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, articles you'd like to share, of if you would like to subscribe, please email Communications Specialist Caitlin Puffenberger at cpuffenberger@lcldnet.com.
1. OpEd: Female Lawyers Can Talk, Too
The New York Times, 8/8/17
Law firms, corporations, and judges all need to work harder to make sure women aren't relegated to the sidelines on the courtroom, writes Shira Scheindlin, Of Counsel at LCLD Member firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
Recommended reading from Ellen Dwyer, LCLD Board of Directors.
2. As Clients Get Tougher on Diversity, Some Firms See a Selling Point
The American Lawyer, 8/1/17
In 2016, LCLD Member firm Littler Mendelson, P.C. received 24 client requests for diversity data on the firm and/or specific teams, up from seven the previous year, said LCLD Member and Co-President of the firm, Tom Bender.
3. Microsoft Announces Plans to Nearly Phase Out Billable Hour
Bloomberg Big Law Business, 8/1/17
LCLD Member corporation Microsoft hopes to shift 90 percent of its legal work into alternative fee arrangements in the next two years, establishing a “new type of relationship” with its preferred law firms.
4. What’s Working: How to Build a Diversity and Inclusion Framework
LCLD Communications, 7/28/17
LCLD Member firm Reed Smith LLP isn’t waiting for clients to request more diversity. Instead, they’re taking the lead with an organization-wide diversity and inclusion framework.
5. Harvard University’s 2017 Intake ‘Majority Non-White’ for First Time
BBC, 8/3/17
With 50.8 percent of incoming freshmen from minority groups, Harvard University has the most diverse enrollment in its 380-year history.
6. Deloitte’s Radical Attempt to Reframe Diversity
Harvard Business Review, 8/3/17
After seeing evidence that employee resource groups can “divide people up into artificial subgroups…and isolate them from the networks of power and influence that are such a key part of how leaders identify and promote people,” Deloitte is instead creating groups to educate white male leaders on inclusion.
7. The Great Political Divide Over American Identity
The New York Times, 8/2/17
While people remain divided over the specifics of what it means to be American, the nation as a whole is moving away from exclusion, according to a new survey; there is “strong support for the importance of respecting American political institutions and laws...and accepting people of diverse backgrounds.”
