The legal profession must work harder to closer resemble our ever changing and evolving national demographics. The abysmal statistics on diversity in law illustrate the less than surprising limitations of public pledges, collective hand-wringing and even the sincerest mea culpas. We are being confronted by hard evidence that being successful as it relates to diversity and inclusion requires more than good intentions.
As president of the National Bar Association, I know first-hand that the field is trying to promote change, as evidenced from the recent open letter from 170 corporate law department leaders to direct their legal services spend to law firms that get results on diversity. Still it is far from enough.
The mission of the National Bar Association includes protecting the civil rights of our members and of all citizens. It is therefore our responsibility to help those historically underrepresented in the legal profession make significant progress to more closely resemble national demographics. The brave first-person accounts of minority leaders in law who have described in detail systemic professional challenges make plain the stark contrast in what is required for success. Simply put, there is a significant imbalance in energy and time required by minority attorneys to merely keep pace with White counterparts.
We cannot fulfill the part of our mission ensuring access to justice if we are not providing others a fair opportunity to succeed. Thus, we cannot sit idly by while these inequities stand. Words and edicts are no longer enough.
To change the status quo, lawyers must turn words into action and be bold in ways not seen or experienced in the past. Those who are in power must not be fearful of sharing their power. Those in power must look upstream to the future and understand that the manner in which business is conducted is not sustainable over the long term. Unless and until there are real consequences for not adhering to the diversity and inclusion goals articulated by law firms, change is highly unlikely. For those who want results, let’s start by asking ourselves “why not.”
• Why not make diversity and inclusion a top business imperative that is embraced by law firm leadership?
• Why not require that a diverse slate of candidates be considered for all leadership roles and for succession planning within your organizations as opportunities arise?
• Why not create and widely share annual, concrete diversity and inclusion goals that directly tie into annual partner compensation?
• Why not end the narrative that there are not enough talented Black and underrepresented lawyers to hire and instead increase the time and energy your firm spends conducting outreach and building relationships with diversity student organizations and minority bar associations?