It’s well documented the legal industry is not the first career choice for today’s Millennial graduates.

A Thomson Reuters report recently noted, “Legal departments are coming to the Millennial party late.” The legal industry fears a Baby Boomer brain drain as that generation begins to retire.

The impact on the ability of law to attract the next generation has been documented by the lowering rate of law school applications. New data from U.S. News & World Report shows the average number of applicants at the top 14 schools in its “Best Law Schools” rankings was 20.6 percent lower for the entering class of 2016 than it was for the entering class of 2008, while the average number of applicants at lower-ranked law schools was 52.3 percent lower in 2016 than 2008.

Should the legal industry care? After all, aren’t there too many lawyers, so maybe correction in the market is needed? Isn’t artificial intelligence going to replace lawyers anyway? The fact is, while some market correction is healthy, robots will not be replacing lawyers any time soon, and any industry — including law — needs to be concerned about continuing to attract the best and the brightest of the younger generation.

What is driving Millennials away?  There are two key issues which are deeply important to this generation — diversity and technology.  These two issues surprisingly continue to be largely ignored by the legal industry.

The lack of diversity in the legal profession is astounding

It’s no secret – the legal industry isn’t as diverse as it could be.

The 2017 Law360 Glass Ceiling Report found that women still only make up about 35 percent of the attorneys in the law firms it surveyed. Ethnic minorities make up less than seven percent of law firm partners and only nine percent of general counsels, making law into the nation’s least diverse profession, as recently as 2015. While the percentage of openly LGBT lawyers generally has trended upward since 2002, the overall percentage of LGBT lawyers was reported to be 2.48 percent of total lawyers in 2016.  Meanwhile, in an American Bar Association membership survey in 2013, eight percent of the lawyers reported having disabilities. While many are making strides, including Haben Girma, the first deaf-blind person to graduate from Harvard Law School, who advocates for equal opportunities for people with disabilities, there is much that needs to be done.

In response, however, the industry has failed to acknowledge that diversity is a problem at all. The diversity discussion often turns on male versus female, but diversity is much broader than that. The legal industry must recognize a more robust concept of diversity and what that term includes, which extends to women, ethnic minorities, members of the LGBT community, veterans and handicapped persons. Additionally, diversity efforts should be directed at both diversity and inclusion.

What does this have to do with Millennials? For starters, Millennials are a diverse group compared to Baby Boomers, who are 75 percent white;, Millennials are 51 percent white. Pew Research Institute recently reported a greater share of Millennial households are headed by minorities than other adult generations. According to a study from Deloitte and the Billie Jean King Leadership Initiative (BJKLI), Millennials also value diversity of background and opinion more than preceding generations, and make career choices that align with their values.

The legal industry lags in tech

The legal industry has a reputation for lagging on technology adoption, which -has made it less appealing to the tech-savvy Millennial generation. With the exception of this author and most members of the legal tech community, lawyers are often liberal arts types who aren’t particularly tech savvy. Law firms understandably fear -whatever tech they’re buying will be obsolete in a year. This lack of tech acumen has hurt the industry.

The perception of law as an antiquated profession has tarnished its image among the more technologically savvy Millennial population. A Future Workforce Study commissioned by Dell and Intel found 42 percent of Millennial employees said they would be willing to quit their job if office technologies were not up to their standards and that more than 80 percent of Millennials say workplace tech would have an influence when deciding to take a job.

The good news is that we have seen more innovation in the law in the past five years than we have seen in the past 20, thanks to a growing legal tech industry. Perhaps we have passed the inflection point at which law will begin to embrace new technology instead of hiding from it.

The solution: An honest assessment

Law has little to lose and much to gain by admitting it needs to do a better job of addressing both these issues. When it comes to diversity, rather than adopt a defensive posture, the legal industry should look for ways to improve the current situation. That includes outreach to and sincere inclusion of all members of the diversity spectrum. It also requires a commitment to using data to track the extent of the issue and to benchmark for improvement.

With respect to tech, the situation is less acute. Whether it’s social media, AI, bots or mobile, these technologies are already permeating the profession as a new generation of lawyers embraces the freedom and efficiencies -these tools offer. At the same time, we need to continue to win over the incumbent generation of lawyers by showing them the advantages of embracing tech.

That said, change isn’t inevitable. The time for denial is over.

The Millennial talent issue is the impetus that law needs to push it in a healthier direction — towards making efforts to welcome more women, ethnic minorities, members of the LGBT community, veterans and those with disabilities into the fold and to curtailing its habit of trying to keep technological change at bay.

See Also: ATL’s Gender Diversity Index and Millennial Lawyer Research

Monica Zent is an experienced entrepreneur, investor, businesswoman, and trusted legal advisor to leading global brands, over a period that spans decades. Her most recent venture is founder & CEO of Foxwordy Inc., the digital collaboration platform for the legal industry. She is also founder of ZentLaw, one of the nation’s top alternative law firms. Zent is an investor in real estate and startups, and dedicates her time and talent to various charitable causes. She is a diversity and inclusion advocate, inspiring all people to pursue their dreams. When she’s not running companies, Zent runs distance as an endurance athlete. Tweet @MonicaZent.