Why do diversity, equity, and inclusion matter?

Firms of varying sizes face different challenges when it comes to D.E.I. Maybe you don’t hire very often. Maybe you don’t know how to plant the seeds and cultivate D.E.I. in your firm, or even how to develop and successfully implement a diversity policy.

We know clients, ours and yours, are voting with their feet, selecting or retaining counsel based partly on their commitment to D.E.I. Many firms value D.E.I. for its own sake and the moral imperative, and also because there is a bottom-line reason to live up to these values.

How can my firm improve diversity, equity, and inclusion?

In working with law firms in creating or updating their website, we have noticed that sometimes firms are doing more for D.E.I. than they realize. The first thing that comes to mind for many people when thinking about improving diversity, equity, and inclusion is hiring more diverse lawyers and staff. Hiring is undoubtedly an important part of any D.E.I. plan, but it is not the only way to work toward the goal of having a workplace with greater diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

One place to start is defining and documenting firm goals for D.E.I., and evaluating where the firm is today with respect to those goals. If you don’t know where you are, how can you measure where you want to go?

Many firms hire a specialized diversity consultant to help them assess how the firm can enhance inclusiveness and improve the recruitment, retention, development, and advancement of diverse lawyers.

Five simple ways to foster D.E.I.

There are many ways to foster D.E.I. in addition to hiring practices. Using the National Association for Law Placement’s Diversity Best Practices Guide (free PDF download) as a resource, we created a list of five things you may not have considered to help foster D.E.I. at a law firm.

1. Publish your D.E.I. statement

Information about your firm’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion should appear on your website, internal web pages, in recruiting materials, and in client communications.

This is easier to do if you already have a written commitment to D.E.I. Unlike other types of business goals and operational policies that would never be publicly shared on the internet and social media, it’s important – in 2022 more than ever before – to communicate the D.E.I. policy in a public place. This shows that you are being transparent and will likely keep your firm accountable.

Next step: If your firm does not yet have a D.E.I. statement, it may be time to draft one. The first version may have aspirational elements, but that’s the whole point.

2. Work with bar associations

Encourage firm leaders to participate in diverse bar associations and other community organizations that foster and enhance diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Participating in diverse bar associations is one strategy to promote diversity within your firm as well as the legal community as a whole. Examples include the National Bar Association, the National LGBT Bar Association, and the Hispanic National Bar Association, as well as initiatives by national, state, and local bar associations, such as the Diversity and Inclusion Center of the American Bar Association or the Pennsylvania Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession.

Participation by firm leaders in diverse bar organizations can help to foster understanding about challenges a particular community faces in the legal industry, as well as build relationships with members of that community. Attorneys can participate by attending programs, speaking, or volunteering at events.

Next step: Encourage firm members to participate in women’s, L.G.B.T.Q.I.A.’s, and minority bar associations and sponsor memberships or volunteer at events.

3. Create a mentoring program with a diversity lens

Mentoring programs yield stronger law firms when they are actively and meaningfully engaged. It’s important to grow more junior attorneys so they gain valuable experience, are exposed to problem-solving and creative solutions to complex legal issues, as well as benefit from the professional support of a more tenured attorney. Deeper professional relationships are the result of successful mentoring relationships. The result can be a stronger community within the firm, more longevity of attorneys at the firm, and even client retention with succession in mind.

Whoever is responsible for the firm’s mentoring program should ensure that both diverse mentors and diverse mentees are represented and engaged. Part of the mentoring program should be teaching both mentors and mentees mentoring skills, as well as cross-cultural communication skills, to help move beyond any awkwardness or discomfort.

Next step: Appoint diverse lawyers to serve on the firm’s leadership groups including, Executive Committee, Management Committee, Hiring Committee, Partner Compensation Committee, and Associate Evaluation Committee.

4. Count diversity, equity, and inclusion activities toward billable hours

With all the pressure lawyers face regarding time and billing, asking them to spend minutes and hours on any other activity results in stress and imbalance–no matter if that thing is writing a blog post, adding contacts to the C.R.M., participating in sales training, or even attending a fun client event.

One way to show the firm’s commitment to improving D.E.I. is to put its money behind the effort, including counting D.E.I. activities toward qualified billable hours. This could include participating in mentorship and sponsorship programs, involvement with outside organizations or on internal workgroups focused on D.E.I., presenting or writing articles on D.E.I.-focused topics, or participating in recruitment efforts of underrepresented professionals.

Next step: Host programs and events that promote diversity and inclusion. This might include planning diverse speakers to present on D.E.I. topics for employees and event clients, or hosting a celebratory event that shines a light on the achievements of diverse members of the firm.

5. Celebrate diverse cultures

Law firms can show a commitment to D.E.I. through celebrating diverse groups. You can plan events and training around specific groups such as Women’s History Month, Black History Month, Asian Pacific Heritage Month, Hispanic History Month, and Pride Month, to name a few examples. Another idea is to rotate the art in your office space to reflect different cultures.

Next step: Survey lawyers and staff regarding outside activities and share information about connections with community minority organizations internally to promote and encourage such involvement.

Begin with inclusion

The very first step in many firms is getting the support of leadership to begin documenting the D.E.I. statement or policy. There may be red-tape or resistance to doing something new or fear of failing and doing it wrong, but the important thing is to simply start where you are. Working through these five steps and other practices from the Diversity Best Practices Guide (free PDF download) could be a significant step toward building a firm where people from all backgrounds, gender identities, family statuses, ages, and abilities can thrive.

Like many of our law firm clients, this is not a one-time initiative for Team LISI, rather an ongoing commitment.