Affirmative action is over, but equity efforts are far from defeated. While the Supreme Court's ruling was heavily predicted and there is no roadmap for what follows, we have never had a roadmap to guide organizational efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion. What we do have is enough knowledge from preceding events to know that enrollment of historically excluded students drastically drops when race is no longer considered as a component of the college admissions process. This played out in California and Michigan respectively after state referendums and ballot initiatives in 1996 and 2006. We also have enough knowledge and data around the DEI market to know that organizational commitment waxes and wanes based on changing economic and political climates. But most importantly, we have learned that diversity is and will remain a positive differentiator. The research and benefits harnessed over the past decades will not disappear with one court ruling.

As a leader, it is important to center your diversity management strategy around a few key tenants:

• More diverse leadership teams will continue to drive stronger business outcomes—as countless studies have proven.
• Clients will continue to make hiring and firing decisions based on firms presenting diverse teams, highlighting inclusive cultures and operating socially engaged operations that are aware of and involved in issues surrounding their communities and industry.
• Talent will continue to seek employers that align with their personal values and missions—and hold firms to account that fail.
• More diverse workplaces are inevitable.

The end of affirmative action may prove challenging for leaders dedicated to the difficult task of creating and upholding equitable cultures. There will be more lawsuits. Already under-represented racially diverse talent in law schools will decline. Anti-DEI proponents will become even more emboldened. Even taking all the headwinds into consideration, now is the time to double down. Tactics will need to change in some functions, but the overall objective of building more diverse and inclusive organizations remains. Some firms will pull ahead, while others will falter in their commitment. As you move forward, consider engaging in the following:

• Publicly reiterate your commitment to building an equitable organization. Many of your employees will be worried that the ruling will result in disengagement from leadership on diversity efforts.
• Prioritize expanding recruiting efforts to include earlier pipeline programs that extend beyond law school preparation and law school. The legal industry will need to reach deeper, similar to investments in young diverse talent in the STEM sector through secondary education outreach.
• Increase investment and partnerships with universities and law schools known to attract more diverse populations, starting with HBCU's where endowments and resources run smaller.
• As employers of graduating talent, apply pressure to elite law schools to end other preferential admissions policies for other groups. This includes legacy students, children of large donors and athletes.
• Broaden diversity efforts to include socio-economic status. There is a high correlation between historically excluded racially diverse talent in law schools and those with limited economic means.

Lawyers will continue to solve some of the world's most challenging problems. The profession is up for the challenge of continuing to drive equitable representation within our own walls.