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. LCLD 2017 Impact Report

LCLD Communications, March 2018

In 2017, LCLD added 37 new Members, launched a series of regional events, and continued to impact the lives and careers of law students, lawyers, and legal leaders across the country. 

2. Building Diverse Law Departments Takes Structure, Culture, and Effort

Corporate Counsel, 3/20/18

LCLD Members Kim Johnson, Chair of Quarles & Brady, and Sharon Barner, General Counsel of Cummins, speak about ways to build a more diverse legal industry and more inclusive organizations, including paying attention to relationship partners, succession planning, and work assignments. 

3. Starbucks Promises 100% Pay Equality for Women and Minorities

Fortune, 3/21/18

“It is important, as a company of our scale, to help bring more attention to this critical issue,” said Lucy Helm, former LCLD Member at Starbucks, of the company’s decision to achieve and maintain pay equality around the world. 

4. McDermott Partner Recounts His Firsts as a Sikh Lawyer

The National Law Journal, 3/21/18

“When I look back on my journey, I could easily have ended up as the token nod to diversity… Instead, I was included—whether by invitation or, more often, through my own personal advocacy—to ensure that I had equal opportunities to excel,” writes Amandeep Sidhu, Partner at LCLD Member firm McDermott Will & Emery.

5. Changes to State CLE Requirements Include Diversity, Inclusion, and Bias

New York Law Journal, 3/23/18

New York now joins California and Minnesota in requiring diversity and inclusion CLE credits; programs must touch on topics like implicit bias, equal access to justice, and serving diverse populations. 

6. Where the Girls Are

The American Lawyer, 3/16/18

For the second year in a row, women make up the majority of American law students, yet they’re clustered in lower-tier schools; among the country’s top 20 law schools, only six have hit the 50 percent mark for female students.  

7. Venture Capital Stereotypes About Men and Women Aren’t Supported By Performance Data

Harvard Business Review, 3/15/18

According to a recent study, venture capitalists evaluate entrepreneurs differently based on their gender, which leads to women receiving significantly fewer investments than their male peers; yet beliefs about how women-owned businesses will perform have no basis in fact.