An in-house legal department and its organization benefit from long-term relationships with external lawyers and their law firms. External lawyers who have represented an organization for many years often develop in-depth knowledge of: Whatever the reasons, MCCA strives to both recognize and inspire change through in-depth analysis, surveys, and best practice research. Last year, MCCA completed the first phase of the Creating Pathways to Diversity™ research project, a three-year effort to examine how corporate legal departments and law firms design, implement and monitor their diversity progress. By collecting and sharing diversity best practices in law firms and legal departments, MCCA will focus on creating effective professional skills development programs for minority lawyers, including mentoring and outreach. The pathway concept is as follows: most law firms offer services in the hope of getting paid as soon as those services are provided. Of course, any information provided to MCCA`s external research advisor will remain strictly confidential and reported without any identifying information. A confidential discussion forum assures participants that comments will not be attributed to any person or company. The data collected by these focus groups is essential to analyze which diversity practices work best and which may need to be improved. Data is not compiled or reported in any way, which would result in criticism of a particular organization or individual and/or its particular diversity programs. All results are presented in aggregate form only. Legal departments of organizations that have launched D&I initiatives can support these initiatives by seeking greater diversity in law firms.
Legal support allows the organization to: Before new practices or policies can be established, it`s important to thoroughly review your organization`s data. By analyzing a company`s data, we are able to identify areas where diversity and inclusion are lacking. Is the desire to be more inclusive manifested in the people the company hires? This applies to both employees and collaborators. What about the cases that are taken over and the organizations with which the company is associated? All law firms supporting the MCCA will share the study`s findings as follows: “Compared to the population of adults with disabilities in the workforce, a surprisingly small number of lawyers in law firms identify as disabled,” says Caren Ulrich Stacy, founder and director of experimentation at Diversity Lab. if we do everything we can to create a culture of inclusion in the law for people with disabilities. DCI is everybody`s business. While we tend to think of DCI as an advocacy-driven initiative, all business functions can play a role in a business or corporation. As COO, McKinney said she was approached about gender-specific terms in the models the company regularly uses. Washrooms and offices are other operational areas that overlap DCI, she explained, and teams like “have more influence than you think.” For example, consider locating the offices of various junior fellows and fellows alongside potential mentors or pairing them with influential colleagues on panels. The activity of pushing DCI “does not always mean changing a policy or a system,” she noted. “Sometimes it`s a daily optimization you can do to really make a long-term diversity impact for an individual and your business.
Continuing its tradition of innovative diversity research, MCCA plans to conduct a research project on diversity best practices in law firms with the following objectives: In addition to providing a space for knowledge sharing, affinity groups also provide a structured framework for making suggestions to management – collectively. In addition to improving the environment within the walls of a law firm, it is also essential to form partnerships and working relationships with third parties that support the firm`s commitment to diversity and inclusion. These organizations may include industry stakeholders, industry peers or bar associations. In-house legal departments may also work with industry peer legal services to promote the diversity of law firms. For example, in January 2019, general counsel and general counsel from more than 170 companies published an open letter to their law firms expressing their commitment to greater diversity in the legal profession and: The most effective inclusion strategies are not created in a vacuum, and companies should draw on a variety of experiences when developing disability policies. Ulrich Stacy recommends that companies use a diverse advisory board to collaborate in decision-making. “It`s probably the second largest form of diversity within the firm, but we`re far from being measured because people don`t identify themselves,” says Loren Gesinsky, partner at Seyfarth Shaw LLP, co-chair of the New York office`s Diversity and Inclusion Action Team and co-founder and chair of the firm`s All Abilities Affinity group. As measures are developed to track progress, inform all departments of results, and set new goals for the future.
This transparency will benefit the entire organization and keep diversity and inclusion at the forefront for all stakeholders. A 2019 study of more than 1,000 offices of large law firms in the United States found that women accounted for 35.41 percent of lawyers at those firms in 2018. The same survey found that 16.1 percent of lawyers at these firms were racially or ethnically diverse, 8.08 percent were women of various races or ethnicities, 2.86 percent were LGBTQ lawyers, and 0.53 percent were lawyers with disabilities. The survey also found that in 2018, 23.36 percent of partner companies were women, 9.13 percent were racially or ethnically diverse, and 3.19 percent were women of various races or ethnicities. The study did not reveal percentages of LGBTQ partners or partners with disabilities. The study also did not distinguish between majority and minority-owned companies, nor did it reveal the number of minority-owned businesses in the United States. NALP hopes you discover new ideas on these pages to support your organization in its efforts to increase diversity and inclusion. This guide is a compilation of diversity and inclusion best practices from industry research and interviews with law firm and law school professionals.
While the guide applies to all legal employers, it offers two sections – law firms and law schools. Some of the best practices overlap with topics and are therefore specifically included in more than one section of the guide. “Accessibility affects everyone who is part of your law firm, lawyers or not,” says Gesinsky. Carefully consider including broader segments or your entire law firm population in this effort. For the second program in the series, Integrating DCI into Business Functions, PLI brought together a group of experienced executives to discuss DEI`s impact on innovative business processes and collaboration best practices. Moderated by Kristine McKinney, Chief Operating Officer at Fish & Richardson, the discussion included panelists Courtney Beauzile (Director of Marketing Operations, Shearman & Sterling); Amber Haggins (Vice President, Global Diversity, Justice and Inclusion, Prophet); and Marlon Cush (GC Senior Partner, Change Healthcare). Key findings include: The General Counsel`s commitment to diversity and inclusion is the first step in increasing the diversity of external counsel in a legal department. The General Counsel must demonstrate that diversity is one of the core values of the legal department and apply operating principles that reflect the importance of diversity in the legal department`s mission to provide quality legal services to the organization. If the General Counsel does not promote and take steps to achieve diversity in the ministry`s internal and external operations, the diversity and inclusion initiatives the ministry pursues are unlikely to succeed. Working principles and practices that the General Counsel can use to support the diversity of law firms include: Below are some steps companies can take to foster this culture of support.
In May 2019, these General Counsel and Chief Legal Operations Officer joined the Diversity Lab and published a document entitled Strategies and Tactics for In-House Legal Departments to Improve Outside Counsel Diversity. This document provides specific steps that legal departments can take to improve diversity in their law firms, including: Policies, practices and procedures that in-house legal departments can apply to improve diversity among their external lawyers include: Over the past year, many law firms and other organizations have responded to calls and promoted various lawyers. As part of its Professional Development Appreciation Month in November, the practising law institute is introducing a free four-part series entitled Empowering Professional Development that highlights diversity, equity and inclusion (CID) and the important role professional development teams can play. The increased use of various minority lawyers and law firms by a legal department provides additional benefits to the legal profession and society as a whole, including: The ABA and many national, state, and local bar associations have appointed diversity committees that help promote and establish diversity among their members.