O’Melveny Signs ABA’s Disability Inclusion Pledge

O’Melveny has joined a list of prominent law firms, judges, law schools, and local bar associations in signing the ABA’s pledge for disability inclusion, a commitment to boosting workplace diversity, specifically for lawyers with disabilities.

Created by the ABA Commission on Disability Rights, the pledge affirms O’Melveny’s intention to embrace initiatives that increase the recruitment, retention, and advancement of lawyers with apparent and not readily perceptible mental, physical, and sensory disabilities. Darin Snyder, O’Melveny’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Partner, signed on behalf of the firm.

Partner Matt Kline, a DE&I Committee member, said: “We are thrilled to support the ABA by signing onto this important pledge. Increasing the representation and inclusion of underrepresented lawyers of all backgrounds is key to our thriving as a modern business, and we make no exceptions for disability. We are committed to expanding our awareness and understanding of the issues legal professionals with apparent and non-apparent disabilities experience, and to partnering to provide a pathway for success at O’Melveny.”

O’Melveny also plans to offer more internal education about disability inclusion, says Bendita Cynthia Malakia, O’Melveny’s Director of Diversity and Engagement, and to expand the firm’s protocols by permitting its people to identify in its HR systems as living with a disability if they choose to do so.

See more of O’Melveny’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion news here.