When I joined Flaster Greenberg in 2015 as a lateral associate, I remember scouring the firm’s website for its “diversity and inclusion” statement. I had several job offers from notable midsize and large law firms and I knew that a diverse and inclusive environment was key to making my decision about where to take my career next. In retrospect, I should have done more than simply review the written policies of the firms I was considering. Ask any law firm if they care about diversity and inclusion and the answer is sure to be a resounding and enthusiastic “yes!” Not many law firms—or many companies, for that matter—are willing to openly admit that they struggle with diversity in their employee pool. Even fewer would admit that they don’t prioritize diversity in their hiring decisions or that they don’t take steps to ensure their firm’s policies and procedures actively support a diverse workforce.

At Flaster Greenberg, I quickly realized that diversity is a moving target, and one that we admittedly struggle to get “just right.” I came across an editorial written in March 2007 by Flaster’s then-managing shareholder, Peter Spirgel. In the editorial, Spirgel candidly described Flaster as a law firm “desperate for diversity, but not yet diverse.” He went on to discuss the firm’s challenges with finding qualified diverse candidates and creating initiatives that would encourage diverse candidates to apply and ultimately stay with Flaster. Back in 2007, Spirgel had more questions than answers, but one thing was certain: he knew Flaster had more work to do in order to create the diverse and inclusive team that modern law firms needed, not just for “political correctness,” but because of the myriad genuine economic benefits that come from firm diversity.

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