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"Good intentions aside, many law firms do not treat diversity as a strategic factor that contributes to the bottom line. That lack of understanding, nonetheless, impacts their bottom
line in missed opportunities, wasted resources, and costly turnover."
- Creating Pathways to Diversity: A Set of Recommended Practices for Law Firms (2003), a report of the
Minority Corporate Counsel Association
As a legal employer, the Utah State Bar recently adopted the Pledge to Racial and Ethnic Diversity proposed by the Utah Minority Bar
Association ("UMBA"). In doing so, the Bar encourages other legal employers also to take the pledge. The goals of the pledge are, simply, to increase the hiring, retention, and
promotion of attorneys of color. To achieve those goals, the pledge includes specific actions that serve to level the playing field for attorneys of color. The pledge is not an
affirmative action plan, and none of the actions included in the pledge involves the use of racial or ethnic status as a selection criterion or any other form of preferential treatment.
The pledge is posted on the Bar's website at www.utahbar.org.
Although the pledge focuses on attorneys of color, its adoption will benefit the
entire organization and all of its employees, not just minority lawyers. There is a strong business case for diversity. By the late 1990's, major corporations positioning themselves to
respond to changing American demographics and the global marketplace began requiring their outside law firms to demonstrate a commitment to promoting diversity. To get an idea of the
extent of this corporate movement, as well as a wealth of resources on diversity issues, visit the website of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association ("MCCA") at
www.mcca.com. The movement continues to gain momentum and its effects have been and continue to be felt by Utah law firms. One step that Utah law firms can take to demonstrate their
commitment is to adopt the diversity pledge.
Promoting diversity can yield other competitive advantages in the search for and retention of legal talent, and in the creativity and
quality of a firm's work product. Ultimately, promoting diversity requires valuing and developing the contributions of each individual in the firm. This is implicitly recognized in the
UMBA pledge, which states the goal of "full and equal opportunity and participation for all attorneys, including attorneys of color" and requires employers to:
- assist each newly hired attorney (regardless of race, ethnicity, or level) in learning the workplace's culture, history, practices, and procedures; and to
- ensure that all attorneys, including attorneys of color are afforded, on a consistent basis, opportunities equivalent to those provided to all other attorneys in the quality and
quantity of legal work assignments as necessary to develop skills and acquire experience for success and advancement.
I often hear (and wholeheartedly agree with) claims that the quality of legal practice in Utah compares favorably to that of anywhere in the country. We may be tempted though, to point to
our geography and the demographics of our labor force as ready excuses for a lack of diversity in our legal workplaces. We must take care that such explanations do not serve as
self-fulfilling prophecies. By providing strong leadership to challenge some of the assumptions that underlie our hiring, training, and promotion practices, and that may unintentionally
create barriers to inclusion, Utah law firms can continue to point with pride to the quality of their legal talent and work product. Adopting the diversity pledge is an excellent start.
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