Making DEI Everyone’s Business: Opportunities And Best Practices
As part of its PD Appreciation Month series, PLI assembled a group of experienced leaders to discuss the influence of DEI on innovative business processes and best practices for collaboration.
Over the past year, many law firms and other organizations have been heeding calls to do better in supporting, retaining, and promoting diverse lawyers. As part of its November PD Appreciation Month, Practising Law Institute is presenting a complimentary four-part Empowering Professional Development Series, shining a light on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) and the important role PD teams can play.
For the second program in the series, Integration of DEI into Business Functions, PLI assembled a group of experienced leaders to discuss the influence of DEI on innovative business processes and best practices for collaboration. Moderated by Kristine McKinney, Chief Operating Officer for Fish & Richardson, the conversation included panelists Courtney Beauzile (Director of Marketing Operations, Shearman & Sterling); Amber Haggins (Vice President, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Prophet); and Marlon Cush (Senior Associate GC, Change Healthcare). Key takeaways included:
DEI is everyone’s business. While we tend to think of DEI as a lawyer-focused initiative, all business functions in a firm or company can play a role. As COO, McKinney said she was approached about gendered terms in templates used regularly by the business. Restrooms and office space are other operational areas that intersect with DEI, she explained, and teams such as PD “have more influence than you know.” For instance, consider pushing to locate the offices of diverse junior associates and fellows next to potential mentors, or pairing them with influential colleagues on panels. The business of advancing DEI “doesn’t always have to mean changing a policy or a system,” she noted. “Sometimes, it’s a day-to-day tweak that you can make to really influence diversity in the long run for an individual and your firm.”
Look for opportunities to shake up the status quo. As we begin to wrap up a second pandemic year, take a moment to assess how “business has usual” has changed – and seize opportunities to move the needle. In the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the protests and discussions that followed, Beauzile recognized a need for Black non-lawyers in business roles at her firm to have a safe space to connect. Working with Sandra Bang, Shearman’s Chief Diversity & Talent Strategy Officer (and Co-Chair of PLI’s PD Appreciation series with Melanie Priddy of Katten Muchin), Beauzile formed a new affinity group for business services professionals that continues to have fruitful conversations about driving positive change at the firm. Members meet regularly with the firm’s DEI task force and Executive Group – and working within a remote setting has given everyone a true seat at the table. In these unprecedented times, she said, “We’ve seen a shift . . . where firms are more open to the grassroots. We don’t have to do it the way we’ve always done it, especially as it relates to DEI.”
DEI can’t be the responsibility of one person – or one team. Law firms and organizations can no longer sit back and wait for Diversity teams to create institutional change. “A lot of organizations rely on the DEI team to make the change, and what we really have to do is not only raise awareness for our leaders but shift the action to the leaders so that they understand they do have a role to play,” Haggins said. And other teams can contribute by approaching those in DEI: “Figure out how you can support them, leverage what they’re doing – it’s really about centering the work, and figuring out how to leverage, build upon, and enhance it.”
The organization must see DEI as a business driver. From his in-house perspective at several large corporations, Cush noted that at times, management needs to be convinced of DEI’s benefits to their bottom line – and held accountable for achieving goals. This means “finding the data that supports the proposition that leaning into diversity works,” he said. “How do we translate DEI into something that helps us to do better as an organization?”
Data can be an essential tool for managing the fatigue that can arise from wrestling with difficult questions of systemic discrimination and inequity, Haggins observed: “DEI work can be overwhelming. There is always going to be something to do in this space…Data gives us a way to prioritize.”
Interested in learning more? The hour-long program is available on-demand – visit PLI.edu to stream it and other PD Appreciation programs at no cost.
Practising Law Institute is a nonprofit learning organization dedicated to keeping attorneys and other professionals at the forefront of knowledge and expertise. PLI is chartered by the Regents of the University of the State of New York and was founded in 1933 by Harold P. Seligson. The organization provides the highest quality, accredited, continuing legal and professional education programs in a variety of formats which are delivered by more than 4,000 volunteer faculty including prominent lawyers, judges, investment bankers, accountants, corporate counsel, and U.S. and international government regulators. PLI publishes a comprehensive library of Treatises, Course Handbooks, Answer Books and Journals also available through the PLI PLUS online platform. The essence of PLI’s mission is its commitment to the pro bono community. View PLI’s upcoming live programs here.
