Biglaw

From Staten Island To The Midwest, Stinson’s Chief D&I Officer Ann Jenrette-Thomas’s Journey To Improve Diversity In The Legal Profession

The number of minority lawyers at her firm is now up by 50 percent. Congratulations!

By  
on

Ann Jenrette-Thomas

“All day, every day, we was on that block until we made a way. / Day to day, that’s the only way.” — Logic

This week, I caught up with Ann Jenrette-Thomas, Stinson Leonard Street LLP’s first Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer.

Thomas’s personal motto is, “Lifting as I rise.” Throughout her career in Biglaw, coaching, consulting, and writing, she has focused on leadership, personal development, and diversity.

Her book, The Happy Law Practice: Expert Strategies to Build Business While Maintaining Peace of Mind, offers practical, actionable strategies on marketing, branding, leadership, as well as wellness strategies, such as stress and time management. No doubt, she is incorporating all these strategies into promoting diversity and inclusion in her firm as well.

As someone who has spent considerable time in the Midwest, I was encouraged by Thomas’s innovative process of promoting diversity and inclusion in the region specifically and her firm nationally.

Whether it is the launch of the Stinson Leonard Street Minority Fellowship or the focus of its new podcast, Big Law Success: The Inside Scoop for Law Students and New Lawyers, it is readily apparent that Thomas is a conscious architect who is working on and shaping the building blocks of inclusion in the legal profession. Without further ado, here is a (lightly edited and condensed) write-up of our conversation:

Sponsored

Renwei Chung (RC): Can you tell us a little bit about growing up in Staten Island and what drew you to a career in the legal profession?

Ann Jenrette-Thomas (AJT): In the fifth grade, a South Asian family moved two doors down from my home in Staten Island. Shortly after moving in, their home was vandalized. “Go back to where you came from”; “We don’t want you here”; and “KKK” were spray painted all over the exterior of their house.

This experience shook me to my core because it could have easily been my family, as we are South Asian too. It wasn’t the only incident of racism that I experienced growing up, but it was the one that ignited my passion for social justice. I went to law school because I thought knowledge of the law would open the right doors and would enable me to make a positive difference.

RC: Stinson was one of the first law firms in the Midwest to hire someone in the C-suite who is solely responsible for Diversity and Inclusion. As the firm’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, what is your philosophy in addressing D&I in a large law firm?

AJT: I take a two-pronged approach to diversity and inclusion. First is individual responsibility — equipping attorneys and staff with the knowledge, skills, and tools they need to create an inclusive environment. This isn’t always easy since it requires becoming aware of things that might otherwise be unconscious and changing behavior.

Sponsored

The second prong is eradicating the effects of bias through systems and processes. Neuroscientists have proven that the brain is hardwired to have biases and create an “us vs. them” dichotomy. So, it’s not enough to rely on the good intentions of people to eliminate bias. Individual responsibility coupled with systems and processes can help create lasting change.

RC: You clerked for a few years and then earned your LL.M. degree before you went into Biglaw, but still you found certain aspects of Biglaw quite challenging. Can you tell us more about this?

AJT: I felt like there were many unwritten rules to success in big law. No matter how hard I tried to fit in, I constantly felt like an outsider. Yet, I knew that if I wanted to be successful, I needed to be an insider.

My firm, like most firms at that time, did not have resource groups or a diversity person that I could turn to for support. I became very unhappy and wondered whether I could succeed.

So, I literally Googled “unhappy lawyer” and came across a book by that title written by a lawyer-turned-coach. I resonated with the author’s experience so much that I ultimately left the practice of law and opened a D&I coaching, training and consulting business.

RC: Next month, you will welcome your first two diversity fellows. What’s the main purpose of your diversity fellows program?

AJT: I’m very excited about our Minority Fellowship. Our intention was to create a win-win situation. We wanted the students to win because it gives them an opportunity to receive up to $30,000 in tuition assistance, a dedicated attorney mentor, plus a paid 1L summer associate position.

Our hope is that each student enjoys the experience and does well enough to receive an offer for a 2L summer associate position and ultimately a permanent offer. If this happens, then our firm wins too.

RC: The number of minority lawyers at Stinson is up by 50%. Why do you think this is the case?

AJT: It was the result of a three-part strategy. We discovered that many law students of color were reluctant to apply to Biglaw because of preconceived notions and fear of not fitting in.

To dispel some of these notions and increase student awareness about essential soft skills, our attorneys went to the law schools in our geographic footprint to discuss creating a successful personal brand.

To reach a broader audience, we created a podcast — Big Law Success: The Inside Scoop for Law Students and New Lawyers. Because of my own experiences feeling like an outsider in Biglaw, my intention in creating the Big Law Success podcast was to pull back the curtain on the soft skills and unwritten rules for success in Biglaw. It is a five-episode podcast that focuses on recruiting, communication, emotional intelligence, cultivating professional relationships, associate soft skills and law firm diversity and inclusion efforts. We’ve gotten positive feedback from many law students and young lawyers.

Finally, we also took a strategic approach to lateral partner hiring. By talking with executive recruiters who specialize in diverse lateral candidates, we understood some of the barriers that diverse lateral partners face and removed those barriers internally.

RC: It was great chatting with you. Is there anything else you would like to share with our audience?

AJT: Renwei, thank you for this opportunity. It’s been wonderful to chat with you too. The last thing I want to mention is the importance of engaging allies. We created a robust D&I Allies network at Stinson. It is a community where people can learn more about D&I issues and how best to address them.

For example, we recently held a program on how to have difficult conversations — an essential skill in the D&I space. I firmly believe that everyone at the firm has a role to play in creating an inclusive environment.

On behalf of everyone here at Above the Law, I would like to thank Ann Jenrette-Thomas for taking the time to share her story with our audience. We wish her continued success in her career.

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

Topics

, , ,