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 Geography Sample: 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 Geography Gender 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 Success Robert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study OrganizationE C M 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 Success Robert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study

Work Strategies of Stars 1.Initiative 2.Networking 3.Self-Management 4.Perspective 5.Followership 6.Teamwork 7.Leadership 8.Organizational Savvy 9.Show-and-tell  Organizational Savvy  Show-and-tell  Initiative  Networking  Self-Management  Perspective  Followership  Teamwork  Leadership Strategies of Average Performers 2. Individual Strategies for Success Robert Kelley’s Bell Labs Study

2. Individual Strategies for Success Robert 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 Success Whose 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 Success Project Management Project Managers 1. Leadership Limited Authority Team Goals Individual Goals 2. Technical Skills BudgetingSchedulingLogistics “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)