Not Your Father's (or Mother's) Legal Team, The Legal Intelligencer

—In 21st Century Law Firm Market, Diversity Provides Competitive Edge—

Clients expect their attorneys to provide high-quality legal service, including finding solutions to complicated issues. To meet this expectation, law firms have become increasingly adept at assembling attorneys across substantive practice areas and geographic locations to build teams with the requisite legal expertise. This is a great start.

However, as the legal industry continues to evolve and new talent management strategies emerge, a deeper understanding of how diversity impacts organizational performance can provide law firms with an additional competitive edge.

Diverse New World

Diversity's place in law firm business strategy remains uncertain at a number of organizations. However, external factors, including the changing demographics of corporate decision-makers, may shift diversity from "nice to have" to "must have" for those firms looking for a competitive edge in the 21st century marketplace.

• Dramatic demographic shifts are projected. The U.S. population is becoming more racially and ethnically diverse. According to a 2008 U.S. Census Bureau release, minorities are expected to become the majority in 2042, with the nation projected to be 54 percent minority in 2050. Additionally, the number of people who identify themselves as being of two or more races is projected to more than triple.
• Multigenerational workplaces are here to stay. According to a 2009 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics release, as the baby boom generation continues its trend of increased labor force participation, individuals in the 55 years and older age group are projected to make up almost one-quarter of the labor force in 2018. While these shifts occur, some organizations will have as many as four different generations represented at one time. These multigenerational workforces, characterized by a variety of experiences, skills and viewpoints offer great promise. However, they also require an awareness of the different professional expectations and philosophies represented. 
• Regulatory bodies care. The Securities and Exchange Commission recently approved new rules to improve information about directors and nominees for directors serving on corporate boards. Boards must disclose information regarding why directors and nominees were selected, including their particular experience, qualifications, attributes, or skills. The new rules also require disclosure on how diversity is considered in the director nomination process.

Positioning Diversity as a Competitive Advantage

In the face of this changing landscape, many law firms are searching for ways to position diversity as a competitive advantage. To employ diversity effectively, definitional clarity is essential.

Diversity can take on any number of meanings and levels of importance, depending on the context. In the law firm context, demographic differences such as race, gender, and sexual orientation, have traditionally been the primary focus for diversity efforts. While such differences remain important, stopping there risks excluding other potential differences that can increase the benefits of a diverse workforce.

These differences include, but are certainly not limited to: attitudes and beliefs, education, length of service, and approach to problem solving. In "What Differences Make a Difference? The Promise and Reality of Diverse Teams in Organizations" by Elizabeth A. Mannix and Margaret Neale, diversity is broadly defined as "variation based on any attribute people use to tell themselves that another person is different."

Diversity is something that can be found in virtually all groups — even a "bunch of middle-aged white men." Once you have a clearer understanding of what types of diversity you are seeking, it will be easier to recruit and retain individuals and to manage teams.

There is an 'I' in Team

Individuals make up teams. Appreciating the particular strengths, viewpoints and experiences that inform the professional contributions of each individual is critical. Each individual must be given the opportunity to develop the requisite skills and gain the exposure necessary to be considered a viable team member.

With estimates of the average attrition cost to replace one associate ranging from $250,000 to $500,000, not to mention the potential disruption to client service, law firms and clients both have a vested interest in ensuring that the right people are not only recruited, but also retained. What can you do to increase your chances of success?

• Define expectations clearly and consistently. Catalyst's 2010 study, "Unwritten Rules: Why Doing a Good Job May Not Be Enough," found that regardless of gender and ethnicity, an organization's unwritten rules play a major role in career advancement. Increasing transparency and providing access to formal and informal information on what it takes to succeed will allow firms to better identify and leverage talent.
• Focus on professional development. Monitoring assignments and evaluations to ensure that all attorneys have access to high-quality work assignments, exposure to key firm clients, the support to excel, timely feedback, and recognition will improve client service while increasing attorney engagement.
• Encourage two-way communication. Creating an atmosphere that allows attorneys to express their professional development goals, even when they may not be perfectly aligned with the firm's vision is critical. An open dialogue allows the firm to proactively provide opportunities that will be mutually beneficial for the individual and the organization. While you can't prevent every star from leaving, you can have an impact on whether they have a positive view of the firm when they leave. 
• Be flexible. In a Fortune magazine survey of senior Fortune 500 male executives, 84 percent of respondents said they would like job options that let them realize their professional aspirations while having more time for things outside of work. Providing a flexible workplace not only attracts star talent, but it also helps to stem attrition.
• Beware the melting pot. A recent report by the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia Initiative on Advancement and Retention of Women described inclusion as a "colorful quilt" rather than a "melting pot." According to the report, in a "melting pot," all traits are blended together resulting in the loss of valuable individual characteristics and perspectives. With a "colorful quilt," each piece has its own place, and the unique qualities of each add to the value of the whole. Allowing individuals to bring their whole selves to work increases their ability and willingness to meet the demands of the job.
  
  Once you have a number of qualified and engaged individuals, you have greater flexibility to create high-quality teams tailored to meet your clients' needs.

Playing (Not So) Well With Others

You have a roster of motivated individuals with a diverse set of relevant skills, perspectives, and backgrounds. Now, all you need to do is get them together to solve that incoming client matter and you're set, right? Well, maybe. The best teams don't always have members who play well with one another, as highlighted in the book "Clever: Leading Your Smartest, Most Creative People."

According to one passage: "Clever teams are volatile — the requirement for the clash of ideas, the passion that they bring to their work, and high levels of intrinsic uncertainty are all conditions that generate volatility."

Most of us would prefer to avoid volatile situations, rather than creating them. We enjoy the ease that similarity usually breeds. The temptation to work with like-minded individuals and to avoid anyone who we perceive to be different makes sense — to a point. People who are similar usually find it easier to work with one another, have relationships that the leader understands, and can bond quickly to produce results. However, once diverse teams learn to cohere, they are often able to come up with more innovative and creative solutions, given the wider pool of perspectives and experience represented. They are also less likely to fall into complacent consensus-based decision making.

How do you Strike this Delicate Balance?

• Identity matters (but it's not the only thing). In 2002, Forbes reported that of the approximately 4,300 people who served on boards of S&P 500 companies, only 27 sat on five boards or more and within this group of 27, seven were African-American. While relatively few whites held multiple board positions, most of the board positions held by African-Americans tended to be held by a small group of individuals. Similarly, in law firms, a select few women and minorities are often asked to serve on a number of committees. While the reality is that within firms there are usually fewer women and minorities available to serve, it is important to ensure that you do not take shortcuts — visible difference does not guarantee a cognitive difference. View all potential team members as individuals and consider what they are uniquely positioned to contribute.
• Numbers matter. A report published by the Wellesley Centers for Women concluded that the number of women matters. According to the report, having a critical mass of women directors enhanced board decision making by changing board dynamics and raising different issues, so that difficult issues were less likely to be ignored, and the content of the discussion was more likely to include perspectives of multiple stakeholders. It also allowed female board members to be treated as individuals with the potential to have divergent points of view, rather than assuming a singular "woman's point of view." Depending on the context, there are certain types of difference that can affect group dynamics more than others. When this is the case, building a critical mass can help to mitigate these potentially detrimental effects. 
• Opinions matter. It's not always comfortable to disagree, however if you cultivate a culture of respectful dissent, it is more likely that the diversity that you've hired people to express will actually come to the surface. While the group may not always agree with a minority point of view, it is important that these views are heard. This allows for problem solving that is informed by a broader set of contributions. 
• Relationships matter. While difference can create cognitive clashes and similarity can breed complacency, Mannix and Neale recommend discussing commonalities as well as what team members uniquely bring to the group at the team's inception. This can help to establish trust and connectedness that will allow the team to bond in such a way that enhances its decision making.

Diversity Disclaimer

Achieving the type of organizational diversity that will enhance problem-solving is not easy. It requires clarity around the types of diversity that will further your organization's goals and business objectives. Once you are able to identify that, you still have to do the work of providing a fair and equitable work environment that will attract and retain the individuals who possess the skills and other characteristics necessary to provide high-quality legal service. And in the likely event that those individuals will have to work with one another on a variety of teams, you must also recognize the potential challenges that may have to be overcome before the team can become even greater than the simple sum of its dynamic parts. However, once these hurdles are cleared, the innovation and creativity that can be achieved will be worth the effort.

Reprinted with permission from the July 23, 2010 edition of the “Legal Intelligencer.” © 2010 ALM Media Properties, LLC. All rights reserved. Further duplication without permission is prohibited.