On Feb. 18, I had the opportunity to present “The Diversity Scavenger Hunt: Effective Strategies to Attract and Retain the Best Team Inside and Out” at the American Bar Association 2022 Corporate Counsel CLE Seminar in Orlando, Florida. The program was the result of a collaboration with co-presenter Leslie D. Davis, president and CEO of the National Association of Minority and Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF), and contributor Laurie N. Robinson Haden, president and CEO of Corporate Counsel Women of Color (CCWC). Davis and I presented to an engaged audience of in-house counsel and firm lawyers, incorporating input from Robinson Haden who was unable to join us live. Diverse members of our profession continue to face challenges despite efforts to remediate longstanding obstacles to achieving respect and full access. I was reminded of the first time I presented to the ABA Corporate Counsel group in 2013 on “Taking the High Road: How to Deal Ethically With Bullies Who Don’t Play by the Rules,” which included a discussion on the interplay between bullying and bias in the law. I have written and spoken often on how bias impacts lawyers. Despite the increased focus on diversity, inclusion and elimination of bias, unfortunately there is stubborn resistance to change.  We discussed obstacles to advancement, common excuses for glacial progress and strategies for effecting change.

As leader of two premier not-for-profit organizations committed to advancing diversity in the legal profession, my collaborators Davis and Robinson Haden are particularly poised to tackle these sensitive issues. With Davis at the helm, NAMWOLF continues to pursue its mission to “Promote diversity in the legal profession by fostering successful relationships among preeminent minority and women owned law firms and private/public entities.” Founded in 2001 by a small cadre of women and diverse lawyers with the vision to “Achieve equity in legal opportunity through minority and women owned law firms,” NAMWOLF now boasts over 200 firms nationwide that are owned by women, minority and LGBTQ+ lawyers with stellar credentials. Admission to NAMWOLF involves a rigorous assessment by in-house counsel from Fortune 500 companies. Diverse ownership alone does not guarantee admission as the institutional clients that engage NAMWOLF firms expect topnotch lawyering. Long-time supporters, include the Inclusion Initiative, over 30 companies committed to demonstrable increase in the engagement of women and minority owned law firms. Since the inception of the Initiative, participating companies, have spent over $1.6 billion on diverse law firms. That does not mean that the work is done or that barriers to entry do not persist.