Biglaw, Books, Minority Issues

'If I Wag My Finger About Diversity And Inclusion, My Law Firm Partners Will Give Me A Different Finger'

Everyone in a law firm must be able to understand and articulate why diversity and inclusion are important.

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Kathleen Nalty

Kathleen Nalty

“Here’s a thought for my revolutionary heart /  Take a deeper look at history, it’s there to pick apart.” — J. Cole

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to review Kathleen B. Nalty’s book, Going ‘All-In’ on Diversity and Inclusion: The Law Firm Leader’s Playbook.

Nalty is an award-winning, nationally recognized expert in strategies for creating cultures of inclusion to retain and advance talent. She specializes in helping legal organizations identify systemic issues that cause higher attrition for attorneys in underrepresented groups. She is the founder and president of Kathleen Nalty Consulting, LLC.

I found the chapter titled “Diversity and Inclusiveness — Everyone’s Responsibility” to be particularly interesting. Near the beginning of this chapter, Nalty states:

It is human nature for partners to gravitate toward attorneys within their affinity group, unconsciously giving them more intangible opportunities and sharing the unwritten rules for success. Unfortunately, this dynamic operates to marginalize underrepresented attorneys who are disproportionately impacted by the hidden barriers.

Even though attorneys in underrepresented groups may be as talented and hardworking as attorneys in the majority or insider group, multiple research studies demonstrate that they are not always given the same access to swimming lessons, life rings, and water rings in the “sink or swim” environment. On the surface, while the resulting performance gap might appear to be due to lack of ability, it is actually often due to lack of opportunity.

Nalty believes that everyone in a law firm must be able to understand and articulate why diversity and inclusion are important before they become engaged advocates, or engage in the “how” they can participate. She believes that leaders in law firms have to first convince partners and others that something is wrong with the status quo or that problems exist in the firm that undermine organizational performance and hurt the bottom line. She writes:

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One law firm office head captured the problem graphically by saying, ‘I can’t go back to my firm wagging my finger [about D+I] because my partners will just turn around and give me a different finger.’

Nalty then highlights commonly expressed concerns and provides responses law firm leaders can use to address these points. Below are three such concerns and Nalty’s recommended responses:

We’re a meritocracy here. I’ve pulled myself up by my bootstraps and everyone else should too.

“Research demonstrates that organizations that view themselves as highly meritocratic tend to have members with more bias than organizations that do not. People who believe the firm is meritocratic tend to perceive themselves as unbiased and fair, which causes them to succumb more easily to unconscious biases.”

The D+I costs outweigh their return on investment.

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“Actually, it costs the firm $ ___,___ every time we lose a good attorney we’d rather keep. Plus, D+I is really about good management skills, so if we start managing all talent better, there shouldn’t be any significant costs.”

I’m not diverse so why do I have to participate?

“Everyone in this organization contributes to the prevailing climate and culture so everyone must be engaged in making our firm more inclusive for everyone, not just a few people. And to the extent you supervise or manage any attorneys in underrepresented groups, you could be part of the problem without even knowing it.”

As you can see, Nalty’s book provides unique insights and is a compelling read for anybody championing the diversity and inclusion cause. If you have a few minutes available, be sure to take her consultancy’s Identifying Hidden Barriers Assessment or Organizational Diversity and Inclusion Assessment.

And if your firm is implementing any innovative diversity and inclusion initiatives this year, be sure to let us know!

Renwei Chung is the Diversity Columnist at Above the Law. You can contact Renwei by email at projectrenwei@gmail.com, follow him on Twitter (@renweichung), or connect with him on LinkedIn.

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