As a group seeking to promote racial equity and the fight against structural racism, Soma develops strategies and carries out affirmative actions to overcome racial inequality in the legal sector, while also addressing the issue in other sectors and society as a whole.
One of the group’s most important initiatives has been the Soma Talentos program, launched in 2019. The program offers career opportunities to young self-declared black law students in their first or second years of study, to contribute to the greater inclusion of black legal professionals in the legal market.
The first two years of the Soma Talentos program led to Mattos Filho hiring thirty-three students (sixteen in 2019 and seventeen in 2020) to work as legal assistants across various practice areas of the firm’s São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro offices for two years.
Throughout this period, these young professionals undergo training and experience that will help them stand out early in their careers, as well as taking classes in legal English and Portuguese and participating in meetings to develop their interpersonal skills.
The program also promotes discussions related to the training of high-quality professionals, on topics regarding the profile of corporate lawyers, the reality of the corporate world and ways to build a successful career at a large law firm. The students also receive mentoring throughout the process from both partners (sponsors) and associates (members) of Soma.
“When I joined the firm as a trainee back in 2014, I don’t remember seeing any other black lawyers. After Soma and the Soma Talentos program were created, that changed. The first step involved recognizing the need to more diverse and inclusive, and I have seen the firm dedicating its efforts towards this,” commented Higor Borges Lima, an associate in Mattos Filho’s Intellectual Property area and a member of Soma.
After two years in operation, Soma was recognized in 2020 by Instituto Identidades do Brasil with its Sim à Igualdade Racial (‘Yes to Racial Equality’) award in the Racial Commitment (Employability) category. The annual award recognizes the main names, institutions and initiatives that work towards racial equity in Brazil.
In the same year, Mattos Filho was also invited to become a member of the Law Firm Antiracism Alliance, which brings together firms from around the world who favor equal rights for the black population. The firm is also one of the founders of the Legal Alliance for Racial Equality, which received the city of São Paulo’s Municipal Seal of Human Rights and Diversity in 2019.
“The firm has become a reference for its peers regarding its performance on racial issues, mentioned externally on numerous occasions by other institutions. Our initiatives are driven by the ideas that people bring to us, which shows we are heading down the right path,” said Higor Borges Lima.
Another area where Soma has been active is in producing relevant content to assist in the fight against racial inequality, including the infographics “Black Women” and “Paths to Equality”, both published in 2019. The first, developed for International Black Latin American and Caribbean Day (July 25), looks at the multiple forms of discrimination these women are subject to. The second, published on November 20 – Black Consciousness Day – outlines both Brazilian and international legal frameworks for the rights of the black population, from the sixteenth century through to the present day.
Internally, during the commemoration of Black Consciousness Day in 2020, Soma promoted a number of activities and events which explored issues such as whiteness and intersectionality, in collaboration with the Center for the Study of Labor Relations and Inequalities (Ceert) and Pontifical Catholic University’s Race and Gender study group. Racial literacy instruction was also carried out within the firm by Soma members themselves.
Another of Soma’s activities carried out during Black Consciousness Month (November) in 2020 was its #QuemSomaMultiplica campaign, carried out via Instagram. Digital content creators that contribute to the debate surrounding racial equity in Brazil were first recommended by the firm’s professionals and then promoted directly on Soma’s profile.
“Initiatives such as Soma and Soma Talentos demonstrate how Mattos Filho is in line with present-day racial issues, which allows us to broaden the debate and inspire other firms to promote both racial equity and further the engagement of white people,” said Yasmin Barreto, a legal assistant for the Infrastructure and Energy area and part of the first group of Soma Talentos professionals.