Why You Should Insist on Diversity in Your Law Practice

Suzie Scanlon Rabinowitz writes in the ABA Journal that “Both the perception of and reality for women attorneys is disheartening. According to the National Association for Law Placement, women accounted for 20% of equity law firm partners in 2018. That’s while women have constituted about half of law school graduates for the past 20 years, according to Catalyst, a nonprofit focused on advancing women’s professional progress. By many other key metrics, the law is still male-dominated, especially at its highest levels.”

“In a profession where cultural change happens at a creeping pace, how can we change the perception—and the reality—that success for women at the upper echelons is the exception, rather than the rule? Just as important, how can we elevate the practice of law by fostering diversity in the profession?”

Read the article.




Biglaw Firm Forms Mental Health Task Force

Mental HealthAbove the Law reports that Reed Smith has announced a global Mental Health Task Force to help Reed Smith’s team address mental health issues as they arise.

Partner Kimberly Gold, inaugural chair of the task force, describes the firm’s plan:

“The mission of this task force is to ensure that our lawyers and professional staff have access to help whenever they or their family members experience or are at risk of experiencing mental health or substance use issues. We will also challenge the well-documented stigma surrounding these issues and cultivate a workplace culture that promotes psychological wellness and positive help-seeking behaviors.”

Read the Above the Law article.

 

 




The Biggest Supreme Court Cases to Watch in 2020

The Supreme Court will hear a slate of highly charged disputes when the justices return to the bench in the new year and resume one of the most politically volatile terms in recent memory, reports The Hill.

The court already has heard high-profile fights over LGBT rights in the workplace, the scope of the Second Amendment and the deportation status of nearly 700,000 young undocumented immigrants. But the remaining cases on the court’s docket are no less explosive, write The Hill‘s John Kruzel and Harper Neidig.

The top seven cases to be heard this session involve a separation of powers fight over President Trump’s financial records, Louisiana’s abortion law, religious school scholarships, religious exemptions from discrimination suits, the future of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a fight over how copyright law treats software interfaces, and Bridgegate and public corruption.

Read the Hill article.

 

 




Littler Launches Nonbinary Gender Inclusiveness and Identification Initiative

Littler has launched an initiative to advance nonbinary gender inclusiveness within the firm, according to a release from the firm.

Internally, the firm is providing resources to employees that outline suggested practices for handling matters that involve nonbinary individuals whose gender identities are beyond the two categories of “male” or “female.” Gender-based pronouns will be eliminated from human resources documents, including handbooks, and employees will have the option of choosing a nonbinary identifier in the firm’s internal HR system. In addition, the firm is standardizing email signature blocks including the addition of a voluntary option to include preferred-pronoun identification.

Additionally, marketing collateral and other external materials will be made gender-neutral.

“An important part of gender identity is the pronouns we choose. By being mindful of others’ preferred pronouns and by proactively sharing our own preferred pronouns, we can help to ensure that we respect one another’s gender identity and avoid misgendering people,” said Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, in a joint statement. “In conjunction with broader efforts as part of our commitment to diversity and inclusion, we’re confident that these initial steps will further foster a more welcoming and inclusive environment for our employees and clients.”

 

 




Law Schools With the Greatest Resources for Women

The Princeton Review has released the results of a study designed to rank the top 10 U.S. law schools that provide the best opportunities for women students.

The findings are based on school reported data — the percent of the student body that are women — and student surveys. Students answered a survey question on whether all students are afforded equal treatment by students and faculty regardless of their gender.

Topping the list is Stanford University School of Law in California.

Read the Princeton Review article.

 

 




Survey: Workplace Equality, Mental Health and Brexit are Top Concerns of European Employers

Littler, an international employment and labor law practice representing management, has released the results of its second annual European Employer Survey Report, completed by 572 in-house counsel and human resources professionals.

The firm reports the survey found that improving workplace equality is top-of-mind for European employers, and most respondents are moving to address equal pay and workplace harassment. Employers are also taking a variety of steps to support the mental health of their employees. And despite the uncertainty surrounding the United Kingdom’s looming exit from the European Union, a surprising portion of respondents feel prepared for Brexit’s employment-related impacts.

The survey findings were unveiled at Littler’s European Employer Conference in London.

The firm provided a summary of the survey’s findings:

Workplace Equality

European employers are focusing a great deal of attention on equal pay, reporting increased engagement on a variety of potential actions in comparison to the 2018 survey. Providing female and diverse employees with more training and opportunities for advancement showed the greatest increase (up from 21 percent in 2018 to 33 percent in 2019), followed by improving transparency around wages and pay policies (up from 21 to 30 percent) and modifying compensation policies (up from 25 to 32 percent).

The proliferation of laws mandating gender pay gap audits in European countries appears to be one driver of this activity. Most respondents (80 percent) identify conducting and reporting on their gender pay gaps as a concern, but the European employers surveyed are also taking actions beyond those required by law.

“In addition to legal liability, employers are worried that pay inequities in their workplaces could negatively impact their reputations, employee satisfaction and their ability to attract talent,” said Thomas Griebe, Littler partner in Germany. “Particularly as labor markets tighten, recruiting and retaining qualified employees is a challenge, and it becomes more difficult if current and potential employees are concerned about being comparatively underpaid.”

European employers are also moving slightly more aggressively to address workplace sexual harassment, by updating HR policies (up from 26 percent in 2018 to 32 percent in 2019), more proactively addressing complaints and misconduct (up from 23 to 31 percent) and strengthening investigative procedures (up from 23 to 30 percent).

Furthermore, a fair percentage of respondents support European governments taking steps to combat sex-based harassment and discrimination in the workplace; nearly half (42 percent) support requiring companies to designate a point of contact for workers to bring allegations and more than a third (35 percent) support mandatory reporting on the state of gender equality.

“Given that strict regulatory action has not been widespread in the countries surveyed, employers appear to be taking action to address sexual harassment in order to ensure a positive workplace for employees and help protect themselves from liability,” said Merete Furesund, Littler partner in Norway. “Concern and attention to this issue have led European employers to take a range of concrete actions and boost their efforts to combat it.”

A comparison with the results of Littler’s latest annual survey of employers in the United States, released in May 2019, shows higher European engagement on equal pay, whereas more US employers report taking action to address workplace sexual harassment. Only 15 percent of European employers say they have not taken any action to address equal pay in the workplace, compared to 37 percent of US employers. On the other hand, more US employers report taking steps in response to the #MeToo movement, including providing additional training (22 percent in Europe compared to 63 percent in the US) and updating HR policies (32 percent in Europe compared to 51 percent in the US).

These differences may reflect the level of media and legislative attention paid to these issues in Europe vs. the US. Legal measures requiring gender pay gap reporting have been more prevalent in Europe, while the #MeToo movement in the US has given rise to a bevy of state laws requiring sexual harassment training.

Workplace Mental Health

Against the backdrop of an aging workforce, rapidly evolving technology and market pressures requiring employees to do more with less, European employers are increasingly focused on mental illness in the workplace. Nearly nine in 10 respondents (87 percent) say their organisations are taking various actions to address and support employees’ mental health. Forty-one percent are providing adequate time off and sick leave, 38 percent are limiting work hours and off-the-clock work and 35 percent are encouraging a culture that supports open communication between employees and management.

“Workplace mental health is having its #MeToo movement. It’s always been there, but now it’s being acknowledged as a serious concern,” said Stephan Swinkels, Coordinating Partner International at Littler. “Given the array of forces driving the issue, we can expect continued momentum as workers feel more comfortable speaking out and companies become more involved in order to retain talent, reduce workplace stress and promote productivity.”

Companies are also putting greater emphasis on supporting workers returning from extended mental-health leave. More than a quarter (28 percent) say their organisations have been successful in reintegrating employees and only six percent say they have been unsuccessful. However, the fact that a plurality of respondents (38 percent) don’t know if their organisations are effective in this regard signals continued room for improvement.

Brexit’s Impact on Employment

Since the UK voted to leave the EU three years ago, the potential fallout from Brexit has created headaches for many companies. Despite the fog of uncertainty surrounding respondents in late summer, when they took the survey, 48 percent say they are somewhat or very prepared for the employment-related impacts of Brexit. Only 12 percent say they are unprepared or somewhat prepared, and the remaining 40 percent are neutral. UK respondents expressed the highest degree of preparedness; 67 percent say they feel very or somewhat prepared.

This confidence could be driven by the proactive steps employers have taken, such as moving their headquarters out of the UK, opening new offices on the mainland and identifying employees who would be affected in order to plan for work permits or replacements. It may also be bolstered by respondents’ optimism that the UK would enact a skills-based immigration system after Brexit eventually takes effect. Nearly two-thirds of UK-based respondents (59 percent) feel that such a system will enable the nation to remain a global hub for skilled workers, while only 8 percent express scepticism.

“For UK employers, having access to the skilled workers they need to run their businesses is absolutely critical,” said Paul Quain, Littler Partner in the UK. “A general climate of uncertainty that makes preparation difficult as companies don’t know what they are preparing for – combined with some anti-immigrant sentiment, including against non-British EU nationals, that has been seen by the British government as a key driver behind Brexit – leaves a great deal of ambiguity around a post-Brexit skills-based immigration system.”

The survey report covers a range of other legal and HR issues impacting European companies, including unconscious bias in the workplace, trends in artificial intelligence and robotics use, the significant rise in spending related to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation and the impact of the European Court of Justice’s decision on employee working-time monitoring.

 

 




Pay Gap, Lack of Credit Push Women Out of Law Firms, Study Says

Women make up as many as 50 percent of new associates, yet they leave law firms much more frequently than men, the American Bar Association found in a new study.

Bloomberg Law, reporting on the ABA study, summarized the findings:

“The report found that there are big differences in how the genders view their firm’s handling of promotions, leadership opportunities and equity partnerships.

“Some 91% of firm leaders, for example, felt their firms are “actively advocates of gender diversity,” while only 62% of the women lawyers responding thought the same thing.”

The study found that women cited the level of stress at work, care-taking commitments, differences in pay, and the firm’s emphasis on marketing as negative factors.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

 

 

 




Redgrave LLP Leaders Named 2019 ‘Women Worth Watching’ by Journal

Redgrave LLP partners Mathea K.E. Bulander, and Christine P. Payne, and managing director Staci D. Kaliner were named to the 2019 “Women Worth Watching” list published by Profiles in Diversity Journal.

Now in its 18th edition, “Women Worth Watching” recognizes women executives who are leading the way to excellence in the workplace, marketplace, and the world. The award winners were profiled in the summer 2019 edition of Profiles in Diversity Journal, which is dedicated to promoting and advancing diversity and inclusion in the corporate, government, nonprofit, higher education, and military sectors.

To read the “Women Worth Watching” summer 2019 edition, visit http://www.womenworthwatching.com/.

 

 




Ex-Hershey In-House Lawyer Barred From Suing on Race, Gender Bias Claims

Bloomberg Law reports that a former Hershey Co. intellectual property lawyer can’t proceed with a suit alleging he was discriminated against when the company terminated him by saying it was eliminating his position, but then hiring “a younger, African-American woman” for the same job, the Middle District of Pennsylvania said.

Kurt L. Ehresman, a 52-year-old white man, worked as Hershey’s senior counsel for global intellectual property until Hershey told him it was eliminating his position, writes Bloomberg’s Blake Brittain. Ehresman said Hershey soon created a “Head of Intellectual Property” position and hired a younger black woman “to promote Defendant’s goal of diversity.”

The court found his claims were barred by an agreement he signed when he left the company.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

 

 




Davis Polk Hit With Bias, Retaliation Suit by Black Lawyer

Bloomberg Law reports that Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is accused in a new lawsuit in New York of discriminating and retaliating against a black former associate because of his complaints about racial bias at the law firm.

Kaloma Cardwell alleges the firm denied him job assignments — causing him to go from billing more than 100 hours per month to zero billable hours for four consecutive months. The firm then fired him, according to his complaint filed in federal court in Manhattan.

Cardwell was the only black attorney hired in the firm’s 2014 class of more than 120 new associates, and one of only four black attorneys at the entire firm, the complaint says.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

 

 




Jones Day Women Point to Managing Partner’s ‘Totalitarian Grip’

Jones Day’s “hypercentralized,” subjective decision-making process places final control over pay, promotion, and other significant decisions “unchecked in the hands of one man,” six female former lawyers told the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

That man is managing partner Stephen J. Brogan, claim Nilab Tolton and the five other lead plaintiffs. They filed a supplemental memorandum Oct. 24  opposing Jones Day’s motion for partial judgment on the pleadings in their proposed class action, filed in April, according to a Bloomberg Law article.

Brogan backs his “totalitarian grip” on Jones Day with a “no whining policy” under which women aren’t allowed to raise sex-based inequities, they say.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

 

 




Biglaw Partner’s Reply-All Snafu Reveals Insensitive Comments

When Pepper Hamilton partner David Stratton received an invitation to the firm’s upcoming judicial diversity panel, he forwarded the message to two other partners with a derisive comment about the affinity groups, according to a report on Above the Law.

The problem, though, is that he later sent an apology for his snippy comment, he used the reply-all feature. That was a bad idea, because not everyone was even aware of his original, wildly inappropriate comments until the apology was sent.

Above the Law senior editor Kathryn Rubino said the firm’s bosses weren’t happy with this turn of events. “They quickly sent their own email from managing partner Thomas Cole, distancing themselves from Stratton’s off-color comments, and assuring everyone the matter is being properly handled behind the scenes,” she writes.

Read the Above the Law article.

 

 




George Medlock, Jr. Joins Bradley as Director of Inclusion and Diversity

George D. Medlock, Jr. has joined Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP as a partner and as the firm’s first director of inclusion and diversity. He is based in the firm’s Birmingham office.

In release about this newly created role, the firm said Medlock will oversee the firm’s inclusion and diversity efforts, including working with existing firm committees focused on the recruitment, training and retention of diverse and talented attorneys. He will further the firm’s objective to attract, retain, and promote into leadership roles individuals who foster inclusion and reflect the diversity that Bradley values. Medlock will work with Skeeters, as well as the firm’s board and Inclusion and Diversity Committee, as part of Bradley’s commitment to a work environment in which diverse lawyers thrive and reach their full potential, the firm said.

Prior to joining Bradley, Medlock served as vice president and deputy general counsel for Comcast Cable in Philadelphia. In this role, he developed and led company strategy for all patent matters, including patent prosecution, agreements, and high-stakes litigation. He also previously practiced as a partner at Alston & Bird LLP in Atlanta.

Medlock received his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science, both cum laude, and both from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Bradley has been recognized by numerous local, regional and national organizations for the firm’s commitment to diversity and inclusion. These include being named among the Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers 50 Best Law Firms for Women, and receiving the Nashville Bar Association’s Diversity Committee Leadership Award 15 times since 1994.

 

 




Supreme Court Justice Gorsuch Calls LGBTQ Workplace Discrimination Case ‘Really Close’

Neil Gorsuch

Justice Neil Gorsuch

The Supreme Court justices sounded closely split Tuesday and a bit uncertain over whether to make it illegal under federal law for companies and public agencies to fire employees solely because they are gay, lesbian or transgender, with Justice Neil M. Gorsuch likely the deciding vote, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Trump-appointee Gorsuch described the case as “really close…. Assume for the moment I’m with you on the textual evidence,” he told an ACLU lawyer representing a transgender woman who was fired from her job at a funeral home in Detroit.

“The four liberal justices, joined at times by Gorsuch, said they agreed that firing gay or transgender employees was discrimination based on sex as the law defined it,” writes the TimesDavid G. Savage. “But others, including most of the conservatives, said that Congress in 1964 did not mean to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Read the  LA Times article.

 

 




Standing Up for Justice: Challenging the Erosion of Civil Rights, Diversity and Inclusion

Duane Morris LLP and the Bar Association of San Francisco will present the 7th Annual Citywide Diversity and Inclusion Networking Event and Panel Discussion on “Standing Up for Justice: Challenging the Erosion of Civil Rights, Diversity and Inclusion.”

The event will be in the Duane Morris office at One Market Plaza, Suite 2200, in San Francisco on Thursday, Oct. 10, 2019, 5-8 p.m.

The panel will explain and share examples of how they became bias interrupters by making small tweaks to basic business systems (hiring, performance evaluations, assignments, promotions and compensation) that interrupt and correct explicit and implicit bias in the workplace. Instead of approaching diversity initiatives as large-scale culture changes, bias interrupters identify and change the constant flow of bias in basic business systems. Bias interrupters work because they change systems, instead of people.

Opening Remarks :

Doris Cheng, President, Bar Association of San Francisco
Christopher Punongbayan, Executive Director, California ChangeLawyers

Panelists:

Doris Cheng, President, Bar Association of San Francisco
Charles Jung, President, Asian American Bar Association of the Greater Bay Area
Catherine Ongiri, President, Charles Houston Bar Association
Jeff Kosbie, Co-Chair, Bay Area Lawyers for Individual Freedom
Christopher Punongbayan, Executive Director, California ChangeLawyers

Moderator:

Terrance J. Evans, Partner and Co-Chair of the Duane Morris LLP SF Diversity and
Inclusion Committee

Register for the event.

 

 




Two Bars: A History of African American Legal Advocacy in the Bay Area

Duane Morris and the Charles Houston Bar Association will be holding a CLE program, “Two Bars: A History of African American Legal Advocacy in the Bay Area,” on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2019, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Duane Morris’ San Francisco office.

The presenter will be Judge Charles A. Smiley III of the Superior Court of California. Terrance J. Evans, Duane Morris partner and co-chair of the Duane Morris San Francisco Diversity & Inclusion Committee, and Winter L. Hankins, deputy city attorney for the City of Hayward, will make the introductory remarks.

Registration, Networking and Reception: 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
CLE Program: 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Q&A: 7:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

 

 




Jones Day Ex-Partner Settles Suit Over ‘Fraternity’ Culture

A former partner at Jones Day’s Silicon Valley office who accused the law firm of forcing her out after she raised concerns about its “boys’ club” culture has dropped her lawsuit in exchange for a return of capital she put into the firm, reports Bloomberg Law.

“Wendy Moore’s suit claimed the firm’s leadership retaliated against her after she voiced misgivings about its culture, pay transparency, and treatment of female attorneys,” writes Bloomberg’s Mike Leonard. “The complaint described Jones Day as a ‘fraternity’ where women are marginalized and objectified while male lawyers attend business meetings at strip clubs and sporting events.”

Read the Bloomberg Law article.

 

 

 




IADC Announces Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program as Inaugural Winner of Diversity and Inclusion Award

The International Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) – the invitation-only global legal organization for attorneys who represent corporate and insurance interests –announced that it has launched the IADC Diversity and Inclusion Award and has presented its first award to the Diverse Attorney Pipeline Program (DAPP).

DAPP, a non-profit organization founded to advance opportunities for women of color and the creator of DAPP Direct, the first and only national job placement fair for women of color law students, will be formally recognized as the award’s recipient at the IADC’s 2019 Annual Meeting in July in Asheville, N.C.

In a release, the firm said he IADC Diversity and Inclusion Award recognizes an individual, group, organization, company or country that has championed diversity and inclusion within the legal profession. The recipient also has taken purposeful, tangible actions that have yielded positive outcomes in helping to achieve diversity and inclusion in the legal profession and/or has significantly advanced understanding of the need for diversity and inclusion in the profession.

“The IADC recognizes that diversity and inclusion is a core tenet and central to our organization,” said Bonnie Mayfield, Chair of the IADC’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and Chair of the organization’s Employment Law Committee. “This award is designed to identify and honor those persons or entities who have championed diversity and inclusion in the legal profession through meaningful and tangible actions. We believe what gets recognized gets repeated.”

Mayfield, who is a product liability and labor and employment defense lawyer at Dykema Gossett PLLC, stressed that the legal profession is not where it needs to be in terms of increasing diversity and inclusion, and that recent studies on diversity in the profession confirm that that African American/Black equity partners are rare and may even be declining.

“DAPP is precisely the type of organization that the IADC wants to recognize and celebrate through this award for its tangible contributions to helping diverse individuals succeed in the legal profession,” Mayfield added.

Founded in 2014, DAPP is a non-profit corporation that addresses the continued and systemic decline of women of color lawyers in law firms and across other coveted positions in the legal profession. Through its scholars program and national job placement program, DAPP Direct, DAPP works to expand opportunities for women of color law students to succeed in law school and secure paid summer positions at law firms and corporations following their first year of law school. DAPP Direct pairs law firms with women of color in-house counsel who interview on their behalves and place talented, first-year women of color law students in paid law firm internships across the nation. The DAPP Scholars Program provides scholars with placement assistance, academic support, coaching, counseling, book stipends, tutoring, seminars and workshops, tailored professional development, mentorship, and more.

DAPP was started by two African-American female attorneys who graduated from law school during the height of the recession, and through their leadership positions in minority bar associations and diversity organizations, witnessed the barricades to, and rapid decline of, women of color in big law.

 

 




Webinar: Understanding Women’s Conflict in the Legal Workplace and the Bias That Built It

Fitch, Even, Tabin & Flannery LLP will present a free webinar with Chicago Women in IP (ChiWIP), “Understanding Women’s Conflict in the Legal Workplace and the Bias That Built It,” featuring attorneys Andie Kramer and Alton Harris, with attorney Nikki Little as moderator.

The event will be on Thursday, June 13, 2019, at 10 am PDT / 11 am MDT / 12 noon CDT / 1 pm EDT. It also will be available as an on-demand webinar after presentation.

A common misconception is that women inherently have challenging relationships with other women at work, the firm said in a release. But the research of the speakers, Andrea Kramer and Alton Harris, has shown this is patently untrue. They will provide real-world advice and tactics for how both women and men in the legal profession can avoid workplace conflict and overcome deeply rooted biases in a traditionally male-dominated industry.

During this webinar, the presenters will share insights on the following:

• Gender bias in the workplace, including women’s same-gender conflicts
• How gendered workplaces disadvantage women
• How to build supportive work environments to help women succeed and advance

Register for the webinar.




Morrison & Foerster Trims Some Female Attorneys’ Claims, For Now

Bloomberg Law reports that two women among a group of female associates accusing Morrison & Foerster LLP of pregnancy discrimination must replead some or all of their claims, a federal judge ruled.

One of the plaintiffs was too late with her claims under federal and District of Columbia law, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California said. And another plaintiff’s allegations were insufficient to support her argument that a release she signed was unduly influenced by the dire economic situation caused by her termination, the court said.

The women are part of a proposed nationwide class action filed in April 2018.

Read the Bloomberg Law article.