Who we are

The Office for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (ODEIB) was created in 2004 to work with New York City legal employers to foster more diverse and inclusive work environments. ODEIB historically supported and regularly tracked progress using a Benchmarking Report, in partnership with more than 160 law firms and law departments who are signatories to the Association’s Statement of Diversity Principles. The original principles were designed to promote a commitment to the hiring, retention and promotion of historically underrepresented groups in the legal profession, and since the last Benchmarking Survey was administered in 2016, the industry has multiple sources of data and tracking to rely on for these purposes. As such, this year, ODEIB along with many of its partners hope to draft and finalize a new industry-wide commitment. 

The Office and the NYC Bar Committees within the Diversity and Inclusion group host a number of programs to support excellence in innovation and execution on diversity and inclusion initiatives. The Office also provides a comprehensive pipeline initiative which supports high school, college and law students to develop necessary professional skills and gain exposure to the legal profession through programs that provide participants with academic support and preparation for law school, career exploration opportunities and exposure to the profession, professional and substantive skill development, and networking/mentoring opportunities.