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. BigLaw Doesn’t Have a Diversity Problem
Law360, 3/30/18
“A firm that is committed to diversity should be equally committed to inclusion, and should engage in practices to assess the equitable distribution of work opportunities,” writes 2011 Fellow Marlen Whitley, Executive Director of Diversity Recruiting at LCLD Member firm Reed Smith.
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2. Research: CEOs with Diverse Networks Create Higher Firm Value
Harvard Business Review, 4/10/18
When leaders have access to more diverse networks, their companies perform better; in this study, CEOs with more diverse networks than average increased the value of their companies by approximately 16 times their compensation.
3. WATCH: Inside the Memorial to Victims of Lynching
60 Minutes, 4/8/18
“America can be a great nation, even though there was slavery, even though there was lynching, even though there was segregation. But if we don’t talk about those things we did, we’re not going to get there,” says Bryan Stevenson, lawyer and founder of the Equal Justice Initiative.
4. Walmart Awards $4 Million to to Diversity Causes and Groups
Black Enterprise, 4/4/18
The philanthropic arm of LCLD Member corporation Walmart Inc. has awarded $4 million to organizations that support diversity, including the National Black Justice Coalition and the Women’s Foundation of Greater Memphis.
5. Asian-American Women Are Filling the GC Suite
The American Lawyer, 4/3/18
“Of the 20 Asian-American lawyers now heading the legal departments of Fortune 500 companies, eight are women. And in China, where patriarchy rules and boys are still favored, over 50 percent of general counsel are women,” writes columnist Vivia Chen.
6. Do You Have “Advantage Blindness”?
Harvard Business Review, 4/10/18
Three ways leaders can acknowledge their own advantages: notice your own biases, work to build empathy for people who don’t have the same advantages as you, and use your personal advantage to help others.
