Despite decades of focus, attention, and investment, there is a persistent lack of diversity in the upper echelons of the legal profession. How might we successfully increase and sustain DE&I in the legal profession?

 

Ideas could focus on any of the following topic areas – or something different:

• True Inclusion, No Lawyer Left Behind – Involving everyone, including men and the majority, as active participants and allies to build and sustain a diverse and inclusive workforce; weaving policies and programs into the fabric of the organization to create a culture of inclusion to make them “sticky” and beneficial for everyone

• Diversity Pipeline – Expanding the pipeline of talented diverse lawyers entering the legal profession (includes expanding recruiting criteria beyond grades/pedigree)

• Equal & Fair Access to Opportunities – Facilitating equal access to work and influential power players (i.e., social capital) to create a fair and balanced approach to career growth and advancement

• Pay Parity – Identifying where the pay gap exists and working to close it in law firms and legal departments

• Leadership Gap – Increasing diversity and inclusion in the leadership ranks of law firms and legal departments as well as in the judiciary and other influential legal and business roles

• Unconscious Bias Interrupters – Mitigating unconscious bias in hiring, training/mentoring, feedback, performance reviews, promotions, and other talent management processes

• Diverse Teams – Creating and leveraging diverse teams to achieve better business results

• Lawyer Satisfaction & Retention – Boosting lawyer work satisfaction in combination with work/life integration and flexible work options to retain the best and most diverse talent

• Diversity & Inclusion Impact/Measurement – Creating a scorecard or standardized measurement of progress, impact, and ROI for diversity AND inclusion policies, programs, and efforts in the legal profession to be used by law firms, legal departments, and others

• Firm economics/operating/compensation model – equity partnership and succession planning  “black box” and misaligned incentives

• Knowledge gap – “first” lawyer and understanding the “unwritten rules” and soft skills of the practice of law

• Staffing/selection - outside counsel/panel counsel selection and presumption of additional risk in favor of greater good (i.e. diversity)