The scenario was not unfamiliar.
We were having a coffee (back when that’s how business got done), and the topic was change.
My friend, a new-in-role GC, was warming to the theme about making a positive difference to his new business.
“I really want to set things up well from the get go,” they said. “I know for a fact that within a few months I’ll be neck-deep in firefighting, and I won’t have the capacity or frankly the energy to change the structure of things.”
In particular, my friend was determined to be a champion for their business’s wider diversity commitments.
“We need to do our bit, and I expect my law firms, who say they are an extension of my in-house team, to be just as committed to that as I am.”
The issue, they explained, was that it was impossible to understand where progress was really being made, beyond the promises of pitch documents and open letters.
Fast forward to two weeks ago, when I got together with Microsoft, VF Corporation, the American Bar Association and the Interlaw Diversity Forum to talk about how to use data to drive organizational D&I efforts.
It was a great conversation and you can see it HERE if you missed it.
After the webinar quite a few people got in touch to share their stories about how they are driving meaningful change.
The speakers on the webinar and those who shared their reflections with me afterwards focused on four ‘make-or-break’ elements which lead successful outcomes:
- Lasting change requires a well thought through framework with concrete objectives.
- Making change is a whole lot easier when you’re working with partners who are aligned with you rather than trying to enforce your agenda top down.
- Don’t let imperfect data stop you from moving towards your goal.
- You’re not going to get it right on the first try. Try again using what you’ve learned.
I’ve since walked through this framework with several clients, including my friend from the coffee, and found it constructive:
- We want to increase the value we receive from our legal service providers by encouraging a diversity of thought. In concrete terms this means that we would like the lawyers who work on our matters to be reflective of the diversity of our country / our customers / our employees.
- When appointing a panel or hiring a firm the goals from point 1 should be made explicitly clear. It’s ok for a firm to say that they’re not yet in line with those objectives if they have a demonstrable plan to achieve them. Firms that push back or which offer vague promises or excuses should be put aside.
- Diversity and inclusion data is neither complete nor sufficient for change. There are however good starting points such as the model diversity survey from the ABA (HERE), tracking the diversity of the fee earners who currently serve you or the diversity data tracked by the Law Society (HERE), each of which can help guide your decisions.
- See what’s working and see if you can do better! Track progress year on year with your firms. Introduce intersectionality to your analysis. Track the careers of diverse associates to ensure that they have the support they need to make partner. Once the groundwork has been laid it’s straightforward to build from it.
This is an area that requires a transparent understanding of the journey we are on and the practical steps we can make to progress.
Walking through the issues in that way feels like a good start.
And, for what it’s worth, my friend, no longer daunted, is also starting to see results.
Towards change,
Christopher Thurn
Founder – Alacrity Law
