Most people would agree that it is natural to find comfort from cultural familiarity and that there is nothing inherently bad or wrong with that. But what if the unintended consequence is the systematic exclusion of those with whom we don’t comfortably identify? Throw in the fact that certain institutions like law firms and their cultures have developed and prospered not because of, but most likely despite, this phenomenon, and we find ourselves in quite the pickle in this enlightened era of law firm diversity and inclusion. I have to admit that if I were managing a large law firm today, I’d be very tempted to ask myself and my partners, "How do we fit ‘them’ in without messing ‘us’ up?"
However, perhaps the better question to ask is, "What would happen if we intentionally sought to expand our cultural familiarity by seeking exposure to people and cultures different from ours?" Not just any people. People, who are highly intelligent, highly educated lawyers with transferable expertise and skills. It wouldn’t be easy and it would probably feel unnatural at first. However, it certainly wouldn’t precipitate a Dewey-esque demise of the firm like paying multimillion-dollar, multi-year guarantees did. In fact, it might just work and we would end up better off as a result.
