Real Life in Big Law
In a Good2BSocial Blog Post by Joe Lamport called “Why Big Law Partners Don’t Play Nice in the Sandbox” which references a study that was just released by Heidi Gardner, a distinguished fellow at Harvard Law School’s Center for the Profession, Joe discusses some of the key reasons why the study and real life in Big Law contradict each other. As I read the post I reflected from a Diversity and Inclusion perspective on three key reasons Joe states that collaboration and team work do not work or are not valued in most Big Law environments. I realized how what he points out as contributing barriers to working collaboratively are also reasons that our Diversity and Inclusion efforts may struggle in Big Law as well!
Joe cites three reasons why collaboration fails:
1) Type of people who self-select into Big Law and do well!
2) Status based on hierarchy.
3) Established compensation schemes that work against fostering the spirit of collaboration.
What struck me immediately is that all of the reasons cited above are the reasons that many of the diverse lawyers we have surveyed leave Big Law and even the profession itself. According to our TCDIP 2013 attrition study, the top two reasons attorneys of color left their initial employer was because of lack of access to meaningful work and feeling isolated. Joe establishes that hierarchy and a feeling that there is not enough collaboration or transparency in how both Associates and Partners get compensated are the key factors to the feeling of isolation and lack of access to key work, and thus decision makers. These same key elements are a contributing factor as to why Diversity and Inclusion efforts fail. If there is a feeling that you are not in the “circle of trust” and you cannot see yourself or someone that looks like you in the hierarchy then how are you supposed to work on those key matters or with influential Partners?
Numerous studies have shown that most lawyers of color and women know there are unwritten rules and that those rules are often only communicated to a few who tend to look like those currently in power. If there were more collaboration and opportunities for all members of the team to be part of the decision making process it would create a workplace that values everyone. Now the study Joe references claims that these things are changing and that Big Law gets it. I hope this is true, because if Big Law were able to create a culture of collaboration and transparency it would go a long way to creating a more Diverse and Inclusive working environment.
