• Immigration Equality
• Lambda Legal
• Minority Corporate Counsel Association
• National Women's Law Center
• Washington Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights & Urban Affairs
• Women Everywhere
• Women's Association of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
• Women's Bar Association Foundation