O’Melveny Recognized for Innovation at Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards: North America 2022

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK—June 10, 2022—O’Melveny received the Diversity & Inclusion: Innovation Award (Private Practice) at the Chambers Diversity & Inclusion Awards: North America 2022. The annual awards celebrate the achievements of firms and individuals who are furthering the advancement of diversity and inclusion across the USA and Canada. Now in its eleventh year, the annual ceremony honors the law firms and in-house legal teams “who have achieved at the highest levels over the last year.”

Chambers noted: “O'Melveny & Myers are recognized for their innovative Redesign Project, identifying and addressing any structural biases affecting their key internal programs and processes. A team of 50 attorneys and business professionals worked in 17 small teams to analyze unique scenarios and ensure processes are free from bias, advising on adaptations where necessary.”

The comprehensive DE&I initiative, undertaken throughout 2021, began with the goal of identifying and addressing any structural biases or pain points impacting the firm’s key internal programs and processes—recruiting, lateral hiring, professional and career development for associates, counsel, partners and staff, performance review, compensation, work assignments, and partner pipeline development. The firm’s guiding principle was to ensure that its people-focused systems were providing everyone with equal opportunities to thrive and feel like they belong. The initial implementation of O’Melveny’s Resign Project has involved tweaks to firm programs and processes specifically focused on supporting underrepresented groups with the firm—candidates, attorneys, and business professionals at all levels who identify as first generation, women, of color and LGBTQ+. The initiative is ongoing, and the firm continues to work on identifying and addressing any structural barriers in its systems and processes.

To select the Diversity & Inclusion Awards honorees, Chambers assessed initiatives based on five criteria:

• Breadth: the degree to which the initiative addressed different categories diversity and diverse groups;

• Commitment: the level of involvement and time dedicated to the initiative;

• Impact: the degree to which individuals, the firm, and/or the wider community is positively affected by the initiative;

• Advancement: how the work advanced diversity and inclusion in terms of recruitment, retention, and promotion, as well as in organizational, procedural, and structural change;

• Originality: the degree to which the work involved innovative solutions, original programs, processes and procedures, or tackled new issues.

According to Chambers, to earn recognition firms must “demonstrate excellence in every area which we assess,” adding: “It’s worth remembering that the North America D&I landscape is perhaps the most mature globally, and so the bar is set tremendously high.

About O’Melveny

It’s more than what you do: it’s how you do it. Across sectors and borders, in board rooms and courtrooms, we measure our success by yours. And in our interactions, we commit to making your O’Melveny experience as satisfying as the outcomes we help you achieve. Our greatest accomplishment is ensuring that you never have to choose between premier lawyering and exceptional service. So, tell us. What do you want to achieve? Visit us at www.omm.com, hear what our lawyers, staff, and clients have to say in Our DNA video series, or learn more in our firm at-a-glance, annual report, and on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Visit The Boardroom for our insights on pressing issues facing global corporations.

Contact:

Brandon Jacobsen
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
+1 213 430 8024
bjacobsen@omm.com

# # #