At Bilzin Sumberg, we understand that a diverse workforce improves our ability to serve the needs of our clients while creating a more dynamic firm culture. We continually strive to foster an inclusive environment where everyone can thrive and contribute to all aspects of firm life. Bilzin Sumberg also proudly partners with leading organizations and initiatives pushing the envelope on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the legal profession and beyond, including Bloomberg Law’s DEI Framework, the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, Diversity Lab’s Mansfield Certification, the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, and the National Association for Law Placement’s Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program.

Our commitment to diversity is reflected in our multifaceted mission, which seeks to:

Create a more collaborative culture that nurtures the creativity and innovation required to solve our clients' most challenging legal issues
Provide an inclusive environment where people of all backgrounds can thrive, an environment where all people, including and especially historically underprivileged, are empowered to succeed and excel
Facilitate necessary institutional changes through strategic partnerships with various organizations to create environments that foster success and raise awareness to recognize and respect individual differences
Ensure historically underprivileged attorneys, like their counterparts, have opportunities to network within the firm, the profession and the business community - providing them access to strong ally, mentor, and sponsorship opportunities

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
2025

Annual Report

Bilzin Sumberg proudly presents its 2024 Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report. The Report highlights the actions and initiatives Bilzin Sumberg undertook in 2024 as part of its efforts to integrate the values of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) throughout the firm and in the wider community. Bilzin Sumberg considers the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Report to be both a record of its engagement and results with respect to DEI and as a statement of commitment to making these values a seminal part of the firm’s identity.

Strategic Partnerships

Recruiting & Diversity Initiatives

Commitment to Social Justice

Four Pillars

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Strategic Partnerships

To collaborate with clients and other organizations committed to advancing diversity and inclusion in the legal, professional, and business communities.

Recruiting & Diversity Pipeline

To participate in recruiting events and pipeline initiatives designed to enhance diversity within the legal profession.

Professional Development & Inclusive Workplace

To offer training and experiential opportunities through our business and professional networks.

Commitment to Social Justice

To promote and participate in community initiatives with the goal of promoting social justice in our country.

Press Release | May 20, 2025

Bilzin Sumberg Wins MDFAWL Champion of Women Award

Bilzin Sumberg is proud to announce it has been awarded the 2025 Champion of Women Award presented by the Miami-Dade Chapter of the Florida Association for Women Lawyers (MDFAWL). This distinguished recognition affirms Bilzin Sumberg’s outstanding commitment to the equitable advancement and inclusion of women, both within the firm and across the legal profession.

Bilzin Sumberg attorneys in the photo from left to right: Adrian K. Felix, Kelly Ruane Melchiondo, Sara Barli Herald, Diana C. Mendez.

Photo from the 2025 MDFAWL Installation Gala featuring Diana Mendez in the middle holding a trophy

Press Release
October 24, 2024

Bilzin Sumberg Wins 2024 P3 Award for Culture and Diversity

Bilzin Sumberg is proud to announce that the firm has been awarded the 2024 P3 Award for its Culture and Diversity category. The Culture and Diversity award recognizes both the rich diversity of Bilzin Sumberg’s public-private partnerships (P3) practice group, as well as the wider firm’s robust programming and initiatives surrounding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the legal profession.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance Recognizes Bilzin Sumberg for Gender Inclusivity

November 5, 2024 - Bilzin Sumberg is proud to announce it has been awarded the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s Tipping the Scales award in recognition of its accomplishments in achieving gender equity among the firm’s partners. The firm is one of just 82 major law firms, out of over 200, to have 50% or more women in its 2024 new partner class. This marks the third consecutive year that the firm has received this honor since the inception of the Tipping the Scales awards in 2019.

The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance is an organization that partners with law firms, associations, and corporations to foster inclusive corporate cultures.

Press Release | October 22, 2024

Fifth Annual Matters of the Heart Pro Bono Awards

Bilzin Sumberg continued its long-standing tradition of putting community service at the center of firm culture as it hosted its fifth annual Matters of the Heart Pro Bono Awards, which took place at the firm’s Miami office on October 15th. The Awards recognized pro bono services provided during 2023 in two categories.

People in the photo from left to right: Jeffrey I. Snyder, Raquel M. Fernandez, and Megan Barney

Press Release | July 23, 2024

Bilzin Sumberg Named to Bloomberg Law’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework

Bilzin Sumberg is proud to announce that it has been named to Bloomberg Law’s fourth annual Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Framework. Bilzin Sumberg is one of only 57 U.S.-Based Firms that were included in the 2024 Framework.

Bloomberg Law DEI Framework Content Card Image

"DEI should be viewed as a process of enrichment and uniting people from all backgrounds, rather than a simple ideology or box to check." - Litigation Partner Adrian Felix

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Press Release | April 5, 2024

Adrian Felix Shortlisted for Chambers DEI Outstanding Contribution Award

Bilzin Sumberg is pleased to announce that Trial & Litigation Partner Adrian K. Felix has been selected as a finalist for the Chambers USA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Outstanding Contribution award.

Press Release | June 20, 2023

Sara Barli Herald Shortlisted for Chambers Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year

Bilzin Sumberg is pleased to announce that Real Estate Partner Sara Barli Herald was selected as a finalist for Chambers Diversity & Inclusion’s Pro Bono Lawyer of the Year award. The highly competitive award recognizes a U.S. attorney who demonstrates an extraordinary degree of dedication to pro bono work locally or globally.

“The South Florida legal community is very diverse relative to other areas of the country, but that diversity is in large part singularly focused in Hispanic diversity… We are looking to broaden that diverse group and involve other communities, be that Haitian lawyers, Black lawyers in general, Southeast Asian or Asian lawyers, and LGBTQ+ attorneys.” - Litigation Partner Adrian Felix

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Our Street Law Partnership

Bilzin Sumberg works closely with the National Association for Law Placement (NALP) through their Street Law Legal Diversity Pipeline Program. Street Law introduces students from underrepresented communities to the legal profession by connecting them to practitioners from law firms. Bilzin Sumberg employees volunteer with the program to educate such students about the practice of law and cultivate interest in the field, thereby strengthening the diversity of the legal profession's recruitment pipeline.

The firm's volunteers participate in every aspect of the program, which includes teaching lessons in substantive areas of law, introducing students to the many professional roles that support a law firm, and growing awareness of how the law impacts ordinary people in their daily lives. Read more about our involvement with the National Association for Law Placement in our Annual DEI Report.

"[W]e felt there was a piece lacking in the diversity puzzle. The only way we would truly move the needle forward was for the profession to attract a larger number of historically underprivileged professionals to consider entering it." - Jessica Buchsbaum, Chief Legal Talent Officer

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee Chair

Adrian K. Felix

Partner, Trial & Litigation, Construction & Franchising