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If you have been following me, it is no secret that I am passionate about the topic of diversity, inclusion, and belonging at work, and especially in the legal profession. As in-house counsel, I believe we have a unique ability to move the proverbial needle in the diversity and inclusion space. Notably, in my experience, there is ample content around why diversity and inclusion is important and why we should care and take action. However, I do not see as many articles on the “how” or what we could each tangibly do.
While I am no diversity and inclusion professional and have no formal expertise, here are some ideas on how we could further diversity, inclusion, and belonging as in-house counsel.
- Hire diverse legal teams and ensure that everyone has an equal opportunity to receive meaningful work and origination credit. Pay attention to who on your team gets the opportunity to meet with you, to take and defend depositions, attend mediations, argue hearings, etc.
- If there isn’t sufficient diversity or inclusion, have a candid conversation with your partnering law firms about how diversity and inclusion is important to you and ask about their commitment and how they plan to do better. Do not accept generalities. See S.M.A.R.T. (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) goals. Then calendar times throughout the year to follow up with them on their progress. Make it a habit to have inclusion conversations two to four times a year to provide accountability, and be prepared to end the relationship if you do not see meaningful progress.
- When you decide to end a relationship with a law firm because they are not showing sufficient commitment to diversity, do not simply “ghost” them. Make it clear to the firm’s leadership why you are taking your business elsewhere.
- Mentor one or more young lawyers from a historically underrepresented group. Take the time to teach them about the business, your communication and billing preferences, and how to be a successful legal partner to you and their other clients. Connect them to others in your network so that they may learn and grow. Where there is often pushback on whether there is talent in the pipeline, help create talent in that pipeline. Encourage other in-house colleagues to do the same.
- If taking on a mentee seems too much, then offer to review a resume or cover letter, help make a single connection, or help them prepare for an interview.
- Champion a lawyer from a historically underrepresented group by singing their praises on social media or directly to their leadership. Also let them know personally how much you appreciate their work.
- If you notice that a panel of speakers or an entire conference lacks diversity, take the time to email the organizers and their leadership. Offer to help them find diverse speakers for their next event.
- If you are aware of law firms’ efforts and commitment to diversity and inclusion, especially innovative endeavors, then share those law firms and their efforts with your other in-house networks. Amplify their good work on social media and in real life. Give them your work.
- Praise and reward allies at your partnering law firms who are investing in underrepresented lawyers. When you hear anecdotally that a partner encouraged their associate who is a new mom to work from home or that a law firm provided their underrepresented associates professional coaching, take the time to recognize their intentionality and amplify their work. Give them your work.
- Be open to being accessible and getting to know underrepresented attorneys and having those dreaded coffees and lunches. Sometimes their ability to have access to you is enough for their firm to invest in them.
None of these ideas are novel or powerful enough to create systemic change on their own. But perhaps a few of these strategies combined may be helpful enough to change the trajectory of a single career. And for now, that’s enough for me.
Meyling “Mey” Ly Ortiz is in-house at Toyota Motor North America. Her passions include mentoring, championing belonging, and a personal blog: TheMeybe.com. At home, you can find her doing her best to be a “fun” mom to a toddler and preschooler and chasing her best self on her Peloton. You can follow her on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/meybe/). And you knew this was coming: her opinions are hers alone.
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