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. Akin Gump’s New Leadership Shows Firm Drive Toward Diversity 

Bloomberg, 1/15/19

“Our diversity strategy includes a clear focus on diverse leadership, as diverse leadership enhances the perspectives we offer our clients and demonstrates to everyone at our firm that we are walking the walk,” said Kim Koopersmith, LCLD Board Member and Chair of Akin Gump, of the firm’s recent appointments.

2. Bricklayers and Architects 

Legal Evolution, 1/20/19

“The sum of our work is building a cathedral, not just laying so many bricks,” writes Jason Barnwell, 2016 Fellow and Assistant General Counsel at Microsoft. “How does an expert technician (bricklayer) become a strategic advisor (architect)?”

3. 2018 Women in the Workplace Report

Lean In, January 2019 

Among many insights from this year’s report: 

• About 1 in 5 senior leaders is a woman, and 1 in 25 is a woman of color. 
• Women and men leave their workplaces at the same rate, and most often move to other companies, rather than leaving to focus on their families.
• Women and men get different levels of support from managers, and women of color get significantly less support than white women. The same is true of interactions with senior leaders.
• Employees with sponsors are 1.4 times more likely to say they’ve had a meaningful interaction with a senior leader and 1.5 times more likely to aspire to be a top executive themselves—and this is especially true for women. Yet fewer than one in four employees has a sponsor.

4. How Organizations are Failing Black Workers—and How to Do Better

Harvard Business Review, 1/16/19

“When organizations hold managers responsible for their efforts to improve racial and gender diversity, they produced better results than organizations that rely on diversity trainings or formal mentoring programs,” writes professor Adia Wingfield. 

5. Bryan Stevenson Wants the U.S. to Face Its History 

New York Times, 1/16/19

“We have to be willing to...create a world where if Dr. King emerged, he would be so proud to say his dream has finally been realized,” says lawyer and author Bryan Stevenson. “We’re not in that world yet.”