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. How and Where Diversity Drives Financial Performance

Harvard Business Review, 1/30/18

For companies with above-average diversity, innovation revenues were 19 points higher and earnings margins with 9 points higher than average, according to recent research. 

2. Is Patent Litigation Still a Man’s Game? Yes, Female Lawyers Say

Bloomberg Big Law Business, 1/22/18

Only 28 percent of attorneys participating in patent litigation cases were women; among those, women held only 8 percent of leadership roles, according to a recent report. 

3. Managing #MeToo: Breaking the Silence

Harvard Business Review, 1/26/18

“It is never easy to change an organizational culture. Patterns of behavior get established over time, and people who question or oppose those patterns may be isolated or hectored. But it is possible to change culture with a strategic and persistent effort.”

4. How Diversity Training Infuriates Men and Fails Women

TIME, 1/25/18

In an effort to improve diversity and retention of women and minorities, LCLD Member corporation Google has moved away from traditional diversity training to focus on unconscious bias, paired with stronger parental leave policies. 

5. Trends in Paid Parental Leave Come to the Legal Industry: A Call to Action for Law Firms?

Lexology, 1/23/18

“Even though a law firm or company may have a formal policy allowing employees to take paid leave, certain offices, departments, or practice groups in a firm may discourage actual use of the policy,” writes Michelle Wimes, Chief Diversity and Professional Development Officer at LCLD Member firm Ogletree Deakins. 

6. Reed Smith Launches Workplace Wellness Initiative

The American Lawyer, 1/25/18

A new program from LCLD Member firm Reed Smith LLP provides its lawyers with speakers and resources to support stress reduction, mindfulness, and work-life balance.