The murder of George Floyd in May 2020 ignited a long-overdue global movement for racial justice, with communities across the United States and around the world unifying to demand change.

In the immediate aftermath of the killing, Grace Speights and I received hundreds of messages from every part of our community —including from our clients and alumni —with offers of support, help, and encouragement. We were moved by the stories we heard and by the passion of individuals across the globe to do something and to make a difference, and we were determined to bring our voices and power to bear to work for racial justice.

On June 10, 2020, Morgan Lewis launched Mobilizing for Equality to reflect our commitment as a law firm to more directly, effectively, and aggressively pursue racial justice in a sustained manner. We asked our 14 working groups to move us forward by curating substantive racial justice projects, including developing an internal platform for discussions on racism, power, and privilege; supporting minority -owned businesses and community economic development; litigating high -impact, racial justice matters; collaborating with law enforcement on safe policing practices; providing free services to the racially disadvantaged; and working to secure voting rights.