Earlier this year, over 150 corporate general counsel and chief legal officers signed on to an open letter directed to law firms. That letter voices frustration over the lack of promotions and advancement of diverse associates and partners within large law firms. It also threatens to move substantial business to law firms with more diversity in their ranks. However, whether it ultimately moves the dial depends on what steps corporations and the firms that represent them take to translate these beliefs into action. We propose the following simple (if not necessarily easy to implement) perspective on what those next steps require.

The development and advancement of associates to partner, and partners within the partnership, boils down to just a few factors: increasing opportunities to lead client relationships, obtain origination credits and work on matters of significance. Unfortunately, addressing these issues may carry both perceived financial and political consequences by disrupting an established workflow or firm hierarchy, and concerns about business interruption from the perspective of clients who have enjoyed satisfactory representation and long-standing relationships with a firm's nondiverse partners.

Consider the example of a diverse associate who has just been promoted to partner. No doubt, the associate demonstrated characteristics warranting the promotion—excellent work product, business development potential, teamwork, work ethic, leadership qualities, etc. Assume further that the new partner has some first-chair experience but only on “smaller” matters for large clients or, alternatively, matters for “smaller” clients. Too often, the careers of newly minted diverse partners fitting this profile stall at this point. The reality is that their advancement (including their ability to influence future hiring decisions and overall firm management) hinges to a large degree on: a senior partner ceding an opportunity to lead a significant matter/relationship, or a client's willingness to provide a “first-chair” opportunity even at the cost of foregoing using a nondiverse lawyer with whom they have a long and comfortable relationship. For the diverse partner, if they repeatedly see that neither the senior partners nor the clients are willing to open the door of opportunity, they will leave, opting instead to go in-house, start their own firm, join another firm where the door appears more open or take a position in the public sector, thereby perpetuating the cycle of lack of diversity in the large firm they left.

Thus, the focus of the dialogue between clients and law firms, if it is to be a meaningful one, must be on creating opportunity. The conversation needs to be focused single-mindedly on this goal, even at the risk of upsetting the status quo. What concrete steps can clients and law firms partner together on to provide diverse attorneys more opportunities to lead key matters? Gain influence within the firm? Originate business? Build a portfolio of marketable experience that will sustain a career, not just a “one time” promotion? What steps can clients and firms take to encourage/incentivize the senior lawyers currently holding the business to open the door for their more junior diverse colleagues? What steps can GCs take to incentivize the lawyers in their departments who select counsel choose the diverse attorney? Without clearer direction and alignment on the answers to these tough questions, such open letters may not get the traction their authors hope for.

Nipun J. Patel is a commercial litigator and founding partner of Holland & Knight's Philadelphia office. He is co-chair of the Philadelphia office's diversity committee, president of the South Asian Bar Association and a member of the Philadelphia Diversity Law Group's board of directors. 

Rick Richardson is vice president and associate general counsel, dispute resolution and prevention, for GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Richardson is a member of GSK legal's diversity and inclusion steering team, is on the admissions committee and advisory council of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms and is GSK's representative to the inclusion initiative.