Fighting for diversity has netted some major losses recently. The SFFA v. Harvard decision has emboldened “civil rights activists” to threaten companies for hiring and helping women and racial minorities, institutes are suing over bar dues helping minorities, and the House recently nixed its office of diversity and inclusion. In light of this parade of Ls, it is easy to fall prey to anything that looks like a win. Law firms are sharing words of support for diversity initiatives, but be wary of confusing lip service for direct action. From Bloomberg:
Law firms are actively defending diversity efforts after conservative attacks and a slowing economy threaten gains.
Davis Wright Tremaine is boosting diversity, equity and inclusion education through panels, LinkedIn posts and opinion pieces. “There’s more of a call to explain it,” Yusuf Zakir, the firm’s DEI chief, said in an interview.
… Actively defending diversity efforts with posts and panels? I’m gonna be honest with you — that just reads like the suit-and-tie version of this:
If the firm is doing other things to develop DEI, that’s great. That said, diversity discussions have been ongoing for years now. At this point, you should lead with concrete actions and strategies being deployed, not by centering LinkedIn lessons and pro DEI articles.
They aren’t the only ones whose active defense needs more work:
Foley & Lardner is spending more time clarifying that DEI at the firm means inclusion and support for all, not just ethnic or gender minorities. “The semantics of DEI are more important than ever,” said Alexis Robertson, the firm’s DEI director.
Right. I actually agree with the point on semantics. Diversity isn’t just about ethnic or gender minorities. Nor is it just about the economically disadvantaged or people with disabilities. But DEI has to be about something, right? The ABA released some recent thoughts and prayers on the importance of diversity, but these efforts fall apart without a strong why.
This isn’t some time of peace where you can wax poetic about diversity apophatically. It isn’t enough to just rehearse the positive merits of diversity either. We need action. The lines have been drawn and the battle is being fought; an active defense of DEI would look like committing funds to keep diverse employees on board after you hire them rather than deciding they’re the first ones to go when things get “hard.” Despite all of the big talk about the importance of diversity and hiring, retention rates have been falling:
[E]ntry-level diverse hires at the 200 largest firms fell to 2,049 from 2,371 in 2022, a Leopard Solutions report this month showed. While lateral hiring fell 23% in 2023, the recruitment of diverse hires from rival firms dropped even more—31%, Leopard found.
The data should be a wake-up call for Big Law, said Laura Leopard, co-founder of the legal database. “Not only did they change their verbiage, but they stepped back from hiring diverse individuals,” she said.
If firms are going to start making trends of posting how important their diversity advocacy is, it better be tied to some concrete action. Make a post about some diverse hires. Name some diverse partners — actual partners, and not the glass ceiling that gets dressed up as non-equity partner. And for the love of all that is billable, throw some scholarships out there that match what you preach.
Law Firms Boost Diversity Defenses After Conservative Backlash [Bloomberg]
Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s. He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.
