Diversity

 

Over the past two decades, the legal industry has talked a lot about diversity yet accomplished little. A key reason for this is that diversity by itself isn't enough. Instead, organizations need to focus on the broader concept of diversity plus inclusion.

What's the difference between diversity and inclusion? Diversity involves hiring people from different backgrounds across the entire diversity spectrum: women, people of color, people on the LGBTQI spectrum, and veterans. That's a critical first step, but those people also need to be included in the day-to-day operations of the legal department. They need to have a seat at the table and a chance to contribute in meaningful ways. After all, a benefit arising from organizational diversity is the resulting different perspectives and opinions to a given challenge. If the diverse workforce isn't directly involved—for example, if they're left out of meaningful assignments, or they don't get a chance to speak up during meetings—nothing really changes. One way to think about it is that diversity is like getting invited to join the team but inclusion is getting the chance to play. While it might appear the industry is becoming more diverse, there are still far too many diverse players getting benched.

The good news is that today's legal operations leaders are in a unique position to further diversity and inclusion. As the role of legal ops has grown in recent years, people in that role are well-positioned to raise the concept of diversity and inclusion within the broader legal department. (Or, if this program isn't yet in place, a legal ops leader can help launch the program in the organization.)

Based on my work and recent conversations with industry-leading legal operations professionals, here are five ways to further diversity and inclusion in your organization.

1. Enlist the general counsel. Diversity and inclusion often require a cultural shift in an organization, and those kinds of changes don't happen without the support of senior leaders. Legal ops should have the ear of the general counsel and can lobby for diversity and inclusion throughout the legal department. The general counsel then can make clear that diversity and inclusion are explicit priorities.

2. Create the right accountability. Overcoming the institutional inertia at many legal departments requires some enforcement mechanisms. For decisions like choosing outside counsel, hiring people, or staffing projects, diversity and inclusion need to be part of the selection criteria—and that needs to carry through to the actual work. To make changes stick, diversity and inclusion can become part of performance evaluation criteria, and even bonuses.

3. Collaborate with HR. The legal operations function is uniquely positioned to collaborate with various departments in a company, including the human resources (HR) department. Diversity and inclusion may be an initiative already owned by the HR function, in which case, legal operations can piggyback off that initiative to bring it into the legal department if it doesn't already exist. Alternatively, if there is no corporate-wide initiative, legal ops can partner with the HR function to launch a pilot program in the legal department. If the diversity and inclusion pilot program works well, the initiative can be applied across the entire organization by partnering with HR to carry out that effort. In cases in which legal ops is starting from a blank slate, one option is to bring in a diversity consultant to design a diversity and inclusion initiative for the legal department to implement.

4. Offer specific resources to employees from diverse backgrounds. A central issue limiting inclusion is that diverse employees can feel isolated—they get hired, and then have fend for themselves. Legal operations professionals can ensure their legal departments offer resources such as mentors and sponsors, career coaching, and development opportunities—particularly if the department can use these resources to build a pipeline of diverse talent, starting with its most junior hires and interns. Some organizations even offer hotlines that employees can use to report challenges they experience on the inclusion front. These measures send a clear signal that the legal department is invested in the success of diverse employees and is taking specific steps to help them.

5. Provide implicit bias training. Last, many legal department managers and leaders may not be aware of the biases that shape their thinking­, and subconsciously reinforce traditional thinking and stereotypes. Implicit bias training can raise their awareness and help them make more objective decisions. A legal operations leader can implement implicit bias in training and post-training roundtable or small group discussions to foster greater transparency in the legal department and ensure there are open lines of communication.

Overall, the lack of diversity progress in the legal industry recently may seem disheartening but therein lies the opportunity. When it comes to diversity and inclusion, the legal industry is still in the steep part of the curve where small steps can lead to significant progress. By focusing on diversity and inclusion—through these five practical steps—legal operations leaders can start building legal departments that function more effectively and give everyone a fair shake.

 

Monica Zent is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, businesswoman and trusted legal advisor to leading global brands, over a period that spans decades. She is the founder of leading legal services company, ZentLaw and its innovative ZentLaw Labs. She is also the founder of LawDesk360, the workflow efficiency platform for legal departments and law firms. Zent is an investor in real estate and start-ups. She dedicates much of her time and talent to various charitable causes. She is a diversity and inclusion advocate, inspiring all people to pursue their dreams. When she's not running companies, Zent runs distance as an endurance athlete. @monicazent