May 17, 2023

LCLD Diversity News Digest

Here you’ll find the latest diversity, equity, and inclusion news, resources, tips, and thought leadership, curated biweekly for today’s legal leaders—LCLD’s Members—and Diversity Professionals.

On the Need for Equity in America

ASIAN, ASIAN AMERICAN & PACIFIC ISLANDER (AAPI) HERITAGE MONTH 

How LCLD Shaped My Perspective as an Asian American Attorney

“The rare, refreshing experience of being part of a large collective, when I was so used to being an outlier, made me feel truly proud to be an Asian American attorney,” writes 2022 Pathfinder Frances Hyewon Kim, partner at Nelson Mullins.  Nelson Mullins

Why the Wage Gap Differs Among Asian American Women 

Learn how stereotypes, sparse economic data, and generalized analyses contribute to widespread misunderstanding about AAPI women’s experiences in the workplace.  The 19th News

Looming SCOTUS Ruling May Have Chilling Effect on Big Law Diversity Efforts

With affirmative action on the line, education and legal leaders weigh in on what the Supreme Court’s upcoming decisions could mean for the legal pipeline.  Corporate Counsel  |  Related article from Bloomberg Law

Attorneys Should Have an Ethical Duty to Advance DEI

Leadership groups, like the ABA and state bar associations, “could generate greater momentum to drive real change—and better serve the legal profession and society—if they issued a codified, professional obligation for attorneys to promote DEI in the profession and beyond.”  Legal Dive

Only 58% of Women Lawyers in Big Law Would Recommend Legal Careers for Their Daughters

Work-life balance and equitable support are still major issues for women in Big Law, many of whom are having “the same experiences their mothers had in the ’80s,” according to this recent survey report.  ABA Journal

GCs Are Receiving More of Their Pay in Bonuses, Exacerbating Gender Gap

The greater subjectivity of bonuses may help explain why male legal chiefs are getting larger ones than women, reveals this survey of 3,300+ in-house attorneys by Major, Lindsey & Africa.  Corporate Counsel  |  Related article from Legal Dive

DEI Development

Why Some Companies Are Saying “Diversity and Belonging” Instead of “Diversity and Inclusion”

An in-depth examination of what the changing terminology says about today’s DEI strategies—and tomorrow’s.  The New York Times

7 Metrics to Measure Your Organization’s DEI Progress

Track these key metrics that span the entire employee life cycle: attrition, performance, promotions, leadership pipeline, employment pipeline, pay equity, and inclusion.  Harvard Business Review

Effective DEI Strategies Focus on Systemic Change

“A more strategic approach defines DEI goals, analyzes and changes the processes that perpetuate inequity, and focuses on ongoing measurement.” Here are four tips for setting “meaningful, sustainable, systemic” change into motion.  Forbes

LCLD Leads on DEI

Accenture Recognizes Three Law Firms with Diversity Award

Accenture recently honored Baker McKenzie, Fish & Richardson, and Mayer Brown with its Outside Counsel Diversity Award for making significant progress in DEI.  Accenture

Adobe Associate GC Takes Legal Reins at Fast-Rising Go1

2019 Fellow Stephanie Warner, a veteran Adobe attorney, recently became GC of a corporate education content startup whose backers include Microsoft and Salesforce.  Corporate Counsel

More Than 200 GCs Call for Additional Legal Aid Funding

Legal chiefs at 200+ major corporations—including Amazon, Comcast, GE, and AT&T—have signed a letter urging Congress to increase funding for pro-bono civil legal aid.  Corporate Counsel

Davis Wright Exec Committee Head on the Value of Diversity

Camilo Echavarria, the first Latino to chair Davis Wright Tremaine’s executive committee, discusses his top DEI priorities, prospects for future growth, and the evolution of DEI over the past two decades.  Law360 Pulse

Leading for Tomorrow

6 Key Levers of a Successful Organizational Transformation

“In successful transformations, leaders not only made sure their teams had the processes, resources, and technology they needed—they also built the right emotional conditions.” Here are 6 behaviors that can improve the odds of transformation success.  Harvard Business Review

Make Inclusive Behaviors Habitual on Your Team

Explore how Detractor and Amplifier Patterns of behavior can impede or progress Inclusive Teaming, which is “not defined by a team with differences, but by a team that actively and productively manages those differences.”  Harvard Business Review

UPCOMING EVENTS
Members & Diversity Professionals

LCLD Community
JUNE 14 @ 1:00 pm ET
Language of Leadership with Neena Patil

WEBINAR  |  Join LCLD President Robert Grey for a candid conversation about personal leadership in DEI with LCLD Member Neena Patil, EVP and GC of Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
Register and submit questions here.

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