Diversity in the law is critical but the binding force of commonality will always be the greater strength, former Southern District U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara told nearly 100 current and former summer law fellows on Wednesday.

The Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy fellows were part of an outside nonprofit initiative called Sponsors for Educational Opportunity, which promotes young people from underserved and underrepesented communities in a number of professions.

Bharara, an immigrant himself, spoke of the power of achievement from members of just such communities in inspiring others to strive for more. He referenced former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the first African-American to hold the position, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the first Hispanic on the nation's highest court, and other recent firsts in the legal world as beacons that others, such as the young attorneys-in-training on hand, could follow.