The impact of the pandemic and diversity and inclusion efforts were the primary topics of discussion at a meeting this month of law firm managing partners and affinity bar organization leadership.

New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA) President Kimberly A. Yonta noted the meeting was only a "first step" in bringing together the leaders of firms and affinity bars. The state bar is committed to continuing these opportunities for networking and interaction, particularly once in-person programming can resume, she said.

Law firm managing partners talked about how the lessons and practices of this time will reverberate in the years to come. Some said they were reducing their physical footprint, given the success of the work-from-home model. At the same time, others worried about what the lack of in-person interaction was doing to the quality of mentorship and what knowledge gaps were developing.

That's a concern for attorneys overall, and also for those who have been historically underrepresented in law firms, several meeting attendees noted. One way to disrupt law firm culture in terms of hiring and retaining attorneys of diverse backgrounds is the Mansfield rule, a strategy to measure whether law firms have affirmatively considered at least 30% women, lawyers of color, LGBTQ+ lawyers and lawyers with differing abilities for leadership, governance and other roles within the firm.

Chief Diversity Officer Lloyd Freeman and Joseph Dougherty, CEO and managing director at Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney in Philadelphia, spoke in-depth about the requirements of Mansfield rule certification and their experience with the program. The presentation was followed up with a question-and-answer session from the group.

James A. Lewis V, chair of the NJSBA Diversity Committee, chair-elect of the Minorities in the Profession Section and director of diversity for Chasan Lamparello Mallon & Capuzzo in Secaucus, noted the important role both the NJSBA and the affinity bar organizations can play in being a resource for firms hoping to improve efforts to recruit and retain diverse attorneys.

The virtual gathering, convened by Yonta, was a follow-up to a similar meeting that former NJSBA President John Keefe put together in 2019. A March 2020 event planned by former President Evelyn Padin was canceled with the onset of the pandemic.