the committee—in a way that embeds inclusiveness. T e manual is continuously revised based on the experiences of organizations that have put these practices into place. CLI’s Inclusiveness Network, a group of seven law fi rms,
two corporate law departments, and two government law offi ces in Denver, was developed with the purpose of being a real-world laboratory for testing the manual’s procedures. T e group was formed in 2008 and its members have made fundamental structural and cultural changes in their organizations and embedded specifi c diversity and inclusive- ness practices and principles into their cultures. For example, members make structural changes, like tying compensation to eff orts to make the organization more diverse; cultural changes, such as actively engaging white men in diversity and inclusiveness eff orts by including them on inclusiveness com- mittees, and behavioral changes, such as teaching managing partners to confront peers about conduct that is exclusionary. T e group continues to meet on a quarterly basis. Leaders
from each member organization discuss their fi rsthand experiences implementing the manual’s protocol and off er one another constructive feedback. “T e group experience is a key to its success,” Nalty notes. “Clients and law fi rms are required to report on their progress at each of their quarterly meetings. T ey can’t quietly put [the inclusiveness protocol] on the back burner. Accountability is built into the process.” CLI takes this feedback and implements it into future
editions of the manual in the form of case studies. Such real-world examples help non-member legal organizations that purchase the manual to implement inclusiveness initia- tives into their own organizations.
REVOLVING DOOR, WITH DIVERSE ATTORNEYS LEAVING AT HIGHER RATES THAN NON-
HAD TURNED INTO A “THE OPEN DOOR
DIVERSE ATTORNEYS.” —KATHLEEN NALTY
MCCA.COM
SPREADING THE WORD T e work of CLI, while still relatively new, is quickly growing beyond its Colorado roots. A second Inclusiveness Network formed earlier this year, bringing the number of legal organizations using CLI’s step-by-step protocol to 29, including the corporate law departments of Walmart, DaVita, Xcel, and Qwest (CenturyLink). “T e growth has been meteoric, primarily because we focused on inclusive- ness,” Nalty explains. When good ideas yield positive results, word spreads
quickly. T is is how Walmart Stores Inc., which is not based in Colorado but in Arkansas, entered the mix. “[Executive Vice President, General Counsel, and Corporate Secretary] Jeff Gearhart heard about what we were doing and was excited about the toolkit. He fl ew into Denver with seven attorneys for an initial meeting and he decided to implement it,” Nalty says. Indeed, Gearhart is optimistic. “We believe that CLI’s
inclusiveness program will help us take our diversity eff orts to the next level by ensuring that we are doing our best to develop and retain our talented attorneys and professional staff . A more inclusive environment leads to better collabo- ration and engagement, which will make our department more eff ective,” he says. “When Walmart got on board, we realized this toolkit is
useful anywhere, not just here in Denver,” Nalty adds. “I’m really proud of what we’ve done here. We didn’t turn our backs on diversity. We’re really excited about the power and potential for this tool to really transform our entire industry.” D&B
Kara Mayer Robinson is a freelance writer based near New York City. For more information, visit
centerforlegalinclusiveness.org. For information about inclusiveness, the manual, and resources on diversity and inclusiveness, go to
legalinclusiveness.org.
JULY/AUGUST 2011 DIVERSITY & THE BAR®
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