It's the third week of civil unrest over racial injustice, and companies are still releasing statements on how black lives matter.

In light of current events, many companies say they are looking to rectify their diversity and inclusion goals. And that means companies are also reviewing their hiring practices to make sure qualified black applicants are actually being included like their statements say.

This is an opportune time for companies to invite and encourage black in-house counsel to join a corporate board of directors. When California passed the Women on Boards law in 2018 to increase the number of women on boards, gender diversity became a mandated goal. But now that goal needs to expand more actively to also emphasize the importance of racial diversity. New York, Maryland, Illinois, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania have also addressed board diversity through legislation.

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian expressed his concern about not having a black board director last week. So in a series of tweets, he said he will step down from Reddit's board purposely to open up a seat for a black director. As the husband of tennis great Serena Williams, Ohanian said he would have to answer to his biracial daughter someday about his actions during this heavy time.

DNA analysis leader 23andMe made news June 2 in its statement on Blackout Tuesday, marked to recognize racial inequality, with admitting the faux pas of not having a black executive or board director in its leadership.

"Our management team, Board and employee base must have greater diversity. I am ashamed to say I do not have a single black employee who is at Director level or above," 23andMe CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki wrote in the company's "Black Lives Matter" statement. "Our product is euro-centric but must expand to be inclusive and equitable. We absolutely have the potential to be better. Despite our efforts, I have to honestly say that we are also part of the problem."

In the 2019 Black Enterprise Registry of Corporate Directors, the multimedia company found 307 Standard & Poor's 500 companies have black board directors. There was a 2% decrease in the number of companies without any black directors from 2018 to 2019, according to the report.

Recognizable names on the registry include Brett J. Hart, the newly named president and former general counsel at United Airlines, who is on the AbbVie board; Deirdre Stanley, GC and executive vice president at The Estée Lauder Companies, who is on the Con Edison board; and Debra L. Lee, the former GC and CEO of BET Networks and current CEO of Leading Women Defined, who is on the boards of AT&T and Marriott International.

If companies are reexamining their diversity and inclusion goals, they need to make sure they have created an inclusive environment for black professionals to flourish in leadership. Those are the first steps to reaching those goals.

Is your company paying attention to racial diversity and inclusion on its board of directors? Please let me know at [email protected].

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Yet, as I look at the quickly changing opinions, I can't help but wonder whether the General Counsels of America's top companies, Black and white, are listening. Do they finally get the necessity for big change in the legal profession to calibrate the scales? Will they finally step up to the plate and aggressively address the inequalities or will they refrain to the convenient, easy and usual by endorsing another letter fecklessly decrying the lack of diversity on their matters, without more.

- Donald Prophete, a partner at Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, writes in a Corporate Counsel commentary piece titled Call to GCs: What Are You Prepared to Do to Prevent the Endemic Asphyxiation of Black Legal Careers?

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What's Happening

Black Lawyers Talk Career Agility in Today's World

The California Minority Counsel Program had the webinar featuring black GCs discussing career agility on the calendar prior to recent events spotlighting racial injustice, but the discussion had to touch on the topic of the moment.

Tiffany Renee Thomas, senior counsel of employment law and benefits at Genentech in San Francisco, said every time a story like George Floyd's death hits the news cycle, it's a reminder of how difficult it is for black lawyers to succeed in the legal field.

"It goes without saying that the recent murders of unarmed black people that we've seen on our social media feeds, the news and the weaponizing of police against black people are things that weigh heavy on our hearts and our minds," Thomas said.

Derrick Boston, the GC and chief administrative officer of Virgin Orbit in Los Angeles, said face-to-face Zoom meetings have helped his employees to open up and share their feelings.

"Probably the strongest statement came from Richard Branson, the owner of Virgin and Virgin Cos. He was very strong in making the statement that black lives matter and we have to address systemic racism," Boston said.

How to Keep Millennial GCs Interested

Lauren Strackbine, 32, associate GC at the Jacksonville Jaguars in Florida, and John Moynan, 30, the Denver-based GC of Toronto-based cannabis company Slang Worldwide, both decided to go in-house after law school in favor of the varied workload.

But many in-house lawyers in their age group tend to hop from company to company. Legal experts say it's due to miscommunication and the lack of growth opportunities.

"Millennials crave micromanagement in the right sense of the word," Mike Evers, the founder of executive search firm Evers Legal in Chicago, told Corporate Counsel. "The best way to retain them is to keep an upward trajectory visible. They want to know what the next steps on the ladder are. They crave feedback more so than a professional in their 50s."

In-House Hiring Strong Amid COVID-19 Recession

The legal industry added 3,200 jobs in May after losing 60,000 jobs between April and May. In-house legal hiring stayed in line with the recent Bureau of Labor Statistics report despite no official end to the pandemic and an official start to a recession.

"One of the things we saw [from 2008 to 2010] is that when the economy takes a hit, corporations will move to hire in-house attorneys because it can be a cost-saver," Alice Rafalko, a senior legal consultant at Beacon Hill Legal in Philadelphia, said.

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In Case You Missed It

We followed up this week on some of our top stories from last week related to in-house counsel addressing corporate racial inequality issues.

Corporate Counsel's Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards awards deadline for submissions is July 8.

We are looking for general counsel and law firm partner applicants in the following categories:

Crisis Management: Industry – General Counsel

Banking & Finance

Insurance

Transportation & Infrastructure

Manufacturing & Chemicals

Technology, Media & Telecom

Retail & Consumer Goods

In-House & Law Firm Awards

Innovative Leadership

Thought Leadership

Collaborative Leadership

Women's Legal Awards

General Counsel of the Year/Managing Partner of the Year

Lifetime Achievement

If you know a general counsel or law firm partner who qualifies for a WIPL award, then please apply here.

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Best Legal Departments

Corporate Counsel's Best Legal Departments awards deadline for submissions is June 15.

We are looking for general counsel and in-house legal department applicants in the following categories:

U.S. Legal Department of the Year

Compliance Department of the Year

Startup Solo GC of the Year

Best Use of Technology

General Counsel of the Year

Best Deputy or Associate GC

Champion of Diversity Award

Best Legal Ops Team

Outstanding Community Service Award

If your general counsel and legal department qualify for a Best Legal Departments award, then please apply here.

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On the Move

Aparna Bawa has been promoted to chief operating officer at Zoom Video Communications. Formerly the first GC and chief legal officer, Bawa assumes her new position as the videoconferencing company sees unprecedented success and litigation amid the monthslong shelter-in-place orders brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.