Compiled for LCLD Members and the 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, or if you would like to subscribe, please email Communications Manager Caitlin Puffenberger at cpuffenberger@lcldnet.com.
1. Black GC 2025 Initiative Shares Core Criteria to Lead Legal Departments
- Black GC 2025 aims to increase the number of black general counsel in Fortune 1000 companies from 50 to 100. The organization has a directory of black GCs and shares the core criteria necessary to lead a legal department, along with running a cohort for prospective GCs, who receive training from general counsel, board directors, and executive coaches. Corporate Counsel
- The initiative is sponsored by LCLD Member firm Thompson Hine and assisted by LCLD Member firms Alston & Bird, Beveridge & Diamond, and Cooley. Corporate Counsel
2. NALP Report Details Slow Progress on Law Firm Diversity
- The 2019 NALP diversity report showed incremental gains for women and minorities in most areas. One bright spot in this year’s report is that the percentage of African American associates has finally bounced back to just above its pre-recession level. Law.com
- The percentage of female partners is now 24.17% up from 23.36% in 2018 . NALP
- People of color make up 9.55% of all partners and just 7.6% of equity partners. NALP
3. The Financial Costs for Firms When Women and Minority Lawyers Leave
- “In a professional service environment, when you lose someone who’s between six and nine years of tenure, $2 million walks out the door,” says Ripa Rashid, Managing Director of Culture at Work. ABA Journal
- That estimate includes both tangible costs—like the money spent developing the person who has left, as well as recruiting and training a replacement—and intangible costs like lost relationships with clients and potential clients. ABA Journal
4. Want to Work at This Firm? Take This Psychological Test
- LCLD Member firm Thompson Hine is using a psychological assessment for new hires (including laterals) to find out whether they align with a “success index” composed of the traits of the firm’s most successful partners. Results are used as a guide for the one-on-one interviews that follow. The American Lawyer
- The first summer associate class that went through the new process was the most diverse the firm had ever had, at about 70%. The American Lawyer
5. Your Social Network Isn’t Diverse Enough
In a recent study, 21% of Americans said they “never or seldom” interact with someone of a different race or ethnicity. Why is this problematic? “A lack of diversity in one person’s personal life can have unintended consequences on creating lasting diversity and inclusion in workplaces,” writes Ruchika Tulshyan, CEO of a D&I strategy firm. “But intentional action to diversify who we engage with outside of the office can lead to real change within.” raceAhead
6. Checks and Balances: Former AG Holder, Zynga GC Talk Collaboration in Diversity
“When you have successful women as GCs, [or] former attorneys general of color at law firms, being successful at what they do, that’s an indication that there’s not that tension, [which] too many people think still exists, between diversity and excellence,” says Eric Holder, former Attorney General and Partner at LCLD Member firm Covington & Burling. The Recorder
7. Federal Study Confirms Racial Bias of Many Facial-Recognition Systems
Asian and African American people were up to 100 times more likely to be misidentified than white men in a federal study of the use of facial recognition technology, raising concerns as AI is increasingly used for everything from cell phone sign-ons to airport boarding to law enforcement. The Washington Post
