A. Faith English of Lowenstein Sandler, and Kenneth Sharperson of Weber Gallagher's Bedminster, New Jersey, office.

New Jersey firms have joined others in the realization that the only way to improve diversity in the profession is to have someone—a designated diversity chief, not just a diversity committee—devoted to the task.

“Lawyers sometimes make the mistake of not recognizing that it is a career. It takes a very specific skill set,” said Kenneth Sharperson, an insurance litigation associate at the Bedminster office of Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby. Sharperson also is editor of the firm's “Diversity Matters” newsletter and a member of its diversity committee.

According to Sharperson and others, diversity over the years has developed into a specialty—a field unto itself. He noted that numerous organizations and education institutions offer diversity and inclusion certification training.

Sharperson also noted job listings specifically seeking diversity directors.

In New Jersey, examples have come.

Last year at Newark's Gibbons, Robert Johnson, a partner in the firm's corporate practice, was named chief diversity officer, the second person to ever hold the post at the firm.

At Locke Lord over the summer, New Jersey-based senior partner and former American Bar Association President Paulette Brown became her firm's first-ever chief diversity and inclusion officer.

Around the same time, A. Faith English, associate director of enforcement at the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was hired as manager of diversity and inclusion at Lowenstein Sandler.

The notion that diversity is a specialty is one that law firms “have been missing,” English said in an interview. “Diversity and inclusion is a discipline.”

Her hiring “was really born of Lowenstein's understanding and appreciation that this is a work specialty,” English said. “There's a depth of knowledge that's become a part of this space. You don't become a surgeon just because you go to medical school.”

A number of career elements contributed to English's diversity focus, she said, including her decade practicing family law, domestic violence and international human rights law, during which she formed a clinic for domestic violence survivors. At the NCAA, she led the People of Color Employee Resource Group and worked on other diversity initiatives. She also has done seminars with author Debby Irving, who writes on diversity issues, and is a co-founder of the Black Women & White Women Project, which holds an annual event.

“Historically in this country, we've had ruts that we get stuck in” when it comes to issues of race and gender, English said. “It takes a whole community to buy into this idea that everyone should have access.”

At law firms, diversity success seems to be more a question of strategy than buy-in.

Still, law firms—based on size, profitability and other factors—might not be able to put someone such as English on the payroll.

“The biggest thing is, not all firms are of a size that they can put that in their budget,” Sharperson said.

Most firms, regardless of size, now recognize that a diversity committee, at the least, is necessary, but making diversity at least part of someone's day-to-day job is the better course, Sharperson said.

A midsize or smaller firm “may have someone already on staff who can add a diversity role to what they're already doing,” Sharperson said.

That person should be a member of the firm staff, rather than a practicing lawyer, he said. At Weber Gallagher, for instance, chief marketing officer Ellen Ragone makes diversity part of her job, assisting with client requests for proposal and tracking diversity metrics. The firm's diversity committee does play a role, focusing on recruiting diverse candidates. There's also Sharperson's newsletter, which highlights diverse employees and events, such as Garden State Bar Association events.

If left up to a practicing lawyer, diversity efforts can “fall through the cracks,” he said. “As attorneys, we're looking at billing hours and bringing in money to the firm.”

If a lawyer is forced to choose between tasks, Sharperson said, “you know what's going to happen—you're going to get the brief out for the client.”

English added, “Even if a firm can't hire a person in this position, there certainly are a number of consultants” who can be engaged to get the ball rolling.

Challenges remain. Stiff competition for diverse job candidates is frequently held up as an unsatisfactory excuse offered by institutions, including law firms, that haven't succeeded in diversifying their ranks, but Sharperson said the challenge is real.

“As a midsize firm, our problem is sometimes the larger firms pay more,” he said.