Compiled for the LCLD Board of Directors every Wednesday, this digest is designed to brief you on the latest headlines about LCLD Members and organizations, as well as thought-provoking articles on diversity in the legal profession, talent development, mentoring, and leadership. Past issues of the Digest are also archived on the LCLD web site.

If you have questions about the Digest, or articles you'd like to share, please email Caitlin Puffenberger at cpuffenberger@lcldnet.com. 

This week, in news related to diversity and inclusion...

1. Diversity Action Matters in the Business Law World

The Huffington Post, 12/10/15

Following the release of its report “Diversity Action Matters,” the California Minority Counsel Program asked general counsel and other high-rankling in-house attorneys at major companies to “identify innovative, concrete actions that could measurably improve diversity in the business community over the next five years.” LCLD Member Russell Swartz, Senior Vice President and General Counsel at Southern California Edison, suggested inviting outside counsel to company diversity meetings. LCLD Member Michael Fricklas, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary at Viacom talked about the importance of diverse recruiting and cultivating talent “long before you’re ready to hire.” Barry Parsons, LCLD Diversity Contact and Associate General Counsel at Freddie Mac, suggested tying employee compensation to diversity success. Suggestions also came from LCLD Member organizations Chevron Corporation and Microsoft Corp. 

2. 2015 Annual Impact Report 

LCLD, December 2015 

Each year, LCLD surveys program participants to assess the impact of our programs. Highlights include: 

• Unlike their counterparts elsewhere in the profession, LCLD Fellows show no indication of social isolation. 
• Nearly half of LCLD Fellows have referred work to each other. 
• Four LCLD Fellows Alumni became LCLD Members after promotion to general counsel or managing partner. 
• One hundred percent of LCLD 1L Scholars found employment during their 2L summer.
• The number of 1L Scholar secondments between LCLD law firms and corporations tripled in the past year.   

3. The Year’s Biggest Social Justice Stories

The New York Times, 12/20/15

Social justice experts share which events had the most effect on the social justice movement in 2015. The continuation of the Black Lives Matter movement, the Supreme Court’s ruling in favor of gay marriage, and the massacre in Charleston were some of the events that started conversations and inspired social change. 

4. 15 Striking Findings from 2015

Pew Research Center, 12/22/15

The Pew Research Center pulled together some of its most interesting findings from 2015, which included important implications for minorities and diversity both in the U.S. and worldwide. Notable findings include:

• 59 percent of Americans say the country needs to continue to make changes to give African Americans equal rights.
• Nearly 59 million immigrants have arrived in the U.S. in the past 50 years, making 14 percent of the coutnry’s population foreign-born.
• 6.9 percent of American adults are multiracial, and their numbers are growing three times faster than the rest of the population.