(L to R) Kristine McKinney, chief legal talent and inclusion officer, Ahmed Davis, and Teresa Lavoie, Fish & Richardson principals. Courtesy photo

Fish & Richardson's 1L Diversity Fellowship Program has provided annual fellowships to diverse first-year law students throughout the country for 15 years. The firm's EMPOWER Women's Initiative holds biennial summits so that women at all experience levels in the firm can meet in-person and off-site for career and professional development. And Fish has partnered with ChIPs and the Federal Circuit Bar Association to advance the opportunities given to junior lawyers, spearheading a program that has resulted in nearly 30 district court judges issuing orders encouraging opportunities for junior lawyers. The firm is being recognized for Innovation in Diversity and Inclusion as part of The Recorder's California Leaders in Tech Law and Innovation Awards. Kristine McKinney, chief legal talent and inclusion officer at Fish & Richardson, recently told the The Recorder how the firm weaves diversity into the fabric of the company.

Fish's approach to promoting diversity in the firm and in the profession is multipronged and in many instances has been ongoing for a long time. Even with a firm the size of Fish, there are only so many resources to go around. How do you avoid having your efforts become diffuse as they become broader?

Fish launched a strategic diversity and inclusion plan in 2017 with specific goals and key performance indicators. The plan keeps us on track, provides guidelines on which we evaluate new opportunities, and allows us to monitor our progress. We also have tremendous commitment from the Fish leadership who are willing to make diversity and inclusion a priority, and provide us with critical people and budget resources to expand our programs and initiatives.

We empower our people to lead locally. For example, with 11 offices spread across the U.S., there are important geographic differences among those offices. Our women's initiative has local leaders who have a budget to use for localized activities. Each office is empowered to use the budget differently, and that has been very popular and productive.

I oversee four Fish departments, of which diversity and inclusion is one. I have streamlined many of the processes and shared the resources among the different groups. The result is intentional collaboration, allowing us to leverage expertise and get a lot more done.

Your diversity fellowship, women's initiative and work to get junior lawyers stand-up time in court all have components that focus on the next generation of lawyers. How intentional is the focus on young lawyers in the firm's D&I efforts?

Generational issues are a very important aspect of diversity and inclusion. We are always looking for new ways to expand our efforts, both formally and informally. Because I also oversee professional development, legal recruiting and pro bono, meeting the needs of young lawyers is interconnected with other Fish initiatives and is prevalent throughout our culture.

Recruiting talent from diverse backgrounds is the first step, whether it is experienced hires or those just out of law school. Retaining young attorneys and expanding programs to meet their needs is an important opportunity for us. We conduct ongoing training designed to build relationships across peer groups and provide coaching such as asking for more opportunities to gain more experience.

Our 1L Diversity Fellowship program is one of the ways we introduce diverse first-year law school students to intellectual property law and Fish. With a broad definition of who is eligible, this program has greatly expanded our talent pool. Fellows are given stipends, fully participate in our summer program, are paired with a mentor, attend an annual retreat, and receive unique training and development opportunities. We are proud to say that this program attracts some of the best and brightest law students, many of whom have made a career at Fish.

Our EMPOWER Women's Initiative is expanding to include fun, meaningful events with law school students with STEM backgrounds. We also partner with organizations that have made next-gen issues a priority such as ChIPs, NAWL and LCLD fellows and Pathfinders programs, to name a few.

What are Fish's biggest challenges in fostering diversity and inclusion among all levels of the firm? 

One of the biggest challenges is that diversity and inclusion requires change. While it's not easy, adaptability is a differentiator for Fish. Our clients are innovators, and we are innovative. We develop ways to foster diversity and inclusion that create excitement and energy. Our culture is one of not always doing things the same way. We can critically look at systems and processes and recognize what needs to be changed.

I am very proud that Fish is one of 50 U.S. firms to have earned the highest designation of Mansfield 2.0 Certified Plus from Diversity Lab for meeting or exceeding the pipeline consideration requirements for certification and for successfully reaching at least 30% diverse lawyer representation in a notable number of our current leadership roles and committees.

Fish is willing to make the changes where the rubber meets the road. And that's why I love what I do.