Diversity and Inclusivity Matter
The legal profession has not appropriately represented the entire population for far too long. Thankfully, that’s changing. For the past several years, women have outnumbered men in law school classrooms. But, gender diversity is only the beginning.
One in four US adults has a disability. And, Caucasian people will soon no longer make up the majority of the US population.
These stats show the importance of diversity and inclusion in your law firm. By failing to take action, you’re ignoring your clients’ and team members’ needs for safety and feeling welcome. Your firm must have a stance on the values of inclusion and how you plan to implement them into marketing, hiring, and client service.
Defining Law Firm Diversity and Inclusion
Diversity refers to the individuality of people. For example, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, socio-economic status, identity, and age are all diversity factors.
To be inclusive as a law firm, you respect, accept, advocate access, and welcome individual clients and team members for who they are from the inside out.
Diversity and Inclusion Best Practices
It’s past time for law firms to consider what being inclusive means for their firms. As a lawyer, you must be more cognizant of this and what this means for your team and clients. You must adapt your marketing, strategy, and legal services, as necessary, to accommodate for better law firm diversity.