Brad Smith, general counsel of Microsoft Corp., is raising the bar—and financial stakes—for outside law firms wanting to take part in its voluntary diversity program. This time law firms must not only add diverse attorneys, but must add them in leadership positions in order to earn an annual bonus.
“It’s important for those of us who are clients to not just stand up for diversity but to pay for performance in general,” Smith told CorpCounsel.com. “If we really believe diversity leads to better performance—and we do at Microsoft—then it is worth paying for.”
