I N S I D E
T H E
M I N D S
Building and
Encouraging
Law Firm Diversity
Leading Lawyers on Creating and
Maintaining an Inclusive Firm Culture
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Leadership Matters: Obstacles
and Opportunities in Diversity
and Inclusion
Kenneth O. C. Imo
Director of Diversity & Inclusion
Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
Introduction
Mental Shortcuts Influence Our Subconscious Perceptions of Who Is a Leader
In five seconds or less, think about what an Army general looks like to you. It
is highly unlikely you envisioned a woman because we are accustomed to
seeing men in positions of military leadership, even though there are women
Army generals. Most people probably would not immediately think of a
person of color, a woman, or someone who is openly gay when asked to
describe the characteristics of a law firm partner. This does not reveal sexism,
racism, or homophobia. But both examples do reveal unconscious bias—
how normal mental shortcuts related to categorization subconsciously
produce and perpetuate certain prejudices. These mental shortcuts influence
our subconscious perceptions of who is a leader. They also affect whom we
position and, ultimately, select to lead our organizations.
Advancing diversity and inclusion involves many factors and requires a
multifaceted approach taken by leaders who are knowledgeable of the
potential obstacles and who are adept at communicating and working
toward the opportunities. So, in addition to addressing unconscious bias (as
a potential obstacle), this chapter will cover early education and how it
determines future lawyers; the impact of law school admissions practices on
advancing diversity and inclusion efforts; how a different approach to law
firm recruiting efforts could make a real change in this area; the impact of
homophily (in-group preference) on developing, retaining, and promoting a
diverse group of lawyers; and, finally, the role leaders play in advancing
diversity and inclusion in their organizations. Each of these topics will
provide context for leaders to determine how to make progress within the
existing parameters or identify ways to work around them.
Future Lawyers Are Made in Pre-Kindergarten
Fifty years ago, the Civil Rights Act of 19641 authorized a study to describe
the inequalities among educational opportunities across the United States
based on race and class. The study, commonly referred to as the COLEMAN
REPORT after Professor James S. Coleman, included several findings.
1
4
See 42 U.S.C.A. §§ 2000a et seq.
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
Among them were significant achievement disparities based on race. The
study also found that the socioeconomic status a child is born into has an
impact on the individual’s success as an adult. An article published in the
Spring 2016 edition of EDUCATION NEXT titled What Matters for Student
Achievement states that the achievement gap has closed little in the past fifty
years. At the current pace of progress, it will take 150–200 years to close the
achievement gap between black and white students.
Why is the achievement gap important to law firm diversity efforts? It is
important because future lawyers begin their training before kindergarten.
In fact, the American Bar Association’s (ABA’s) Council for Racial and
Ethnic Diversity in the Educational Pipeline describes prekindergarten
programs as the beginning of the legal diversity pipeline. The Widening Income
Achievement Gap, published by Educational Leadership,2 states that the
achievement gap is large when students enter kindergarten and attributes
this gap to poverty. Unfortunately, this is when the weeding-out process
begins. Approximately 90 percent of all American children attend public
schools, and racial minorities comprise more than half of these students.
Poorer Children May Never Catch Up
A report by the Southern Education Foundation states that 51 percent of all
public school children from prekindergarten through the twelfth grade are
eligible for free or reduced-price lunches.3 A consequence of having a majority
poor public school student population is that these children start kindergarten
behind their wealthier peers in private and public schools and may never catch
up. The result is a porous diversity pipeline with a disparity in academic
achievement among rich, poor, minority, and non-minority children. It also
results in higher dropout and expulsion rates for African American and
Hispanic/Latino students and lower scores on standardized tests.
2
EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP May 2013, Volume 70, Number 8. Faces of Poverty, pp. 10-16.
See http://www.southerneducation.org/Our-Strategies/Research-and-Publications/NewMajority-Diverse-Majority-Report-Series/A-New-Majority-2015-Update-Low-IncomeStudents-Now.
3
5
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
In The Educational Pipeline to Law School—Too Broken and Too Narrow to Provide
Diversity,4 Professor Sara Redfield of the University of New Hampshire
School of Law says these factors also result in disproportionately higher levels
of disengaged minority and poor children. It is difficult for students facing
this many obstacles to be among the pool of qualified law school applicants.
Your Law School Determines Your Law Firm, but Should It?
Despite the challenges mentioned above, students of color are attending
law school. In fact, law schools are probably more diverse than ever (in
terms of percentages, rather than headcount). This shift is partly attributable
to lower-tiered law schools—i.e., schools with the lowest median Law
School Admission Test (LSAT) scores for incoming students—accepting
disproportionately more African American and Hispanic students, as well as
the fact that fewer students are now going to law school in general.
According to a report by Professor Aaron N. Taylor of Saint Louis
University School of Law,5 law school student enrollment fell by 25 percent
between 2010 (with a record high of 52,488 first-year students) and 2013
(with a record low of 39,675 first-year students). After analyzing LSAT
scores and enrollment statistics for those two years, Professor Taylor noted
that the schools with the highest median LSAT scores became less diverse,
while the less prestigious schools became more diverse.
Only 4 Percent of Graduates of Lower-Tiered Schools Work in Law Firms
Professor Taylor attributes this development to many factors, including the
need for lower-tiered schools to maintain revenue by using diversity to help
accomplish this goal, as well as elite law schools using the economic
downturn as an opportunity to focus more on admitting students with the
highest LSAT scores. This “racial and ethnic stratification” among law
schools has long-term consequences on the career paths and trajectories of
minority students. For example, research by the Law and Society
4
Sarah E. Redfield, The Educational Pipeline to Law School—Too Broken and Too Narrow
to Provide Diversity, 8 PIERCE L. REV. 347 (2010). Available at http://scholars.unh.
edu/unh_lr/vol8/iss3/5.
5
Aaron Taylor, Diversity as a Law School Survival Strategy, 59 Saint Louis University
Law Journal 321 (2015), http://goo.gl/wQYpru.
6
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
Association6 reveals that more than 50 percent of graduates from top ten
law schools work either in law firms with at least 250 lawyers or in
prestigious federal government positions. On the contrary, only 4 percent
of graduates of lower-tiered schools work in law firms. Many of these
graduates work in small solo practices or in state government jobs.
According to Professor Taylor’s research, schools outside of the top fifty
law schools are more diverse than schools in the top fifty. But despite
shrinking levels of diversity in elite schools, top firms continue to recruit
almost exclusively at these schools with the hope of getting more students
who self-identify as people of color or openly lesbian, gay, bisexual, or
transgender (LGBT). Perhaps it is time for top law firms to expand their
pool beyond top law schools. Professor William D. Henderson of Indiana
University School of Law thinks so.
In Solving the Legal Profession’s Diversity Problem,7 Henderson states that tradition
and past practices are among the things that drive law firm behavior—
particularly with respect to recruiting. Law firms prefer students from highly
selective law schools because part of the vetting process has already been
done for them. Elite schools admit only students with high undergraduate
grades and LSAT scores, and law firms believe these students are best
equipped to handle complex legal issues. Henderson set out to determine
whether heavy reliance on law school pedigree produces a better candidate
pool. His research in the area brought him to this conclusion: no.
Lawyers Choose a Profession Designed to Weed People Out
Henderson believes that law firms’ overemphasis on recruiting students
from elite schools is misguided and potentially harmful to their diversity
efforts. He describes lawyers as a “highly filtered” population because to
become a practicing attorney, you need to obtain a four-year degree, score
high enough on the LSAT to attend an ABA-accredited law school,
complete law school, and pass a state bar examination. That means these
people are highly motivated and smart. Or, as psychologists would say,
lawyers belong to a “range-restricted” population because, compared to the
6
Ronit Dinovitzer and Bryant G. Garth, Lawyer Satisfaction in the Process of Structuring
Legal Careers, Law & Society Review, Vol. 41, No. 1 (Mar. 2007), pp. 1-50.
7
Henderson, William D., Research Paper Number 335 PD Quarterly 2016.
7
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
general population, this is a group with high cognitive ability that has
endured a rigorous weeding-out process.
Because lawyers choose a profession designed to weed people out,
Henderson sets out to determine what impact, if any, do undergraduate
grade-point averages (GPAs), LSAT scores, and law school grades have on
someone’s potential for long-term success as a lawyer under these
circumstances. For empirical data on this point, Henderson relied on research
conducted by Professors Marjorie Shultz and Sheldon Zedeck of the
University of California, Berkeley.
Study Shows Modest Correlation Between Grades and LSAT Scores
The Shultz-Zedeck study involved identifying twenty-six lawyer effectiveness
factors as provided by industrial and organizational psychology research on
attorneys. They created a survey to measure lawyer effectiveness on a scale of
one to five and evaluated more than 1,000 UC Berkeley and UC Hastings law
alumni and approximately 200 UC Berkeley law students. Shultz and Zedeck
measured the participants’ scale ratings against their undergraduate GPAs,
LSAT scores, and law school grades.
The results included the following findings:




For law school graduates, there was a modest, positive correlation
between grades and LSAT scores and factors such as analysis and
reasoning, researching the law, writing, and problem solving.
There was a statistically significant negative correlation between firstyear grades and LSAT scores, and networking and community service.
In the law student sample, there was no positive correlation between
undergraduate GPA and any of the twenty-six effectiveness factors.
Undergraduate GPA had a negative association with practical
judgment, seeing the world through the eyes of others, developing
relationships, integrity, and community service.
Law Firms Should Focus Less on School Pedigree
The Schultz-Zedeck study also assessed various job-relevant indicators of
future lawyer success that cannot be captured by relying solely on academic
8
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
factors. They compared the participants’ survey ratings against performance
on the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI), a widely used personality
assessment tool that is deemed a better indicator for lawyer effectiveness.
HPI measures personality traits that include confidence, composure under
pressure, initiative, desire for leadership roles, extraversion, tact, selfdiscipline, creative potential, and achievement orientation. Shultz and
Zedeck identified correlations between the HPI and the survey they created
that suggests law firms should focus less on school pedigree and more on
job-relevant behavior when recruiting candidates. Furthermore, their
research did not reveal performance gaps based on race and gender with
respect to lawyer effectiveness.
Henderson concludes the following from his research and the ShultzZedeck study:




Lawyers do not need to attend elite law schools to succeed in law
firms.
The correlation between law school grades and future law firm
performance has more to do with individual motivation than pedigree.
More law school graduates have the aptitude to become highperforming partners than most law firm partners think.
Law firms will see a more diverse candidate pool if they placed less
emphasis on academic pedigree and more on job-relevant factors.
People Gravitate Toward People Like Themselves
Assuming that law firms take a different approach to recruiting resulting in
greater diversity in their summer-associate and entry-level classes, how should
they stem the attrition of diverse lawyers? Henderson references a study by
professors from Penn State University and Massachusetts Institute of
Technology (MIT) that shows a correlation between associates receiving (and
doing well on) high-quality work and long-term success in their firms. This
type of work generally comes from influential partners and provides junior
lawyers with additional exposure to these partners and reputation-building
opportunities. Henderson’s research on diversity and the work-assignment
process does not reveal systemic gender or racial bias. However, he does
acknowledge that associates and partners may naturally gravitate toward
people like themselves, which disadvantages women and minority associates
9
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
because there are so few women and minority partners positioned to dole out
career-advancing work. Social psychologists refer to the concept of people
gravitating toward people similar to themselves as homophily.
Research in this area suggests that in-group favoritism is a bigger problem
than overt hostility toward someone from another group because people are
more likely to give opportunities to members of their own group. According
to Rethinking the Baseline in Diversity Research: Should We Be Explaining the Effects of
Homogeneity?, an article published in PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL
SCIENCE,8 it is well documented that cognitive diversity—the variety of
approaches brought to problem solving by diverse groups—improves
business outcomes and prevents groupthink. However, diverse teams may
also result in greater conflict when there is a lack of awareness of how to
build inclusivity. According to research by psychologists on homophily—the
idea that people naturally associate more with people similar to them,
including being similar in race/ethnicity—people are more likely to give
opportunities to members of their particular group.9 Studies have also shown
that in-group preferential treatment is a stronger motive driving group
conflict than out-group opposition. This preference for in-group members
can also manifest in outcomes that may even be harmful to clients.
Homogeneity Results in Herd Mentality
One example that highlights the detrimental effects of homophily is captured
in Ethnic Diversity Deflates Price Bubbles, an article published in the
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA (PNAS).10 Researchers selected participants
who were randomly assigned to ethnically homogenous and diverse markets.
The study revealed that in the homogenous market scenario, traders were
more likely to accept speculative prices. Consequently, overpricing was
higher, and these markets suffered more severe crashes when bubbles burst.
In ethnically diverse markets, market prices fit true values 58 percent better
than in homogenous markets, and, as a result, market crashes were less
severe. The researchers concluded that in addition to human errors and
8
Perspectives on Psychological Science, May 2014 vol. 9 no. 3 235-244.
Id.
10
PNAS December 30, 2014, vol. 111 no. 52.
9
10
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
economic climate, price bubbles may also be a consequence of the social
context of decision-making. This is because ethnic diversity may foster
friction resulting in beneficial skepticism. Conversely, a characteristic of
homogeneity is overwhelming confidence that translates into a “herd
mentality” which is often associated with pricing bubbles.
Further making this point is an independent evaluation by the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), assessing its role in not foreseeing or preventing the
global financial crisis.11 In its report, the IMF accepted responsibility for its
role in the crisis and concluded that its leadership suffered from its own
homogeneity—all men from developed economies with similar credentials,
who did not think large Western countries could trigger a financial meltdown.
Legal Profession Is 88 Percent White
Homophily is an issue in every walk of life, so one impediment to retaining
and advancing a diverse group of lawyers may be a subconscious desire to
offer the best career-boosting opportunities to a person’s own group. This
issue can be particularly pronounced in a homogenous legal industry
because, based on statistics compiled by the ABA and the National
Association for Law Placement (NALP), the profession is 88 percent white,
and the partnership ranks of the largest law firms are 90 percent white.12
Leaders who want to build inclusive, merit-based environments must
understand how homophily and unconscious bias may influence processes
that affect the retention and advancement of a diverse group of lawyers.
Specifically, these cognitive issues may affect evaluations, work assignments,
who receives the halo effect—i.e., labeled a superstar associate—the
perceptions of associate mistakes, visibility and exposure to clients, and the
sponsorship that associates receive from powerful partners—all of which
influence a lawyer’s tenure and long-term success within law firms, to
include succeeding as a law firm partner.
11
Excerpted from report created by the Center for Talent Innovation, How Diversity
Drives Innovation: A Compendium of Best Practice, 2/1/2014.
12
http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/market_research/lawyerdemographics-tables-2016.authcheckdam.pdfhttp://www.nalp.org/0116research.
11
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
Clients Often Base Retention Decision on Social Relationships
In Which path to power? Workplace networks and the relative effectiveness of inheritance
and rainmaking strategies for professional partners, 13 Professors Forrest Briscoe and
Andrew von Nordenflychtsought to determine how inheriting someone’s
practice or building your own (rainmaking) had an impact on partners’ careers
in professional services firms. Both strategies rely on a partner’s ability to
establish meaningful internal and external relationships that position them for
long-term success to eventually generate client revenue. Because professional
services require the application of customized knowledge to client problems,
it is difficult for clients to assess the quality of the service either before or
after it has been performed. As a result, according to Briscoe and von
Nordenflycht, clients base the decision to retain a lawyer on at least two
factors: their ability to trust the attorney based on that person’s reputation for
providing quality work and social relationships that have developed over time
between senior client executives and individual partners in the firm.
The inability to assess work quality effectively means that clients will
continue working almost exclusively with the lawyer with whom they have
always worked. This dynamic makes the rainmaking strategy incredibly
difficult, but not impossible, and the inheritance strategy depends entirely
on the senior partner’s desire to pass off his (because they are mostly men)
practice to a focal partner. Based on homophily, that is likely to be someone
from a background similar to that of the senior partner.
Leaders Create Change or React to It: MLB, US Military, and NFL
Diversity and inclusion are about power, change, and making sure we give
everyone a fair shot to compete on a level playing field. Leaders intent on
making meaningful, sustainable progress in diversity and inclusion will
create change or react to change in ways that benefit their organizations.
This section will examine steps taken by leaders in sport and the military to
address the obstacles they faced in pushing diversity and inclusion forward.
In 1947, Jackie Robinson became the first African American in Major League
Baseball (MLB). Robinson was a great baseball player and is a Hall of Famer,
13
Journal of Professions and Organization, 2014, 1, 33-48.
12
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
but he was not the best African American baseball player of his era. There
were many talented black ball players, but there were few visionary and
courageous baseball executives, all of whom were white, who would give
African Americans the opportunity to compete at the highest level.
Branch Rickey, president and general manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers,
demonstrated courageous visionary leadership when he sought to become
the first and only baseball executive to challenge baseball’s unwritten rule of
barring African American baseball players.
Law Firm Leaders Can Learn from Rickey
According to Lee Lowenfish’s BRANCH RICKEY: BASEBALL’S FEROCIOUS
GENTLEMAN,14 Rickey knew that to be competitive and dominant for the
long term, he had tap into an unused talent pool. He also knew that because
African Americans served the country during World War II to fight against
oppression and bigotry abroad, it became harder to justify segregation in the
MLB. Rickey, who was deeply religious and an ardent believer in capitalism,
also knew integration made good business sense, and it was the right thing to
do. So he and a small group of trusted advisors identified Robinson after
secretively scouting black ball players, fostering buy-in from Dodgers’
ownership to recruit Robinson, and recruiting various key constituents within
the community to support Robinson. Rickey immediately became a friend of
and advocate for Robinson after signing him. He brought in private coaches
to shore up particular weaknesses in Robinson’s game; he persuaded the team
announcer, a supporter of racial segregation who was the voice of Brooklyn
Dodger’s baseball, to set aside his bias and be impartial in evaluating
Robinson’s play. When a group of white Dodgers players threatened to leave
the organization if Robinson signed, Rickey personally intervened to thwart
their revolt. Rickey’s deliberate actions laid the foundation for Robinson’s
individual success and the team’s success.
Robinson was naturally gifted and proved he could play at the highest level. But
Rickey, a leader keenly aware of the potential impediments to Robinson’s
success, took actions to ameliorate and where possible eliminate those
14
Lee Lowenfish, Branch Rickey: Baseball’s Ferocious Gentleman, University of
Nebraska Press, 2007.
13
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
obstacles. Rickey’s approach to integrating baseball is relevant today because
law firm leaders must also be keenly aware of what can impede their ability to
create a diverse partnership. When Rickey sought to integrate baseball, he
assessed each potential obstacle and developed a plan to address it. He became
a student of race issues and of the burgeoning civil rights movement of the
1940s to increase his level of empathy and to gain a better understanding of the
challenges he and Robinson (in particular) would endure on and off the field.
Rickey served as a sponsor and coach to Robinson, two things junior lawyers
need from senior lawyers to advance their careers. He had a vested interest in
seeing Robinson succeed. Not only would it cement Rickey’s legacy, but also,
Robinson’s success would inspire generations of baseball players after him,
changing the complexion of MLB forever.
Minorities Significantly Underrepresented in Combat Arms Branches
The US military recognized that minority officers were not afforded the same
opportunities for career advancement as white officers and addressed this by
taking deliberate targeted measures. General Eric Shinseki, former chief of
staff of the Army, ordered the service to conduct a study identifying the root
cause of the lack of minority general officers. A report by Colonel Anthony
D. Reyes titled “Strategic Options for Managing Diversity in the U.S. Army,”
found, in part, that minorities were significantly underrepresented in combat
arms branches, the largest pipeline for promotion to general officer ranks.
The Army then took deliberate steps to ensure minority officers were at least
being considered for this branch and began to aggressively recruit them for
combat arms positions.
The American Forces Press Service reported that Admiral Mike Mullen,
former chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, took similar steps to ensure that
minority officers were on equal footing to compete for admiral, the Navy’s
highest officer rank. Admiral Mullen once said, “we know how to make
[general officers] … we’ve been doing it a long time … You put [people] in
the right jobs, and if they do well, they get promoted.” So, in 2005, when
Mullen became chief of naval operations, he made increasing diversity a top
priority and changed the assignment process to ensure that the Navy
considered more minorities for positions that put them on the path to senior
leadership. Mullen created accountability by requiring his direct reports (other
senior officers) to provide him with regular diversity updates.
14
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
NFL Created Diversity Committee to Promote Minority Hiring
In 2011, 25 percent of head coaches in the National Football League (NFL)
were minorities (eight of thirty-two). This is significant because from 1920
to 2000, only six of the 400 head coaches hired during that time were racial
minorities. The NFL’s lack of diversity in its head-coaching ranks garnered
attention from the late criminal defense attorney, Johnnie Cochran, who
threatened to file a race discrimination lawsuit against the league. The NFL
responded by creating a diversity committee led by Pittsburgh Steelers’
owner Dan Rooney, who was charged with examining the league’s hiring
practices and developing recommendations based on his findings.
Rooney’s group determined that overt racism did not preclude African
Americans from getting opportunities, but that NFL owners and other senior
executives placed a great deal of emphasis on social relationships in making
hiring decisions. African Americans seeking head coaching positions did not
belong to the same social or professional circles as the decision makers. As a
result, when openings became available, they were often long shots for getting
the job. To address this issue, Rooney’s group decided that the league had to
create a way to insert minority candidates in the pipeline to, at a minimum, be
considered for coaching vacancies. Their proposal required each team to
interview at least one minority candidate for every head-coaching vacancy and
suggested that the league impose a fine on teams that did not comply. The
NFL adopted this proposal, which later became known as the Rooney Rule.
Diversity Efforts Require Active Support
A salient theme in each of these examples is the acknowledgment of people
in positions of authority who are not women, minorities, or LGBT, who see
the importance of promoting diversity and inclusion, and who used their
authority to address obstacles that impeded progress. Often, diversity is seen
as an issue that should be championed exclusively by ethnic/racial minorities,
women, or people who are openly gay. It is unfair to these people and their
organizations for them to carry the load alone because they may not have the
capital in their organizations to make a meaningful difference without the
backing of people with gravitas. And, based on a recent study by the
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL titled Does diversity-valuing behavior
15
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
result in diminished performance ratings for nonwhite and female leaders?,15 they may be
judged harshly for being perceived as promoting diversity. As a result, it is
critical that diversity and inclusion efforts have active and visible support at
the highest levels of your organization.
Leaders Leverage Diversity
In addition to making their organizations more diverse and inclusive, leaders
will look for opportunities to leverage diversity as a competitive advantage. In
Examining the Link between Diversity and Firm Performance: The Effects of Diversity
Reputation and Leader Racial Diversity, Professors Quinetta M. Roberson and
Hyeon Jeong Park16 state that corporate reputation—how organizations are
perceived to create value relative to their competitors—is among the most
important intangible business assets. Because buyers and sellers have
asymmetric information in market transactions, selecting a seller with a
positive corporate reputation gives buyers comfort in their decision. In short,
corporate reputation is a signal about an organization that consumers use to
infer positive or negative attributes to a certain good or service.
Corporate reputation includes a law firm’s diversity commitment and
ability to build and maintain an inclusive environment. Law students use
reports that track law firm diversity statistics to help them distinguish
firms, and clients give outside counsel exhaustive surveys that include
detailed questions about diversity and the composition of lawyers working
on their matters. Likewise, American Lawyer A-list ranks firms based on
their law firm culture (diversity and pro bono) and financial performance,
and organizations such as the Association of Corporate Counsel, the
Minority Corporate Counsel Association, and the NALP track diversity
statistics and performance.
Firms Need to Be Proactive in Their Inclusion Efforts
The examples above—that is, the way law firms currently showcase their
diversity commitment—require law firms to be reactive in how they present
their diversity and inclusion efforts. The next step in leveraging diversity to
15
ACADEMY OF MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, March 3, 2016 amj.2014.0538.
Cornell University, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Center for Advanced Human
Resources Studies (CAHRS). See http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cahrswp/402.
16
16
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
distinguish a firm is to determine how they can proactively demonstrate
their diversity commitment to clients (and, by extension, law students and
other organizations).
One example is client pitches. Not only should firms be mindful of
diversity on pitch teams, but firms could also research the client’s diversity
commitment and proactively use this information during the meeting as one
way to demonstrate shared values. Another example is to follow up with
clients after completing their diversity-related surveys to discuss how better
to address their diversity needs and expectations and to provide them with
additional information about your law firm’s diversity program.
Inclusive Leadership Necessary to Combat Homogeneity
Law firm leaders will also see an opportunity in leveraging diversity in the
professional development of their lawyers and will proactively seek to
identify high-performing associates who have clearly distinguished
themselves. Global firms committed to diversity will insist on creating
initiatives that raise awareness about the importance of cultural competence
and how to gain an advantage from it in a diverse, global legal marketplace.
Law firms that are committed to having a more diverse partnership will
recognize the potential for homophily to negatively impact the career
progression of diverse lawyers. To combat the influence of homophily,
firms could create programs that raise awareness of this issue in a practical
way that demonstrates how it affects the work assignment process, access
and exposure to influential partners and institutional clients, and how junior
partners are positioned for long-term success within their firm. Firms
striving to leverage diversity in a multicultural legal market may see these
initiatives as steps toward avoiding the IMF’s mistake—i.e., falling victim to
its own homogeneity.
Inclusive leadership is necessary to combat homogeneity and the other
obstacles that impede progress so that law firms can reap the full benefits
of their diversity and inclusion efforts. Inclusive leaders are diplomatic
influencers open to diverse perspectives and are aware of the obstacles and
opportunities that accompany diversity and inclusion efforts. According to
17
By Kenneth O. C. Imo
a study by the Center for Talent Innovation,17 the inclusive leader
empowers others to contribute, is open to advice and to implementing
feedback, and shares credit for team success. These behaviors foster
innovation by encouraging a range of perspectives and viewpoints from
everyone, potentially resulting in the best work product possible. Moreover,
they set the tone for creating a firm that proactively seeks opportunity in
diversity, which may positively affect how law firm colleagues interact with
each other and their clients.
Conclusion: Status Quo Is Not an Option
As mentioned previously, several factors influence an organization’s ability to
move diversity forward, some of which are in your control—e.g., recruiting,
retention, and advancement efforts—and others are not—e.g., disparities in
early education. Despite these factors, law firms are making progress in this
area. Although it often feels incremental at best so it is easy to become
frustrated—which is understandable—acceptance of the status quo is not an
option. A better approach is to have a complete grasp of the potential
impediments to progress in your firm and then develop a specific plan to
address them. For example, is your firm beholden to a certain course of
action steeped in tradition that is not resulting in the change you want? If so,
then perhaps it is time to try something different. Some initiatives will work,
and others will not—which is acceptable. But we cannot afford to do
nothing, or to keep doing the same thing, and expect a different result.
Key Takeaways
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Our subconscious perceptions of what a leader looks like ultimately
influences whom we position and select to lead our organizations.
The diversity pipeline for the legal profession begins in prekindergarten,
which is where the weeding out process begins due to an achievement
gap that disproportionately affects poor and minority children.
Tradition and past practices may inhibit law firm diversity
recruiting efforts; greater diversity in the candidate pool may be
17
How Diversity Drives Innovation: A Compendium of Best Practice, Center for Talent
Innovation report, February 1, 2014.
18
Leadership Matters: Obstacles and Opportunities in Diversity and Inclusion
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developed by focusing more on job-relevant factors and less on
academic pedigree.
Research by psychologists on homophily (in-group favoritism)
reveals that people are more likely to give opportunities to
members of their own group; in the law firm environment,
homophily may affect evaluations, the work assignment process,
succession planning, and the type of mentorship and sponsorship
necessary for long-term success in your firm.
Law firm leaders who want meaningful and sustainable progress in
diversity and inclusion must be keenly aware of the potential
obstacles—e.g., tradition, unconscious bias, homophily—to adopt
initiatives that seek to accomplish a desired outcome—e.g.,
recruiting, retaining, and advancing a diverse group of lawyers.
Kenneth O. C. Imo is the firm-wide director of diversity and inclusion (D&I) for Morgan
Lewis & Bockius LLP. In this capacity, he works closely with firm leaders to ensure that
D&I play a central role in client and community engagement and in the recruitment, career
development, retention, and advancement of lawyers of all seniority levels.
Prior to joining Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP, Mr. Imo led the diversity efforts of
another large international law firm, and before that, he practiced law at another firm,
where he represented clients on D&I matters. Before going into private practice, he served as
a captain in the US Air Force Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps. A graduate of
Wake Forest University School of Law, he received a BA in economics and history from
Southern Methodist University, where he was a scholarship athlete on the football team.
Mr. Imo is often asked to speak and write on D&I and has received national awards
and recognitions for his work. He was awarded the ABA Law Practice Division’s
prestigious Robert P. Wilkins Award for Best Feature Article in Division Publications.
The National Advocates named him to its Top 40 Under 40 list, and he was included
among On Being A Black Lawyer’s Power 100 List, “The Ten to Watch.”
19
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