Insights

Modern law firms know that fostering a culture of inclusion is key to retaining top talent, especially lawyers from underrepresented groups. In recent years, many firms have made changes to areas like recruiting, mentoring and professional development programming to increase the sense of belonging for all members of the firm. These are good first steps.

But true inclusion requires an assessment of all aspects of the...

More law firms than ever before are finally starting to get it: Inclusion is a key value and must be the thread running through every aspect of firm management. In the past few years, we’ve seen many firms take substantive action to improve policies and practices. It’s not perfect, but very slowly, our profession may be moving in a positive direction.

However, this greater understanding does not always translate to internal and external communications around inclusion or equity...

Because many Big Law firms offer generous paid parental leave benefits and flexible schedules, it can seem from the outside that these workplaces are friendly to lawyers who plan to have children while pursuing the traditional path to partner, as recently reported in Law360. But while new parents may have control over where they do their work, they still face intense pressure to meet billable-hour targets if they want...

Marketing images have always overrepresented young, thin, able-bodied, straight, white and cis-gendered people. But as the world becomes increasingly diverse, it’s important to use images that look like the audience you communicate with. That includes the photos your firm uses on its website, social media, and in internal and external communication.

Why Diverse Images Are Important

Representing different kinds of people is important because it affects how...

American Lawyer reporter Dylan Jackson recently wrote about how the lack of transparency around origination credit — most firms don’t even have written policies for how it is awarded — harms lawyers from underrepresented groups and drives turnover. If up-and-coming...