Wilson Sonsini stands in solidarity with the Black community, including our Black colleagues, clients, and friends. We share your anger, pain, and frustration at the persistent racism, discrimination, and inequality the Black community faces every day in this country. The senseless and tragic killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and Breonna Taylor in Kentucky are only the most recent consequences of this systemic problem.

We understand that expressing our outrage and empathy in the face of these events is critically important, and that expression without action is insufficient. We also recognize that a crucial next step toward solutions is to understand the historical context of this trauma as part of a broader and continuing historical pattern for African Americans of all walks of life. 

The awareness, unity, and collaboration coming out of these tragedies can move us forward, but we must be willing to act. Talking about race and racism can be challenging and uncomfortable. We need to educate ourselves and have difficult conversations. We are committed to creating a safe space for open dialogue to learn from each other and to challenge existing biases. 

As members of the legal community, we strive to help ensure equal access to justice. Through our pro bono work, we have often been recognized as a champion of underserved communities. Through the Wilson Sonsini Foundation, we have a long history of supporting organizations that fight every day to provide equal access to justice, such as The Equal Justice Society, Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights (LCCR), and Legal Aid at Work, and partner with the California ChangeLawyers Annual Scholarship for Justice to support diverse law students. 

To support the important work being done for racial justice in our communities, the Wilson Sonsini Foundation has launched an additional matching-funds campaign to a number of organizations focused on racial justice, including Equal Justice Initiative, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, and LCCR, with the potential to raise over $500,000 for these causes.

While we have been recognized for our pro bono and diversity efforts, we acknowledge we can do better. Specifically, we must do better in hiring, retaining, and promoting Black professionals. Our newly launched Diversity and Inclusion Committee, working closely with our D&I team and firm leadership, pledges to further develop initiatives to address this challenge head on.

This is a powerful and important moment in our history. As a firm, we commit to ongoing changes that will identify and confront bias and systemic racial injustice. There is much to be done.