Diversity & Inclusion

Recruiting

Williams & Connolly is an equal opportunity employer. All are welcome to apply. We actively recruit summer associates and associates from all backgrounds, including those that are not well represented in the legal profession. We participate in career fairs, panels, and other events and we partner with student affinity and interest groups at many top law schools to host receptions for 1L students. 

Mentoring & Professional Development

We work hard to ensure that all of our attorneys have the guidance and opportunities necessary for their professional development regardless of background. To accomplish this, Williams & Connolly continues to focus on our associate sponsorship program, which allows partner sponsors to guide each associate individually. The associate sponsorship program is for all associates. The firm also ensures that all associates have equal opportunity for feedback.

Diversity Speaker Series

The Williams & Connolly Diversity & Inclusion Committee also sponsors an ongoing speaker series that brings distinguished speakers to our firm to discuss diversity-related issues. Past speakers include Paul Smith, who argued the landmark case Lawrence v. Texas; Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler, a Williams & Connolly alumnus whose academic work focuses on criminal law and race relations; Michael Tigar, a Williams & Connolly alumnus and leading human rights advocate; Madeline Albright, former Secretary of State; Angie Kim, a Williams & Connolly alumna and best-selling author; Karyn Temple, a Williams & Connolly alumna and Global General Counsel for the Motion Picture Association; Geoffrey Starks a Williams & Connolly alumnus and FCC Commissioner; and Barry Kowalski, a leading federal civil rights attorney.

Work-Life Balance

The firm recognizes that it can be challenging to balance a career with parenthood and family caregiving responsibilities. To help address those unique challenges, Williams & Connolly has created a Families Committee. The Committee provides programming, support, and community for all of the firm’s parents and caregivers. Past events have included firm playdates at local venues, programming for firm families, and panel discussions on topics of interest for firm employees with caregiving responsibilities.

Williams & Connolly also offers flexible schedules to accommodate the needs of our attorneys, including family commitments, and several of our attorneys currently work at a 50% or 80% schedule. When an attorney works part-time, they are paid based on a percentage of the same rate (e.g., 50% or 80% of the full-time rate). The firm has also partnered with Bright Horizon’s Backup Care Advantage Program, which provides backup child and elder care, with in-home and local care center options available. Following the birth or adoption of a child, we offer all caregivers 18 weeks of paid leave. The time our attorneys spend while on parental leave is fully credited for purposes of seniority and partnership consideration, and it does not affect attorney salary.

Williams & Connolly seeks exceptional applicants with outstanding academic records, whose demonstrated desire to succeed, background, life experiences, interests and achievements can contribute to our firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion.

Eligibility:

Williams & Connolly values the different perspectives that come from a workforce from different backgrounds and experiences and takes steps to create and maintain an inclusive, non-discriminatory workplace. The Firm is committed to the principles of equal employment opportunity, and complies with all relevant federal, state and local laws. We encourage individuals from all backgrounds, ethnicities, national origins, sexual orientations, and gender identities to apply, including individuals with disabilities, military veterans, and those who are the first in their families to attend college or law school.  Applications for the scholarships are open to all.

This scholarship is merit-based and will be awarded on a competitive basis. Financial need may also be a consideration. To be considered, an applicant must:

• Be enrolled and in good standing as a second-year law student at an ABA accredited law school;
• Have a record of outstanding academic achievement;
• Not be a recipient of another scholarship from another law firm paid in for the summer of 2026;
• Receive an offer to be a 2L summer associate at Williams & Connolly and successfully complete the firm’s 2026 summer associate program; and
• Have a demonstrated commitment to the firm’s values, including diversity and inclusion.

Application requirements:

• Resume;
• Transcript (unofficial transcripts are acceptable if you do not have first semester grades when you submit your application.  Official transcripts will ultimately be required as part of the selection process);
• Personal statement, up to 500 words, telling us about yourself, your achievements, and your desire to work at Williams & Connolly.

Application timing:

An application for the scholarship must be submitted by June 30, 2025 to Natasha Zech, Chief of Attorney Talent, at [email protected].

The $25,000 award (less applicable taxes and withholdings) will made in two parts; $12,500 paid when the applicant completes their summer at Williams & Connolly, and the balance is paid contingent upon the applicant joining the firm as an associate at Williams & Connolly.

We take pride in the work of our lawyers in the community and assisting those in need. We regularly support and partner with organizations that are committed to excellence through diversity and inclusion and have a long-standing commitment to pro bono work.

The firm has a long history of supporting the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (“LDF”) and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs. Moreover, senior counsel David Kendall has served on NAACP LDF’s board of directors for many years, and Edward Bennett Williams was one of the founders of the Washington Lawyers’ Committee.

Williams & Connolly is also helping to broaden the pipeline of students from backgrounds not well represented in the legal profession. For example, Williams & Connolly continues its two-decade commitment to the Thurgood Marshall Academy, a Charter School in the District of Columbia that serves students who hope to pursue a legal career. Williams & Connolly lawyers have served on the school’s board and employees have volunteered at the school.  In addition, lawyers and firm staff have tutored Thurgood Marshall students for over 15 years. We are also proud to sponsor the founding of an award-winning debate program at Thurgood Marshall Academy and support the Washington Urban Debate League. The firm also partners with Georgetown Law Center to teach the Street Law class at Dunbar High School. Each year, firm attorneys coach the Dunbar students in a mock trial competition. In addition, the firm participates in the D.C. Road Show and our Black Attorney Affinity Group hosts an annual interview and resume “boot camp” for students from Howard and other local law schools.

Williams & Connolly has been ranked among the top firms in the D.C. area in terms of pro bono work and was honored by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit for its commitment. Our attorneys perform pro bono work on a wide range of matters, including representation of veterans seeking benefits, indigent criminal defendants, immigrants and asylum-seekers, low-income individuals in housing cases, and victims of domestic violence in civil protective order cases. Since 2001, we have partnered with the Maryland Public Defender’s Office to handle numerous felony trials and appeals. Moreover, each year we provide 2-4 associates to the Public Defender’s Office for six-month paid secondments, which provide an intensive trial and hearing experience. In addition, the firm has a strong asylum and immigrants’ rights pro bono practice. For example, the firm partners with the Texas Civil Rights Project, the Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, and other organizations to represent numerous families currently seeking asylum. We also have established a pro bono partnership with the National Veterans Legal Services Program (“NVLSP”). Matters have included representing veterans before service-specific discharge upgrade boards and appellate cases before the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims.