Diversity & Inclusion

To ensure that hiring of new members is done fairly and equitably, at Licks Attorneys we use a platform for blind hiring, stripping away any identifiable characteristics unrelated to the job or the experience required for the position, including race, identity, gender, age, religious or sexual orientation. This ensures that candidate analysis is based solely on their skills and knowledge, removing subjective factors that could influence decision making.

Gender Equality

Gender equality is part of Licks Attorneys' DNA: thanks to equal opportunities for internal growth, more than half of our management positions are held by women. Since 2020, Licks Attorneys has promoted and welcomed nine new partners, of which four are women.

Since 2020, Licks Attorneys has established a new policy on maternity leave, expanding it to six months (two beyond what is mandatory under Brazilian law), and paternity leave, to 20 days (as opposed to the 5 required by law in Brazil). These initiatives are part of an ambitious agenda to transform our professional culture.

Some of our unique actions also include the celebration of International Women's Day, with activities aimed at raising awareness among our female professionals on the importance of maintaining good mental health and nutrition practices.

A Diversity & Inclusion Committee was created, whose structure and operations were designed based on the analysis made by a specialized external consultancy, which also helped in the development of adequate diversity and inclusion policies for Licks Attorneys. This analysis step provided an in-depth look at where Licks Attorneys was and where to go.In another action, lectures were given to all our members on issues such as the importance of inclusive communication and the recognition of prejudices from unconscious biases.

In 7/2021, our partner Appellate Judge (ret.) Liliane Roriz was recognized by the award WIPR Diversity: Influential Women in IP, for pioneering women who paved the way for new generations in the exchange between the legal world and IP.

In October 2022, our Partners Appellate Judge (ret.) Liliane Roriz and Tatiana Machado were recognized by WIPR Diversity Award as a Diversity Champion in IP and a Trailblazer Bright Future professional, respectively.

Licks Attorneys was included in the yearbook “Análise Diversidade & Inclusão” by Análise Advocacia for the third consecutive year. In the 2023 edition we were chosen as a firm that invests in Diversity and Inclusion policies. We continuously work to build a more plural, multicultural, and humane environment for every member.

Ethnic-Racial Equality

The recognition of ethnic-racial rights in Brazilian and international legislation, although relevant for the definition of public policies, is still not enough to ensure them in practice. More than half of the Brazilian population declares itself as black; a population that constitutes a majority, but absent from the positions of power and the legal market. The disparity between white and black people in the work environment has a long way to go as of improvements. In 2018, the census carried out by the Center for Studies on Labor Relations and Inequalities (CEERT) in partnership with the Legal Alliance for Racial Equity accurately presents this panorama, indicating that, at the time, only 1% of members of the nine offices that participated in the survey were black.

We at Licks Attorneys believe we have an important role in changing this complex landscape. We want to attract, develop and retain black professionals, offering them the same career opportunities.

Social responsability

Also in line with our belief in Social Responsibility, Licks Attorneys entered into a partnership in 2018 with the non-profit Gamboa Ação, which provides care for children at risk in the port region of Rio de Janeiro, through donations and participation in voluntary actions on dates such as World Day of Health, Children's Day and Christmas.

Even during the pandemic, Licks Attorneys continued to work with the non-profit Gamboa Ação through financial contribution to support the program and the children served by the institution.

Also in the field of social responsibility, we expanded the partnership with Editora InVerso, promoting the distribution of books for children in several regions in Brazil.

Social responsability

In line with our belief in Social Responsibility, Licks Attorneys entered into a partnership in 2018 with the non-profit organization “Gamboa Ação”, which provides assistance to children at risk in the port region of Rio de Janeiro through donations and participation in voluntary actions on related dates such as World Health Day, Charity Day, Children's Day and Christmas.

Furthermore, even during the global pandemic, Licks Attorneys continued to collaborate with “Gamboa Ação” through financial contributions to support their operations and the children assisted by the institution.

Still within the scope of social responsibility, we’ve established a partnership with Editora InVerso. Since 2020 we have promoted the annual distribution of books for children in different regions of Brazil, in a program called “Literary Confort” (Aconchego Literário, in Portuguese).

Since 2022 we have a partnership with the institution “Fundação Darcy Vargas (FDV)”, founded in 1938, which aims to promote educational, sporting, and cultural activities for local children and teenagers. Our support to the institution includes the hiring of teenagers for a half-period job through the federal program “Jovem Aprendiz” (Young Apprentice), which aims to offer these young people from poor communities a learning opportunity and, in many cases, a chance to enter into the formal workforce.

One of the actions that Licks Attorneys recently promoted with FDV, in August 2023, mobilized our members who joined forces in voluntary action and dedicated their time to painting the walls of the classrooms at the Fundação Darcy Vargas school. We seek to transform the learning environment into something inspiring and welcoming for students, always reaffirming our commitment to the community.

Pro Bono

Licks Attorneys' goal is to help build a more robust, multicultural, and humane environment, not just internally, but also outside its doors. In this sense, several actions are carried out in favor of a more diverse and inclusive society. Licks Attorneys works pro bono for ONG LGBT+ do Brasil, a non-profit association based in São Paulo, whose objective is to create a space of identification and empowerment for people from the country's LGBTQIA+ community.

Licks Attorneys has recently undertaken a major commitment to inclusivity and diversity.  During the second semester of 2019, with the support of national and international institutions focused on Women in Intellectual Property and Innovation, we held several events to highlight the importance of diversity in the legal profession.  This year we celebrated International Women’s Day with activities designed to raise awareness among our female professionals of the importance of good mental health and nutrition practices.  At the beginning of 2020, the firm established a new policy that set maternity leave for six months and paternity leave for 20 days (10 + 10). These initiatives mark the beginning of an ambitious agenda to transform our professional culture.

In September 2020, we hired an external consultancy firm specialized in promoting organizational diversity and inclusivity to help us structure our Diversity and Inclusion Committee and develop appropriate policies for the firm. To date, they have concluded 70 percent of this project,  including a full diagnostic, conducted through an extensive quantitative questionnaire involving the entire firm and qualitative interviews with selected leaders and staff members. This diagnostic stage provided an in-depth insight into our firm’s strengths and weaknesses in the D&I field and is guiding us through our next steps.

We are now completing the mentoring process with the consultant, which includes a separate workshop with our Committee members addressing the most critical matters raised during the diagnostic phase at the end of 2020. After that, we will begin the third and last phase of the project in June 2021, including different online classes for all our members on important issues like inclusive communication and recognizing unconscious bias. At the end of this process, we believe we will be better prepared as a team to work on internal politics and procedures related to diversity and inclusion in our firm and community.

We have partnered with ONG LGBT+ do Brasil to provide pro bono service involving the prosecution of marks. LGBT+ do Brasil is a non-profit association, based in São Paulo, and aims to create a space for identification, empowerment, and community for people from the LGBTQIA+ community of the country.

Due to the pandemic, plans for other events in 2020 had to be postponed. However, we intend to regain the positive momentum the Committee has already created by initiating events to cultivate diversity and inclusion through a focus on ethnicity and gender identity. We want not only to involve all office members in these events but also to conduct internal reforms that channel our collective efforts into creating an inclusive organizational culture that everyone can be proud of.  We also intend to reach out to young minorities and the LGBTQIA+ community by offering more opportunities through partnerships with universities.

In 2021, we partnered with the project “Incluir Direito” promoted by the Study Center of Law Firms (CESA). Their goal is to promote the professional qualification of self-declared black or brown youths enrolled in law schools of partner universities, promoting the participation of these young students under equal conditions in the selection processes of law firms associated with CESA.

We aim to help build a more robust, multicultural, and human environment, not only within the doors of Licks Attorneys but also outside of them.

Women: IP & Innovation - Seminar 2019 - Supported by the World Intellectual Property Organization – WIPO, the France-Brazil Chamber of Commerce (CCFB) and the Brazilian Bar Association, Rio de Janeiro (OAB/RJ).

Women’s International Day - Event 2020

For more information on the matter, please contact us at diversidade@lickslegal.com