At this time of year, as law firms finish their 2015 business plans and projections, it’s natural for lawyers to think about new business opportunities for themselves and their firms. New practices to be pursued, new legal trends, new markets that may develop and new clients to be pursued are all typical parts of a lawyer’s strategic plan. As Managing Partner, I look for opportunities to serve our clients more fully, more efficiently and more creatively, and one of the biggest opportunities I see is for law firms to up their games by becoming more diverse.
Law firms are used to thinking of diversity as a challenge rather than an opportunity, and, to be sure, there are significant challenges involved in recruiting, retaining and developing diverse attorneys. However, presenting the most complete teams, reflecting the broadest and most diverse perspectives, and truly representing the best talent from across all the varied populations that are increasingly represented in the legal community would allow firms to maintain and improve high standards of client service and to grow their businesses.
