Racial Justice
Willkie is deeply committed to the fight against racial injustice. Partnering with various nonprofit and advocacy organizations throughout the United States, Willkie lawyers work to promote legal and social equity by addressing systemic inequalities affecting communities of color, as well as through individual representations. Our work is wide-ranging and includes education justice, employment justice, housing justice, reproductive justice, immigrants’ rights and the rights of incarcerated individuals.
Willkie is proud to be a member of several racial justice initiatives:
- Alliance for Asian American Justice, a nationwide coalition formed to provide legal support and advocacy to victims of anti-Asian hate crimes and harassment.
- Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, an alliance of private law firms that have pledged to contribute significant pro bono resources to combat racism in the law.
- Lawyers for Racial Justice, an initiative through the Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG), which provides pro bono legal resources to organizations fighting for racial justice in areas such as voting rights, education and police reform.
Small Businesses and Non-Profits
Willkie provides pro bono legal advice to small businesses and entrepreneurs, in particular business owners of color, through our partnerships with NYPACE, Black Connect and others. The legal assistance on these matters combats the racial wealth gap by helping people of color gain economic opportunities and navigate the legal complexities of starting new businesses.
Education
Willkie attorneys worked with Lawyers for Good Government (L4GG)’s Lawyers for Racial Justice Initiative on a policy report on corporal punishment in schools, “Cruel Schools: The Nineteen States that Still Allow Corporal Punishment in Schools and the Resulting Harms to Children of Color and Students with Disabilities.” The report highlights the roots of corporal punishment in public schools and how Black and Brown children have been the primary recipients of punishment.
A Willkie team assembled a report on the “school-to-prison pipeline.” The comprehensive report, “Protecting Girls of Color from the School-to-Prison Pipeline,” was the product of a year-long research project examining disparities in school disciplinary treatment for Black girls in Massachusetts, Alabama and Kansas. Willkie worked with representatives from Alabama Appleseed, Massachusetts Appleseed and Kansas Appleseed to collect and analyze federal and state-level data.
Willkie achieved a significant victory in a lawsuit seeking to reverse a 2023 name change to U.C. Law School San Francisco, removing Hastings from the law school name following a probe into the atrocities committed by Serranus Hastings against the native peoples of California in the 1800s. In February 2024, all claims were dismissed. The Willkie team was recognized by The AmLaw Litigation Daily for its success in maintaining the name change.
General
Willkie attorneys have the opportunity to work on litigation matters with the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) and provide legal assistance to organizations such as Apex for Youth, which serves AAPI and immigrant children from low-income families in NYC, and Make Us Visible, a coalition that advocates for comprehensive inclusion of AAPI history in school curriculums, among others.