You may notice that the LCLD Diversity News Digest looks a bit different (and a bit more like our new website!). In particular, please note the newly added Impact Area tags, which flag resources that speak directly to one of the 20 Impact Areas identified in our Members’ Leader Pledges.

Learn how LCLD Members have explored Collaboration with Google and Succession Planning with Dominion Energy. For questions about Impact Areas, please reach out to Caitlin Puffenberger, LCLD Member Initiatives Manager.

Pledging Action: Lawyer Leaders Commit to a More Inclusive Profession

LCLD ENGAGEMENT  The latest issue of this Harvard Law School publication features LCLD’s Leaders at the Front initiative, its successes and challenges, Board Member Dev Stahlkopf’s personal experience crafting her Leader Pledge, and more.

“What the legal profession has, as opposed to corporate America, is an organization like LCLD. Their investment in trying to make true impact through accountability, collaborative coaching, and iterative feedback processes means that law firms and corporate legal departments have a support network to help them accomplish what they put in their pledges.” The Practice

On the Need for Equity in America

Big Law Leaders Aren’t Losing Sleep Over Sen. Tom Cotton’s Anti-DEI Threats

Law firm leaders cite the 1964 Civil Rights Act as a foundational part of DEI programming as they grapple with the threat of increased scrutiny.  The American Lawyer

Diversity Attacks Make Black Workers Unfair Targets

DIVERSE LEADERSHIP & REPRESENTATION  “With so much emphasis on equal opportunity and allegations that DEI programs are a form of racial discrimination, this national moment stages a collision course where even modest gains in racial progress are being clawed back.”  Bloomberg

DEI Support & Strategy

How to Effectively — and Legally — Use Racial Data for DEI

METRICS & DATA  DEI expert Lily Zheng illustrates how to curtail risk while correcting discrimination, and identifies five goals for data use.  Harvard Business Review

Companies Advised to Avoid Quotas in DEI Hiring, Contracting

METRICS & DATA  Here are a few tips for withstanding challenges to using hard numbers in DEI goals.  LegalDive

Why Companies Can — and Should — Recommit to DEI in the Wake of the SCOTUS Decision

DEI SUPPORT & STRATEGY  Here are five steps to reaffirm your commitment to DEI efforts and, ultimately, move forward in a way that aligns with your organizational values.  Harvard Business Review

Impact of U.S. Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision on Private Employer DEI Programs

A group of Husch Blackwell attorneys explore the current DEI environment in the wake of SCOTUS’s decision, and offer recommendations on how employers can navigate a post–affirmative action world.  Husch Blackwell

LCLD Leads on DEI

Gibson Dunn Forms DEI Task Force

COLLABORATION  As employers rush to comply with new regulations, Gibson Dunn’s diversity team is rising to the occasion with practical guidance. “We’re leading with the fact that we’re committed to this issue and many of our clients are as well,” said 2017 Pathfinder Zakiyyah Salim-Williams.  Corporate Counsel

NAWL Celebrates the Power of Leadership and Diversity

PERSONAL ADVOCACY  Alan Tse, Global CLO of Jones Lang LaSalle, received the 2023 Lead By Example Award at the National Association of Women Lawyers’ Annual Meeting, where 2019 Fellow Sally Bergmann also moderated a panel on diversity in the legal profession.  Above the Law

Wealth Management Firm Taps Google’s Head Legal Director as Legal Chief

DIVERSE LEADERSHIP & REPRESENTATION  2019 Fellow Althea Brown will lead LPL Financial’s legal department upon Michelle Oroschakoff’s upcoming retirement.  Corporate Counsel

Wachtell Lipton Star Joins Salesforce as Legal Chief

DIVERSE LEADERSHIP & REPRESENTATION  After a long career at Wachtell Lipton, 2017 Fellow Sabastian Niles is joining Salesforce as CLO and President.  Corporate Counsel

Corporate Counsel Announces Finalists for the 2023 Best Legal Department Awards

Champion of Diversity Award | Carlos Brown and Shana Simmons
General Counsel of the Year | Paul Grewal
Purpose and Wellbeing Award | James Chosy and Julie Rottenberg
Best Mentor: In-House Legal Department | 2018 Fellow Gina Burgin
Other awards | Accenture, GSK, Hewlett Packard, Meta, PNC Financial

2023 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Framework

Of the 55 law firms on this year's list, 46 are LCLD Members.  Bloomberg Law

Leading for Tomorrow

The Evolving Role of Big Law Leadership

Brad Karp, Chairman of Paul Weiss; Paul Schoeman, Co-MP of Kramer Levin; and other law firm leaders weigh in on what has — and hasn't — changed about their roles since the pandemic began.  The American Lawyer

How to Be a Purpose-Driven Leader Without Burning Out

LEADER ACCOUNTABILITY  “The idea of servant leadership — putting your team’s needs ahead of your own — brought us to a more compassionate, human-centered work environment.... In noble-purpose leadership, the message is: You’re in your role to make an impact.”  Harvard Business Review

Why GCs Need to Step Back from Day-to-Day Legal Work

TALENT DEVELOPMENT  Mastercard’s newly announced legal chief argues for the benefits of thoughtful delegating, which allows leaders to focus on strategy and talent development.  LegalDive

for LCLD Members & Diversity Professionals

August 30, 1:00 PM ET  |  LCLD Community  |  virtual

Leaders at the Front: Diversity and the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision

Join LCLD to discuss the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision on the legal community and its DEI efforts.

Kenji Yoshino, Chief Justice Earl Warren Professor of Constitutional Law at the NYU School of Law, and David Glasgow, Executive Director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging, will share an overview of the ruling and its implications for LCLD Members.

SEPTEMBER 19, 1:00 PM ET  |  LCLD Community  |  virtual

Language of Leadership: Jim Chosy, US Bank

Join LCLD for a candid conversation with Jim Chosy, Senior Executive Vice President & General Counsel of US Bank.

In this installment of LCLD President Robert Grey’s monthly webinar series on leadership, Robert and Jim will discuss how leaders can use their personal commitments to DEI to drive change. Q&A to follow.

OCTOBER 12–13  |  LCLD Members, DPs & Guests  |  Washington, DC

Innovation to Impact: 14th Annual LCLD Membership Meeting

Registration is now open for the 14th Annual Membership Meeting in Washington, DC.

New this year, an additional day of programming for Pledge-Holding LCLD Members will feature insights from Jerry Kang, Distinguished Professor of Law and former Vice Chancellor for DEI at UCLA. Members, DPs, and guests are invited to a keynote with Michael Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work, and a welcome reception at the National Portrait Gallery.

Thank you for supporting the 12th Annual LCLD Alumni Leadership Symposium!

Thank you to all our generous sponsors, especially the following:

— DIAMOND —

Providence Health

— PLATINUM —

BakerHostetler  |  McGuireWoods

— GOLD —

Dinsmore & Shohl  |  Lockheed Martin  |  ThermoFisher Scientific  |  Morrison Foerster  |  Venable

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