It's no secret that diversity and inclusion initiatives remain top of mind for the legal industry, with The American Lawyer's 2019 Diversity Scorecard indicating that only three firms have at least 20 percent minority partners among respondents in the Am Law 200 and National Law Journal 250.

Recognizing the importance—both to clients and potential recruits—in having a diverse workforce and championing inclusion, law firms have put in place extensive programs aimed at increasing representation in the legal community. While firms may be focusing on recruiting diverse hires, ensuring teams meet increasing requirements from clients, and being conscientious when putting forward lawyers for promotions and awards, many do not realize how media relations programs can also fit into firm initiatives.

By identifying and employing a roster of diverse spokespeople, law firms can use media relations as a tool to enhance messaging around their commitment to diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Realize the Media Landscape Is Shifting

According to a study conducted by the Global Media Monitoring Project, as of 2015 women made up only 24 percent of people heard, read about or seen in the media. And since then, news organizations have started to take note of the lack of diverse sources.

In 2015, NPR began conducting an internal study on the diversity of outside sources heard on their weekday radio programs and committed to analyzing the gender, geographic, racial and ethnic diversity of its sources. The Financial Times in 2018 launched “She said He said,” a newsroom bot designed to provide information on the diversity of sources within the publication's reporting. Bloomberg followed suit in April 2018 with the creation of its New Voices initiative to increase representation of women sources in online and on-air content.

As news organizations look to establish quotas for producers and editors to ensure the diversification of sources, individual reporters have also started to take a hard look at who they quote. In 2016, Adrienne LaFrance, executive editor at The Atlantic, published a piece that revealed women made up only 22 percent of the individuals she named or quoted in her stories. The New York Times' David Leonhardt also revealed that he did not quote enough women in his own reporting and highlighted how the media has a responsibility as gatekeepers to who appears in the news.

The media is moving toward diversifying perspectives and, in order to stay ahead, law firms should consider whether spokespeople meet the increasing desire for sources of different races, genders, physical abilities, sexual orientations, etc.

Consider How Spokespeople Are Promoting Your Message

Law firms that are committed to championing diversity and inclusion in the legal and business community should examine the effect that putting forward a more representative set of spokespeople (in terms of race, ethnicity, gender, gender identity, physical ability, sexual orientation, religion, etc.) can have on perception in the media. In short, the messenger can be just as important as the message.

Despite firms becoming more comfortable with throwing their hats in the ring to be thought leaders on issues like gender parity, work-life balance and implicit bias in the workplace, diversity of spokespeople should also extend to thought leadership activities involving attorneys' subject matter expertise. Diversity should not be a consideration only with issues relating to inclusivity or culture.

Moreover, consider little steps that can be taken so that diversity and inclusion messaging is woven throughout a firm's media relations strategy:

• When promoting client matters, when possible, highlight the efforts of the whole team who handled the deal or litigation to paint a picture of the representative nature of parties involved.

• Consider who is being submitted for awards and nominations that will be widely publicized.

• Ask the question of whether different sources could act as appropriate spokespeople to discuss firm news such as pro bono matters, internal programs and business of law initiatives.

Think About How Diversifying Sources Can Help the Bottom Line

Firms are feeling an increasing amount of pressure from both current and prospective clients to have diverse teams. Having diverse spokespeople quoted in the media as subject matter experts in various practice areas shows prospective clients what representation from the firm could look like. Promoting diverse teams involved in a range of matters paints a picture for current clients of a firm's continued commitment to inclusive representation.

When considering diversity and inclusion efforts as part of a media relations program, it can also help to actively attract a diversity of laterals and associates. It is no secret that almost all law firms look to improve the inclusivity of their legal teams. One of the first things prospective recruits are likely to consider is what types of individuals appear in an Internet search of the firm—including those quoted in the media or authoring thought leadership. To reinforce a firm's culture of inclusivity, diverse spokespeople should be considered as an integral part of every media relations program.

Examine Spokespeople and Internal Approach

Before launching any media program it's important to understand your starting point and identify potential roadblocks to success:

• Reexamine your roster. Compare your list of existing spokespeople with the pool of potential candidates. Not every practice group will present opportunities, but looking beyond the obvious practice group leader or elder statesman could reveal more diverse voices who are eager to get involved. This could be especially impactful in practice groups that are notoriously male-dominated, such as M&A.

• Be realistic about constraints. Promoting a diverse set of spokespeople should be a goal, but it will often compete with factors such as seniority, availability to meet pressing deadlines, and subject matter expertise, among others.

• Don't listen only to the loudest voice in the room. It could be that the most prolific spokespeople are the individuals who raise their hands most often when media opportunities are presented to the group. But imposter syndrome—feelings of inadequacy that persist despite evident success—can prevent perfectly capable people from putting themselves forward. Conducting media training and clearly communicating the importance of credentialing can build confidence and empower people who otherwise might have stayed on the sidelines.

• Encourage buy-in from leadership. Without encouragement from practice group leaders and decision-makers, these considerations can fall to the wayside.

With the necessary buy-in and tools in place, the selection of law firm spokespeople can be an important part of a firm's diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Sophie Cikovsky is an associate vice president based in the San Francisco office of Infinite Global, a leading communications consultancy for law firms. Shannon Dempsey is a senior account executive in the firm's New York office.