What is one change you'd like to see all New Jersey firms make in order to promote diversity in the legal profession?

I would like the New Jersey firms to focus on retaining, promoting, and developing minority partners/directors and helping them establish viable books of business to economically sustain their practices. Representation of Black or African American partners (outside counsel) has increased by just three-quarters of a percentage point since 2009, and only surpassed the 2% threshold in 2020 (2.47%). In 2023, the percentage of Black and Latina women each reached 1% of all partners in U.S. law firms for the first time in history. Helping create more viable "business generating" minority partners is the fastest way to increase and promote diversity in the legal profession (outside counsel). In-house counsel and corporate clients' use of diverse outside counsel can have significant influence over the success of diverse lawyers, and from an economic perspective help New Jersey firms to achieve this goal by crediting minority partners with origination on matters.