Microsoft Mentoring Partnership

We and our client Microsoft believe in the value of partnerships in advancing diversity in the legal profession. Both organizations support the Call to Action, which encourages leaders in our profession to take measurable steps toward improving diversity. And in February 2008, we began a diversity mentoring program. We believe this is one of the first programs of its kind in our industry.

Through the Davis Wright Tremaine/Microsoft Mentoring Partnership, diverse attorney “mentees” from Davis Wright Tremaine develop client development skills from the client’s perspective. We are also exploring the topic of what life is like for diverse attorneys in the legal profession. The program includes social, educational and diversity components. The mentees include lawyers from culturally and racially diverse backgrounds, as well as women.

Immediate benefits
Our lawyers are learning a great deal about our clients at Microsoft through personal interaction and presentations. This makes us better attorneys. Some of our diverse associates have brought in new business matters from their mentors. And, of course, the program is a great way to expand the overall number of diverse associates working on client matters.

We are in this together
The mentoring partnership benefits both firm and client. We both depend on the same pipeline for legal talent; we both depend on the development of new associates; and we tackle legal problems as a team.

Since the program began, Microsoft has made another step toward real improvement by instituting a
bonus program that encourages all of its top law firms to meet specific diversity goals.

It is through addressing the diversity challenge together with programs like these that we will succeed as a profession.