Diversity as a Competitive Advantage:Starting with the Facts

Women, Law & Leadership:The IndyBar Women & the Law

Division Symposium

Diversity in Law Firms

1. Variations by Geography– Minorities do make partner … just not

everywhere.

2. Individual success within an organization – lessons for diverse lawyers

3. Organizational Success based on diversity– E.g., team-based project management.

1. Variations by GeographySample: 2005-06 NALP Directory of Legal Employers

• Office level data of 613 law firm employers in 108 metropolitan areas– Aggregate firm data of non-regional firms was excluded– 1445 discrete offices; 878 offices (60.8%) are Am Law 200 firms– In 2004, offices hired 6020 entry level associates (15.5% of all 2004 JD

graduates) and 1049 judicial clerks.

• Office level data broken down by:– Job title, race, gender, disabled and openly gay.– Summer associate, entry-level, and judicial clerk hiring– Weighted average starting salary = $115,620

1. Variations by GeographyGender

NYC, DC, Chicago, LA, San Francisco, and Foreign offices comprise:

53.9% of all attorneys

47.3% of all female partners

61.3% of all female associates

1. Variations by Geography Concentrations of Black Lawyers

DC, Atlanta, Southeast

22.5% of all attorneys

38.9% of all Black partners

33.82% of all Black associates

Southeast, Houston, Dallas, LA

18.7% of all attorneys

43.7% of all Hispanic Partners

31.9% of all Hispanic associates

1. Variations by Geography Concentrations of Hispanic Lawyers

1. Variations by Geography Concentrations of Asian Lawyers

LA, San Francisco, Rocky & West

17.5% of all attorneys

46.8% of all Asian partners

33.4% of all Asian associates

New York City CSA:

18.8% of lawyers

14.0% of all partners

12.1% female partners

23.0% female associates

10.2% of black partners

24.0% of black associates

13.7% of Asian Partners

32.0% of Asian Associates

12.4% of Hispanic Partners

25.6% of Hispanic Associates

1. Variations by Geography New York City

Key takeaway: NYC is highly heterogeneous at associate level but highly homogenous at the partnership level.

2. Individual Strategies for SuccessRobert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study

OrganizationE

CM

Stars

E = engineers

M = managers

C = clients

• “Star” theories fell into three categories:

– Cognitive abilities

– Social skills

– Psychological traits

NO RELATIONSHIP between these factors and status as a star performer

2. Individual Strategies for SuccessRobert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study

Work Strategies of Stars

1. Initiative2. Networking 3. Self-Management4. Perspective5. Followership6. Teamwork7. Leadership8. Organizational Savvy9. Show-and-tell

Organizational Savvy Show-and-tell

Initiative Networking Self-Management Perspective Followership Teamwork Leadership

Strategies of Average Performers

2. Individual Strategies for SuccessRobert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study

2. Individual Strategies for SuccessRobert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study

Key finding:

Under the resulting training program, women and minority knowledge workers experienced the largest gains in productivity – four times larger than their white, male counterparts

2. Individual Strategies for SuccessWhose Network is better, Richard’s or Susan’s?

See Rob Cross, The Most Valuable People in Your Network, HBR Blog Network (2011)

3. Organizational Strategies for Success

Diverse groups are more innovative and creative than homogeneous groups

•Viewpoint diversity is key•Requires trust

3. Organizational Strategies for Success

In measuring Group IQ and Group Performance, number of women is a key predictor …

“What do you hear about great groups? Not that the members are all really smart but that they listen to each other. They share criticism constructively. They have open minds. They’re not autocratic. And in our study we saw pretty clearly that groups that had smart people dominating the conversation were not very intelligent groups.”

Anita Woolley & Thomas Malone What Makes a Team Smarter? More Women (June 2011)

3. Organizational Strategies for SuccessProject Management

“When I am asked what I consider to be the most important attributes for project managers to have, I always say that people skills are number one through three” (p. 30)