Loeb Leadership has long focused on creating and developing the next generation of leaders within the legal industry. However, recently the organization realized that for law firms to truly create roadmaps for future success, more emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion is needed. As such, Loeb Leadership hosted a roundtable in New York City on June 5, 2019. The session brought together law firm partners, diversity and inclusion experts, recruiters, human resources executives, and business influencers for a frank discussion on the state of diversity, equity and inclusion within the legal industry.
“The roundtable’s objective was to provide a better understanding for why so little progress has occurred over the past two decades in the legal industry,” states Loeb Leadership’s founder and CEO, Natalie Loeb. “We need to understand why the number of diverse attorneys has not increased despite significant investments in promoting inclusivity.”
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The roundtable was facilitated by Tracey West, former Associate Dean of External Relations, Diversity & Inclusion at Boston College Law School. The session’s format encouraged participants to share deeply personal stories centered on career obstacles, resistance to change and examples of implicit and explicit bias. The theme of the roundtable was “All Rise.”
“Loeb Leadership is committed to raising awareness of the types of behaviors that both promote and hinder progress within workplace diversity, inclusion and equity,” explains Loeb. “We are prepared to do what we can to shape our work with leaders so an inclusive mindset is always a priority. We whole-heartedly accept this challenge before us because a solution will only occur when existing leadership and those in the majority demonstrate the desire to affect change.”
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The follow-up research and report that was generated from this roundtable session highlighted the fact that many attorneys of color were unduly burdened, when compared with the responsibilities of their white counterparts, with non-billable time, when representing the firm at recruitment and diversity-focused events. Additionally, firm leadership lacks the accountability and courage to implement change or take ownership of D&I initiatives. Ultimately, money is being spent on D&I programs, but leadership does not consistently demonstrate the necessary behaviors to be seen as D&I role models. This, in turn, has created a significant disconnect. An inclusive mindset must be developed and promoted—from the top down.
Nicholas Donofrio, IBM Fellow Emeritus and Executive Vice President (Ret.), was a participant at the session. “I have always embraced the practice of bringing together diverse teams in the technology space because those groups were the most innovative,” he notes. “The legal industry would greatly benefit from incorporating this philosophy as well as being on the right side of history.”
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