What Does Diversity and Inclusion Really Mean in the Law Firm Environment?
If you are a woman and/or BIPOC re-entering the legal job market and are exploring new opportunities at Biglaw firms or in-house departments, then you may be wondering about diversity and inclusion — lofty concepts, to be sure, but critical to satisfaction and career success in the long-term.
Let’s take a closer look.
Diversity vs. Inclusion
Diversity and inclusion are not the same concept, though they are linked.
In the legal job market, diversity describes the demographics of the workplace. If a given organization hires a lot of women and BIPOC, it can be reasonably called a “diverse” workplace — but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it is an “inclusive” workplace.
Inclusion is perhaps best described as the integration of diversity. A workplace can be quite diverse, but if women and BIPOC are highly underrepresented at the partner level, or in firm management decisions, then it may not be an inclusive workplace. Oftentimes, diverse organizations that make minimal effort at inclusion “leak” talent. Women and BIPOC attorneys will simply go elsewhere, in the hopes that their contributions will be more valued.
Ultimately, the key is to not only promote diversity, but to implement policies and processes that ensure every member of the organization has an equal opportunity to truly “rise in the ranks” and showcase their talents.
How Diversity Improves Services and Culture
Diversity is not just a “moral” issue. In fact, firms and in-house legal departments are increasingly discovering that there are strategic benefits to maintaining a diverse and inclusive workforce.
These benefits include:
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- A broader set of perspectives when it comes to evaluating and executing on various projects. Complex legal issues are more comprehensively dealt with when examined by a diverse team of attorneys who bring to bear significantly different backgrounds, training, and life experience.
- A more collegial environment. As a general rule, diverse teams tend to be more collaborative and open-minded. New ideas are not always “shot down” in an instant and may be treated with interest at first glance. This can lead to a friendlier workplace and a more effective, innovative approach to problem-solving.
- Willingness to consider possibilities that would otherwise have been de-prioritized by those with the same background and life experiences. This can have a significant impact on determining the strategic approach that a team takes towards a project.
Consider, for example, a team that is working on a dispute where one of the parties is international. It just so happens that a BIPOC attorney on the team shares the same cultural background as that party. This attorney might be able to better understand the motivations behind that party’s decisionmaking — perhaps the dispute is continuing due to a cultural misunderstanding that could be resolved. With this in mind, an early resolution may be possible where it would otherwise be overlooked by a less diverse team.
Relevant Questions to Consider
Ultimately, an organization must look to remain accountable for its own environment, and it can do so by keeping track of diversity and inclusion-related data, and self-evaluating on that basis. Where there are issues, a plan should be in place to address those issues.
Issues worth considering include, but are not limited to the following:
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- Whether the makeup of the organization remains diverse as one scales the workplace hierarchy (i.e., equity and non-equity partners, associates, partners heading practice groups and serving on management committees, etc.)
- Whether compensation differs on some categorical basis, or whether there is true pay equity
- Generally surveys of wellbeing (which should include evaluations of workplace fairness)
- Whether there are mentorship programs in place specifically to aid women and BIPOC
- Whether the hiring process is evaluating for talent, or is perpetuating a cycle of stagnation in terms of diversity
- And more
Contact Garb Jaffe & Associates for Recruitment Assistance
Garb Jaffe & Associates is a legal recruitment firm with an extensive professional network throughout California. Our team of legal recruiters brings to bear decades of experience working with attorney-candidates to secure ideal placements in prestigious Biglaw firms and in-house legal departments alike.
We offer comprehensive legal recruitment services, and pride ourselves on engaging closely with attorney-candidates from the beginning-to-end of the hiring process. We help identify potential organizations that are “best fit” for the goals and preferences of the candidate, and work tirelessly to prepare the candidate to secure the position, from updating their resumé to holding mock interviews, and more.
Diversity and inclusion is important to the team here at Garb Jaffe, and increasingly, women and BIPOC are exploring career opportunities with organizations that respect diversity and are actively attempting to improve. We are excited to work with attorney-candidates to identify and evaluate firms and in-house departments that are looking to make a difference in the workplace.
If you’d like to speak to an experienced Los Angeles legal recruiter at Garb Jaffe, we encourage you to contact us at your earliest convenience. We look forward to discussing your candidacy further.