Press Release
K&L Gates Partners with Clients to Expand Diverse Student Recruiting Program
9 September 2019
Seattle - Global law firm K&L Gates LLP expanded its client partnership diversity recruiting program to a third U.S. office this summer with the participation of the firm’s Charleston office. Entitled “K&L Gates: The Power of Partnership,” the program offered summer associates from diverse backgrounds the unique opportunity to take part in legal work in both a firm and global company in-house setting. Students selected for the program each spent a portion of the summer working in a K&L Gates office and another portion working in-house with the legal team of a global corporation, with Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and Blackbaud, Inc., having served as this year’s client partners.
In Seattle, where the program has concluded its third year, K&L Gates partnered with Amazon to host a University of Washington Law School student, while this was the second year K&L Gates’ Washington, D.C., office participated in the program, partnering with Lockheed Martin to host a University of Virginia School of Law student. Lockheed Martin and K&L Gates have long worked together to champion diversity efforts, including a 2016 recognition for the firm’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. For the inaugural year of the Charleston office’s program, K&L Gates partnered with Blackbaud, Inc., to host another student from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Pallavi Wahi, K&L Gates’ co-managing partner, United States; managing partner of the Seattle office; and chairwoman of the firm’s diversity committee, said: “K&L Gates shares the values of diversity with our clients and is proud to partner with them as the firm endeavors to create a more inclusive work force. We look forward to continuing to work with more of our clients in this regard in years to come.”
K&L Gates’ national Power of Partnership recruiting program is designed to build a pipeline of diverse candidates for K&L Gates, clients, and the profession of law, with the firm expecting to continue to expand the client partnership program to additional offices in the coming years.
In Seattle, where the program has concluded its third year, K&L Gates partnered with Amazon to host a University of Washington Law School student, while this was the second year K&L Gates’ Washington, D.C., office participated in the program, partnering with Lockheed Martin to host a University of Virginia School of Law student. Lockheed Martin and K&L Gates have long worked together to champion diversity efforts, including a 2016 recognition for the firm’s commitment to inclusion and diversity. For the inaugural year of the Charleston office’s program, K&L Gates partnered with Blackbaud, Inc., to host another student from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Pallavi Wahi, K&L Gates’ co-managing partner, United States; managing partner of the Seattle office; and chairwoman of the firm’s diversity committee, said: “K&L Gates shares the values of diversity with our clients and is proud to partner with them as the firm endeavors to create a more inclusive work force. We look forward to continuing to work with more of our clients in this regard in years to come.”
K&L Gates’ national Power of Partnership recruiting program is designed to build a pipeline of diverse candidates for K&L Gates, clients, and the profession of law, with the firm expecting to continue to expand the client partnership program to additional offices in the coming years.
K&L Gates is a fully integrated global law firm with lawyers located across five continents. The firm represents leading multinational corporations, growth and middle-market companies, capital markets participants and entrepreneurs in every major industry group as well as public sector entities, educational institutions, philanthropic organizations and individuals.
