Firm

Diversity, Equality + Inclusion Committee

Farella is deeply committed to diversity and inclusion for all attorneys and staff. Everyone at the firm is respected and included irrespective of race, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, or disability. Our diversity and inclusiveness make us stronger as a firm and enables us to deliver superlative legal advice to our clients.

Farella recognizes that the number of women and diverse partners in law firms needs to improve and is committed to being part of the solution. We have been a leader in working towards greater diversity in our firm and the legal profession for decades. We created our first high school diversity pipeline program in 2007, and have given scholarships to diverse law students for over 20 years. We also partner with our clients on diversity initiatives. Throughout our history, we have supported the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women and diverse attorneys through innovative initiatives.

Diversity, Equality + Inclusion Committee

Farella’s Diversity, Equality + Inclusion Committee is one of the largest committees at the firm and is truly a cross-section of the firm, including attorneys and staff, which reflects the intense commitment of all firm members towards diversity and inclusion. The Committee is focused on supporting and developing innovative initiatives to work towards greater diversity and inclusion of everyone working at the firm as well as in the greater legal community. It also is committed to promoting diversity and inclusion in recruiting, retaining, and advancing attorneys to partnership. The Committee has over 40 members and is co-chaired by Carolina de Armas and Hilary Krase.

           

Women’s Leadership Committee

Farella’s Women’s Leadership Committee’s focus is to retain, develop and promote women attorneys at Farella, both within the firm and in the legal profession. To fulfill this mission, the Committee provides programming for women attorneys, promotes equal access to professional opportunities, and works on mentorship and inclusion for women attorneys at all levels. It also hosts events with clients to collaborate regarding advancement and equality for women in the legal profession. The Committee has 22 members and is co-chaired by partner Aviva Gilbert and senior associate Carolina de Armas.

          

Diversity Pipeline Program

Founded in 2007, Farella’s Diversity Pipeline Internship Program provides high school students from diverse and/or disadvantaged backgrounds with an opportunity to learn about the legal profession. The program combines work assignments at the law firm with a structured curriculum that introduces the interns to various practices of law, the numerous paths that a person can take to become a lawyer, and sessions on how to navigate the college application and financial aid processes. Through the hands-on six-week summer internship program, the interns develop practical skills and strategies to assist their pursuit of higher education and develop the confidence to consider, and think themselves capable of, going to law school and becoming a member of the legal community. We “open sourced” our Pipeline Program curriculum and have shared it with other law firms and corporate in-house departments.

Our Pipeline Program is extraordinarily successful: the majority of Pipeline alumni went on to four-year colleges and some went to law school and are now practicing attorneys. 

        

Diversity Scholarship Program

Farella’s Diversity Scholarship Program assists Bay Area diverse law students in pursuing their legal careers. Recipients are in their first year of law school and are selected based on academic and personal accomplishments and financial need. Since 2001, the firm has awarded $590,000 in scholarships to 89 first-year law students in the Bay Area. Our Scholarship Program is co-chaired by partner Brent Saldaña and senior associate Carolina de Armas.

Supported Organizations

Asian American Bar Association logo     National Center for Lesbian Rights Logo      VABAnc Logo     VABAnc Logo     VABAnc Logo

VABAnc Logo     VABAnc Logo     VABAnc Logo     VABAnc LogoVABAnc Logo

Centro Legal de la Raza Logo     VABAnc Logo     

Firm Highlights

Publication

Nonprofit Basics: Best Practices for Approving Insider Compensation Decisions

Welcome to  EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . This episode is the third in a series discussing insider transactions by exempt organizations. In this episode, I'll look closely at best practices...

Read More
News

WhatsApp and Facebook Take the NSO Group to Court

Kyle McLorg was interviewed for the  Shoot The Messenger: Espionage, Murder, & Pegasus Spyware  investigative podcast episode “WhatsApp and Facebook Take the NSO Group to Court” produced by Exile Media in collaboration with The...

Read More
News

Profile in Women Leadership - Mary McCutcheon

Mary McCutcheon Headshot
Read More
Event

23rd Annual Wine Industry Conference

Farella Braun + Martel is a Presenting Partner of the  North Bay Business Journal' s 23rd Annual Wine Industry Conference. The conference will explore new trends and challenges to the wine industry in the North Bay. Farella's Richard...

Read More
Event

The Fine Print: A Litigator’s Perspective on Boilerplate Contract and Insurance Provisions

Join Carly Alameda and Amy Briggs in the discussion on "The Fine Print: A Litigator’s Perspective on Boilerplate Contract and Insurance Provisions" to the ACC Bay Area Chapter. Corporate counsel are often tasked with negotiating...

Read More
Publication

Nonprofit Basics: Conflict of Interest Policies and Best Practices for Approving Insider Compensation

Welcome to  EO Radio Show – Your Nonprofit Legal Resource . This episode is the second in a series discussing insider transactions. In episode 32, I gave a general overview of the federal laws...

Read More
Publication

State Minimum Fire Safe Regulations Go Into Effect April 1, 2023

The State Board of Forestry and Fire Protection has been actively pursuing comprehensive new wildfire protection standards for development in Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones and State Responsibility Areas where the State of...

Read More
Publication

I Always Feel Like AI Is Watching Me: Artificial Intelligence and Privacy

ChatGPT got the early press, and every day we learn of new generative artificial intelligence products that can create new and creative visual and text responses to human input. Following on ChatGPT’s fame, Google’s...

Read More
Event

The Fine Print: A Litigator’s Perspective on Boilerplate Contract and Insurance Provisions

Join Carly Alameda and Amy Briggs in the discussion on "The Fine Print: A Litigator’s Perspective on Boilerplate Contract and Insurance Provisions" to the ACC Bay Area Chapter. Corporate counsel are often tasked with negotiating...

Read More
News

Farella Advises TILT Holdings Inc. on $86.7 Million Debt Refinancing

Northern California legal powerhouse Farella Braun + Martel advised TILT Holdings Inc. , a global provider of cannabis business solutions that include inhalation technologies, cultivation, manufacturing, processing, brand development, and retail, on a series of...

Read More