The legal profession loves to talk about its intellectual rigor and commitment to justice, but it’s historically had a massive blind spot: military veterans. This isn’t just about fairness. By ignoring veterans, law firms are actively shrinking their own talent pools and robbing clients of perspectives shaped by some of the most intense, high-pressure environments on earth. So, the real question is, how can a firm like DLA Piper actually bridge this gap and make veteran inclusion a reality?
Key Takeaways
- Law firms consistently fail to translate military experience, like leadership, crisis management, and resilience, into skills that are gold in a high-stakes legal practice.
- A real veteran inclusion strategy depends on structured mentorships that teach the firm’s culture and targeted recruiting that treats military service as serious professional experience.
- DLA Piper’s “Veterans and Military Families” group gives vets internal support and a voice with leadership, which helped drive a 15% increase in veteran hires in just two years.
- Firms have to build their own pipelines by partnering with organizations like Hiring Our Heroes and legal aid groups like the NVLSP, creating clear paths for service members into law.
- The true measure of success isn’t just hiring numbers. It’s tracking whether veteran attorneys are staying, thriving, and getting promoted to partner.
The Unseen Barrier: Why Veterans Struggle to Enter Big Law
For years, veterans transitioning out of the military have hit a wall when trying to break into Big Law. The problem has always been a systemic disconnect in how their military experience is understood and valued by traditional legal recruiters who are obsessed with a very specific, linear career path.
Think about it. You have a Marine Corps officer who managed impossibly complex logistics in a combat zone, making life-or-death decisions with partial information. That person has more practical leadership, strategic planning, and grace-under-fire experience than most senior associates, skills that are directly applicable to running a massive litigation or closing a corporate merger. But for too long, a hiring committee would glance at “military service” on a resume and have no idea how to translate it into what they consider “relevant legal experience.” This myopic view meant firms kept recycling the same kind of talent, building homogenous teams that lacked the creative problem-solving skills veterans bring to the table.
A 2024 American Bar Association (ABA) report pointed out that veteran enrollment in law schools has been stuck at a measly 3% nationally, a number that hasn’t really budged since before 2015. That’s a pipeline problem. When law firms don’t bother to engage with veteran communities before they even get to the job market, they’re just reinforcing a cycle where veterans feel like a legal career isn’t for them.
Early Missteps: What Didn’t Work in Veteran Recruitment
The first wave of veteran inclusion efforts from most firms was well-meaning but totally ineffective. A lot of them took a purely symbolic approach, creating a “veterans initiative” that was nothing more than a single page on their website or maybe one recruiting event a year. These efforts weren’t actually integrated into the firm’s real diversity and inclusion goals or hiring practices.
Another failed tactic was expecting veterans to just slot into the existing recruiting pipeline without any extra support. This meant veterans, who might have been out of an academic setting for a decade and had a resume filled with military jargon, got screened out by automated systems or ignored by recruiters who didn’t know what they were looking at. Recruiters fundamentally misunderstood the transition. Veterans are shifting between two completely different cultures, from a highly structured, mission-driven world to a corporate one with its own bizarre norms. Without programs built to bridge that specific cultural gap, a lot of incredible talent just got frustrated and left for other industries.
I remember talking to a former Army Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer who had deep experience in military justice and international law but couldn’t get a callback from a big private firm. He said recruiters kept asking him about his “client base” in terms of billable hours, a concept totally alien to his service. This is exactly why recruiters themselves need to be educated on what military legal experience looks like and how it translates directly to private practice. The standard, one-size-fits-all model was actively pushing veterans away.
DLA Piper’s Strategic Shift: A Blueprint for Veteran Inclusion
Seeing these systemic failures, DLA Piper built a practical, multi-part plan to actually integrate veterans into the firm. This wasn’t some PR campaign. It was a deliberate, gradual change that required real buy-in from leadership and a genuine effort to understand the veteran experience.
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Targeted Recruitment and Skill Translation
One of the first things DLA Piper did was start actively hunting for veteran talent by partnering with organizations like Hiring Our Heroes, a program run by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation. This gave them direct access to a network of qualified veterans. At the same time, they trained their own recruiters to actually understand military resumes, translate a military occupational specialty (MOS) into a civilian skillset, and see the leadership baked into that experience. A Special Forces operative, for example, is a master of complex planning, cross-cultural communication, and risk assessment, exactly the skills needed for M&A due diligence or international arbitration.
On top of that, DLA Piper created specific internship programs for veterans, including for those still in law school. These internships provide real legal work and, critically, a dedicated mentor, an experienced attorney who can guide the veteran through the confusing world of private practice, from client politics to the art of the billable hour. It’s a direct on-ramp to an associate position that gets around the “no relevant experience” roadblock.
Internal Support: The “Veterans and Military Families” Affinity Group
DLA Piper knew that hiring veterans was only step one. They also had to build an environment where people wanted to stay. So, they created the “Veterans and Military Families” affinity group. The group gives veteran employees and their families an instant community and a support network to share experiences and find resources. It’s a serious advocacy and support network.
The affinity group also advises firm leadership on veteran-related policies, making sure their perspective is heard when decisions are being made. And they organize firm-wide panels and educational events where veteran attorneys share their stories. This kind of internal education breaks down stereotypes about military service and makes the workplace genuinely more informed and welcoming for everybody.
Pro Bono Initiatives and Community Engagement
DLA Piper also put its legal muscle to work supporting veterans through pro bono cases. Attorneys, many of them veterans themselves, volunteer to help with everything from VA benefits claims to housing disputes. This pro bono work delivers critical legal aid to the veteran community and gives DLA Piper’s own attorneys hands-on experience in veterans’ law. Helping a veteran fight a disability benefits appeal before the VA, for example, requires a very specific mix of legal skill and empathy, qualities often found in veteran attorneys.
The firm’s collaboration with organizations like the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) provides direct legal help and supports policy advocacy. This work in the community reinforces the firm’s commitment and creates a tangible pipeline for both talent and meaningful pro bono work.
Measuring Success: Tangible Results of a Dedicated Strategy
DLA Piper’s sustained focus on veteran inclusion has produced real, measurable results. According to their 2025 internal diversity report, veteran hires have jumped by 15% over the past two years alone, which proves their targeted recruiting is working. This is about attracting and keeping top-tier talent.
But the numbers go deeper. The firm’s retention rates for veteran employees are higher than the average for new associates which shows that the internal support from the affinity group and mentorship programs is working. Veterans are staying and thriving. We’re also seeing veteran attorneys advance into leadership, making partner and leading practice groups, which shows there’s a real career path here.
DLA Piper’s work has become a benchmark for other large firms looking to do more than just talk about diversity. Their approach proves that veteran inclusion is a smart business strategy that enriches the legal profession with incredible leadership skills and fresh perspectives. Recognizing and valuing different forms of excellence is how you build a stronger, more resilient legal team.
Integrating veterans into the legal profession requires a concrete strategy for recruitment, internal support, and community engagement. DLA Piper’s model provides a compelling blueprint for how law firms can finally tap into this invaluable talent pool, strengthening their own practices and the legal community as a whole.
What specific skills do veterans bring to the legal profession?
They bring leadership, strategic problem-solving, resilience under extreme pressure, a strong ethical compass, adaptability, and an instinct for teamwork. These skills are immediately applicable in complex and demanding legal work like high-stakes litigation or corporate advisory.
How can law firms better support veterans transitioning into legal careers?
Firms need to build tailored mentorship programs, offer training to help with the cultural shift, be flexible with work arrangements, and create internal affinity groups. Most importantly, recruiters must be trained to understand and translate military experience into legal qualifications.
What are common misconceptions about hiring veterans in law?
Two big ones are that military experience doesn’t transfer to civilian law and that veterans won’t fit into a corporate culture. In reality, veterans often have incredibly refined professional skills and a work ethic that fits perfectly with the high demands of a law firm.
Are there specific legal practice areas where veterans particularly excel?
Veterans do very well in areas that demand strong organizational skills and strategic thinking, like litigation, government contracts, international law, compliance, and dispute resolution. Their comfort in high-stakes situations prepares them well for these fields.
What role do affinity groups play in veteran inclusion at law firms?
Affinity groups like DLA Piper’s “Veterans and Military Families” group are essential. They create a built-in support community, help with networking and mentorship, and act as an advocate for veteran-specific issues inside the firm. They help create a sense of belonging and make sure veterans have a voice with leadership.
